I’m not saying that Samsung’s foldables are less resistant to life’s surprises than a standard smartphone, but the inside display is soft, and things can happen. And when they do, Samsung can help you fix the screen yourself—if you dare.
Samsung officially rolled out the DIY kits for foldable devices Tuesday with its partner, Encompass. The foldables join nearly 50 Samsung devices that are now fixable without a visit to a physical retail location such as Samsung TVs, the second-gen Freestyle Projector, the Galaxy Book laptop, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
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Samsung says the “low cost” tool kits can be purchased individually or as a bundle with the parts you need. The upside is that it means a set of tools at home for the next time something happens.
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If you are fixing one of your Samsung smartphones, you can patch things like the speakers, SIM tray, volume rocker and side key, parts of the display, the back glass, and the charging port. Galaxy Book owners can replace the left and right speakers, the fan, parts of the display, battery, power key with embedded fingerprint reader, rubber feet, front and rear of the case, and even the touchpad. And there’s more than a handful of things you can fix on various 2023 Samsung TVs, monitors, and soundbars, down to their respective remote controls.
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Right to Repair has been quite popular lately. Google, another Samsung partner in most things, recently announced that it would prioritize lobbying for the movement. While it seems like an effort to stay in its users’ graces after all the consolidation it’s doing across its software and AI divisions, it’s also following the way of the industry. iFixit also sells bundles of fix-it kits for Google’s Pixel devices and Samsung’s Galaxy phones. Even Apple, a long-time opponent of Right to Repair, says it will support upcoming legislation.
On its part, Samsung writes in its press release that it wants to “empower people to keep their devices longer and reduce e-waste.” I would almost believe that if it weren’t for the annual upgrade maelstrom that occurs every year like clockwork.
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The Galaxy S24 Ultra is on sale on Jan. 31. Here’s to hoping it follows in the footsteps of its foldable brethren with easy repairability. You can visit Samsung’s official parts page to browse for what you need. If you have an earlier model Samsung foldable at home that requires help, you’ll have to hit up one of the other fix-it places for help.
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