When your phone screen cracks or your laptop battery dies, what do you do? For years, most people just bought a new one. Companies made products hard to open, limited spare parts, and canceled warranties if you tried to fix things yourself. Now, thanks to consumer advocates, new laws, and changing business strategies, that’s starting to change.
The right-to-repair movement has gone from a niche issue to a mainstream policy. Even some companies that once strongly opposed independent repair are now starting to support it, at least in part. By January 2026, over a quarter of Americans will live in states with right-to-repair laws, and that number should rise to more than 35% by fall 2026 when Connecticut and Texas join in.
The European Union also passed a Right to Repair Directive in 2024, which will apply to all EU countries by July 2026. These rules make manufacturers give consumers and independent repair shops the tools, parts, manuals, and software needed to fix their own products. For more details on how these policies are changing repair, check out Earth911’s coverage of what the EU’s Right to Repair means for American consumers.
The Environmental Case for Keeping Devices Alive
A study in the journal Circular Economy looked at what would happen if devices lasted 50–100% longer, and the results are striking. Making electronics last could prevent 25–38 million tons of e-waste annually and avoid between 1.34 and 2.03 billion tons of CO₂ emissions by 2030. That’s roughly equivalent to 300–500 large coal-fired power plants running for a year.
E-waste doesn’t just waste resources; it poisons communities. Improperly disposed electronics leach lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic into soil and groundwater, and burning e-waste releases toxic emissions that contribute to ozone depletion. The health toll falls disproportionately on developing countries, which receive the bulk of improperly exported e-waste. In 2022, high-income countries sent 3.64 billion tons of e-waste to middle- and low-income nations. For a thorough look at what happens when we fail to recycle electronics, see Earth911’s reporting on the downstream consequences.
Repairing Is A Money-Saver
The economics are compelling. According to U.S. PIRG, households save an average of $330 annually by repairing rather than replacing broken electronics. At a national level, sponsors of the Fair Repair Act argues repair-friendly policies could reduce household electronics spending by 22%, generating $40 billion in total savings. And the environmental case is even stronger, as we’ll explore later in this article. Explore why the right to repair is crucial to e-waste reductions and check out our beginner’s guide to actually fixing your stuff.
The biggest change in right-to-repair has come from companies that used to fight it the hardest. Now, Apple, Samsung, Google, and several major PC makers all have some kind of self-repair program, though how much they really support repair varies a lot.
Big Tech Buys Into Repair
Apple: Self Service Repair and the Parts Pairing Debate
Apple launched its Self Service Repair program in April 2022, giving customers access to the same genuine parts, tools, and detailed repair manuals used at Apple Stores and authorized service providers. The program now supports over 40 products across 33 countries and 24 languages, covering repairs to displays, batteries, cameras, speakers, and more on recent iPhone, iPad, and Mac models—including the entire 2025 iPhone 17 lineup and iPhone Air.
Apple’s repair program has faced criticism. Its “parts pairing” system means replacement parts must be checked and set up on the device, which some repair advocates don’t like.
In 2024, Apple made a big change by allowing used genuine parts in repairs. Now, calibration for new or used Apple parts happens on the device after installation, even for things like Face ID and Touch ID. Apple also no longer requires a device serial number for most parts orders. You can rent special tools from Apple for $49 and return used parts for credit and recycling.
Google: A Genuine Partnership With iFixit
Google stands out among smartphone makers for its repair efforts. In 2022, it teamed up with iFixit to offer real replacement parts for Pixel phones, and that partnership is still going strong. In the 2025 “Failing the Fix” scorecard from U.S. PIRG, Google was the only major brand to fully make up for its anti-repair trade group ties by directly supporting right-to-repair laws in four states.
Google also promises seven years of software updates for Pixel phones and says all its hardware will use recycled materials. Besides phones, Google is working with Acer and Lenovo on Chromebook repair programs for schools.
Samsung: A Complicated Record
Samsung started working with iFixit in 2022 to provide self-repair kits for Galaxy phones, including parts like screens, back glass, and charging ports. But in May 2024, the partnership ended because iFixit felt Samsung wasn’t truly committed to making repairs easy. iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens pointed to high part prices that made people buy new devices instead of fixing them, a secret contract that forced repair shops to report customer data and take apart phones with third-party parts, and Samsung’s unwillingness to share contract details with iFixit.
Samsung now runs its own self-repair program, offering a 90-day warranty on parts and repair guides for some Galaxy models. The company also uses more recycled materials and has switched to plastic-free packaging. However, the split with iFixit illustrates a pressing issue: some companies use self-repair programs more for marketing than for truly making devices last longer.
iFixit still sells both original and aftermarket Samsung parts and shares community repair guides for Galaxy devices.
PC Manufacturers: Lenovo, Microsoft, and Others
Several PC manufacturers have made meaningful commitments to repairability. Lenovo partnered with iFixit during the development of its ThinkPad T14 Gen 5, redesigning its best-selling business laptop to achieve a 9.3 repairability score, up from 7 for prior models. The laptop features easily removable keyboards, unsealed DIMM memory slots, and accessible SSD and WAN card slots. Lenovo has set a target of enabling 84% of their PCs to be repaired without requiring the machine to be sent to a service center.
Microsoft works with iFixit on tool distribution for Surface device repairs, making specialized tools available to iFixit’s network of independent repair shops. Microsoft and its Xbox subsidiary also partnered with iFixit in late 2024 on console repair resources.
HP, Dell, and Lenovo have long made repair manuals available on their websites, earning recognition from repair advocates as among the more repair-friendly manufacturers.
iFixit: The Repair Movement’s Knowledge Base
iFixit was started in 2003 by Kyle Wiens and Luke Soules, two Cal Poly students who couldn’t find a repair manual for their broken Apple iBook G3. Since then, iFixit has become the world’s largest online repair community. The site offers over 100,000 free step-by-step guides with clear photos, covering everything from phones and laptops to appliances, game consoles, and cameras. More than half of these guides come from community members, making iFixit a truly collaborative resource.
Beyond guides, iFixit sells genuine OEM and quality-tested aftermarket replacement parts for:
- Google Pixel phones
- Valve Steam Deck
- Lenovo ThinkPad laptops
- Microsoft Surface and Xbox
- Motorola Moto phones
- Logitech devices
- HMD Nokia phones, and
- Kobo (e-readers).
iFixit’s Pro program serves independent repair shops with wholesale pricing and direct access to OEM parts.
iFixit also releases yearly repairability scores based on its product teardowns, rating how easy it is to open, fix, and put devices back together. These scores are now an important industry standard, helping buyers choose products and encouraging companies to design for easier repair.
Design-for-Repair Pioneers: Fairphone and Framework
While big companies are still adjusting to new repair laws, a few smaller companies have made repairability and long-lasting products the core of their business from the start.
Fairphone, the Netherlands-based certified B Corp, has been producing modular smartphones since 2013, when its founding grew from an awareness campaign about conflict minerals. Fairphone devices are designed so anyone can open them with a standard screwdriver and replace individual modules—battery, screen, camera, speaker, and USB-C port—in seconds, without specialized tools or technical expertise.
The company pledges to recycle or refurbish one phone’s worth of electronic waste for every Fairphone sold, and its modular design philosophy prioritizes longevity over rapid upgrade cycles. After five phone generations and more than a decade of production, Fairphone has proven that ethical, repairable smartphones can sustain a viable business.
Framework, a California-based laptop company founded in 2019, applies similar principles to computing. Every Framework Laptop ships with a screwdriver in the box and is designed so the hard drive, memory, WiFi module, display, battery, and keyboard can be easily swapped out for repair or upgrade. The company uses industry-standard sockets, labeled connectors, and pull-tab designs, and its QR codes link directly to step-by-step repair guides.
Framework’s laptops are built with 50% post-consumer recycled aluminum and up to 30% post-consumer recycled plastic, shipped in recyclable packaging with no single-use plastics. The company envisions every device it ships remaining in active use for at least five years, with modules upgraded rather than whole machines discarded.
Finding Replacement Parts
One of the first questions for anyone trying to repair something is where to get the right parts. There are two types to know: OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts and third-party aftermarket parts.
OEM parts are manufactured by or for the original brand and are identical to the components installed during production. Their primary advantages include guaranteed compatibility with your specific device model, consistent quality controlled to the manufacturer’s own standards, and manufacturer’s warranty coverage (typically one year). OEM parts are often essential for critical components like displays, batteries, logic boards, and biometric sensors, where even slight variations can affect functionality, safety, or software calibration.
For devices with parts-pairing requirements, like recent iPhones, using genuine OEM components is the only way to ensure full feature support after repair. The trade-off is a higher upfront price, though for key components, the reliability and warranty protection often justify the cost over the life of the device.
Aftermarket parts are made by other companies, and their quality can vary significantly. The best aftermarket brands copy OEM designs to make parts that work just as well, often for less money. They are good choices for less important parts like cases, cables, fans, and charging ports. But because quality control is not always consistent, some aftermarket parts may not last as long or fit as well as OEM parts.
For important repairs involving electronics or safety, OEM parts are still the safer option.
You can find replacement parts at several main sources:
- Apple’s Self Service Repair Store for iPhone, iPad, and Mac
- iFixit’s parts catalog, which offers OEM parts from Google, Microsoft, Valve, and others, plus good aftermarket options
- Samsung’s self-repair program for some Galaxy models, and
- manufacturer websites like Dell, HP, and Lenovo, the Fairphone’s spare parts shop and the Framework Marketplace
Community Repair Resources: Repair Cafés and Local Support
You don’t have to fix your devices alone. There is a growing movement of community repair groups that offer free, hands-on help from experienced volunteers. These events aren’t just about getting things fixed; they’re about transferring practical knowledge and building community resilience around the culture of repair.
Repair Cafés are free community gatherings where volunteer experts help people fix broken items, everything from electronics, clothing, and furniture to appliances, bicycles, and more. The idea first started in Amsterdam in 2009, and since then, the Repair Café movement has spread worldwide.
In the United States, a national directory lists hundreds of locations that cover every region and the international foundation’s searchable map can help you find the nearest event anywhere on the planet.
For electronics, The Repair Association, which operates Repair.org, has a color-coded map showing right-to-repair laws in all 50 states. They also offer sample laws, technical advice, and organize advocacy.
If your device can’t be fixed, Earth911’s recycling search tool can help you find e-waste recyclers and repair services nearby.
The right to repair is now a reality in more and more places, changing how major electronics companies design and support their products. Every device you fix instead of replace saves you money, conserves resources, prevents toxic waste, and cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing. Tools, parts, guides, and community support are easier to find than ever.
The most sustainable device is the one you already have.
The post Find Your Fix: Tech Brands Are Embracing Right to Repair appeared first on Earth911.
