Description
iFixit is a free online repair manual with tens of thousands of illustrated, step-by-step guides for phones, laptops, consoles, household appliances and more, written by the company and its community. Its site counts more than 63,000 guides and claims over 100 million successful repairs.
Kyle Wiens and Luke Soules founded it in 2003 in California, after failing to find instructions to repair a broken iBook. It is a private company based in San Luis Obispo, with a European subsidiary in Stuttgart. It earns money by selling spare parts and tools: the Pro Tech Toolkit costs €74.95 in its EU shop, shipping is free over €65, and tools carry a 25-year guarantee (checked November 2026). It also publishes repairability scores for phones, laptops, tablets and other devices.
iFixit campaigns for the right to repair with groups such as Repair.org in the United States and the Right to Repair coalition in Europe, and works with manufacturers including Google, Microsoft, Lenovo, Motorola and Fairphone to sell official parts. It ended its partnership with Samsung in May 2024, saying Samsung did not seem interested in enabling repair at scale.
Strengths
- Free, detailed guides with photos for a huge number of devices.
- Repairability scores to check before buying.
- An active voice for the right to repair.
Weaknesses
- A company that earns money from selling parts and tools, and its teardowns also advertise them.
- Many guides are only in English, and parts can be expensive.
Who it is for
Anyone ready to open a device and try to repair it themselves.
Sources
- iFixit: Home, About, Right to Repair, Repairability, EU store, Guarantee, checked November 2026
- Wikipedia: iFixit