accuses him of lack of seriousness and excessive prices

Gone are the days when people changed phones every generation, and it is increasingly common to use the same phone for several years. Multi-year updates and the so-called “right to repair” are partly to blame, with new national laws and policies adopted by tech companies to cater to users who want to continue using their favorite phones.

Samsung was one of the companies that most opted for the right to repair, with new measures that facilitate both repair by specialized stores and by the user himself. In 2022, the company announced a collaboration with iFixit, the leading authority on the Internet related to electronic device repair.

The following year, this Samsung repair program arrives in Europe, with the possibility of obtaining components such as screens and batteries, in addition to the tools and tutorials necessary to carry out the repair at home. Unfortunately, this program This will end next June, abruptly and with serious accusations from iFixit; and these are not the only revelations, with the subsequent publication of internal documents revealing possible anti-consumer practices.

The black day for Samsung began when iFixit suddenly announced the end of the device repair program. The ad contains harsh language against Samsung, claiming that Tech giant ‘wasn’t serious about repairs’; He also claims that iFixit and Samsung’s repairability goals are no longer aligned. As a result, iFixit will no longer distribute official Samsung components and tools, and will only offer unofficial third-party components; and while it maintains existing tutorials and information, it will not work with Samsung to release new manuals.

In an interview with The Verge, the CEO of iFixit defended the decision, accusing Samsung of inconveniencing users. For example, it guarantees that the battery is stuck to the mobile screen, which requires changing both parts, resulting in a cost of 160 dollars; much higher than the $50 it costs to change the battery of phones from other brands like Apple or Pixel. iFixit also revealed that it has not received any components from Samsung since the launch of the Galaxy S22, leaving the latest models beyond repair.

Samsung responded to iFixit’s comments; A representative shared a statement in which Samsung said it was “proud of the work we have accomplished with iFixit,” in addition to being “committed to providing affordable, quality care to our consumers.” Regarding the self-repair program, the company announced that it offers official parts and tools on the SamsungParts.com pagethanks to a collaboration with Encompass.

However, as of this writing, this page only offers parts for appliances, computers and multimedia equipment, but not for smartphones or tablets. This indicates that iFixit’s decision could have taken by surpriseand that the page will be updated in the future with moving parts.

Samsung contract leak

This news alone would have dealt a serious blow to Samsung’s image and its right to repair its aspirations, but the day wasn’t over yet. Hours later, 404 Media published the contents of Samsung’s alleged contracts with independent repair shops; and reveal possible anti-consumer practices, including “snitching” on users who requested a repair from the store.

The contract must be signed by the store to have access to official Samsung components, such as screens and batteries, which are normally only accessible in official stores of the brand. According to the contract text, to maintain this privilege, the store is required to notify Samsung of all repair work and all its users, including personal information such as name, address, telephone number and email; in addition to mobile data such as phone identifier (IMEI), warranty status and user explanation of what happens to the mobile.

The most controversial part of the contract comes when store employees receive a cell phone already repaired with unofficial parts; In this case, they are obliged to “disassemble the phone immediately” and inform Samsung that the user uses third-party components, with their personal information and that of the device.

This includes devices that have been repaired with parts that have nothing to do with the problem; For example, if our screen is broken and we had previously replaced the speaker with a non-original part, the store would be forced to disassemble the device and share our data with Samsung. The contract specifically states that the company can break the agreement (and the store loses the original parts) if the store does not respect this point.

There are details about this leak that remain to be resolved, such as when it was signed (it could be an old contract), or if it is used in all markets; some of these conditions They may be illegal in some countries, so it would be logical that Spanish stores, for example, do not have the same contract. As of now, Samsung has not publicly responded to this leak, although it did respond to iFixit’s announcement.