{{Short description|American company that offers parts and instruction for repair of consumer electronics}} {{Lowercase title}} {{Infobox company | name = iFixit | logo = iFixit logo.svg | type = Privately held company | key_people = {{ubl|Kyle Wiens<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://kylewiens.com/ |title=Kyle Wiens |last=Wiens |first=Kyle |website=kylewiens.com}}</ref> (CEO)|Luke Soules (CXO)}} | foundation = {{Start date and age|2003}} | hq_location_city = San Luis Obispo, California | hq_location_country = U.S. | homepage = [https://ifixit.com ifixit.com] | module = {{Infobox website | embed = yes | name = {{nothing}} | num_users = 1,200,000<ref name="iFixit Users">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ifixit.com/Users?order=date |title=Leaderboard |access-date=2015-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103094221/https://www.ifixit.com/Users?order=date |archive-date=2017-01-03 |url-status=live}}</ref> | content_license = Creative Commons BY-NC-SA<ref name="Content Licensing">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ifixit.com/Info/Licensing |title=Content Licensing |access-date=17 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014195031/http://www.ifixit.com/Info/Licensing |archive-date=14 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> }} }} '''iFixit''' ({{IPAc-en|aɪ|ˈ|f|ɪ|k|s|ɪ|t}} {{Respell|eye|FIX|it}}<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWUZCpgn6Pw|title=IFixit Channel Trailer!|work=YouTube|date=March 29, 2018|access-date=7 July 2022}}</ref>) is an American e-commerce and how-to website that publishes free wiki-like online repair guides and tear-downs of consumer electronics and gadgets. It also sells repair parts, tools, and accessories. It is a private company in San Luis Obispo, California, founded in 2003, spurred by Kyle Wiens<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=https://twit.tv/shows/triangulation/episodes/373?autostart=false |title=Triangulation 373 Kyle Wiens, iFixit {{!}} TWiT.TV |website=TWiT.tv |language=en-US |access-date=2018-11-19 |archive-date=2018-11-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119173441/https://twit.tv/shows/triangulation/episodes/373?autostart=false |url-status=live }}</ref> not being able to locate an Apple iBook G3 repair manual<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=5 April 2017 |title=Meet the $21 Million Company That Thinks a New iPhone Is a Total Waste of Money |url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/201704/david-whitford/ifixit-repair-men.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405141932/https://www.inc.com/magazine/201704/david-whitford/ifixit-repair-men.html |archive-date=5 April 2017 |access-date=20 May 2018 |website=Inc.}}</ref> while the company's founders<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Wiens |first=Kyle |date=14 June 2013 |title=Fix Things, Never Force It: Lessons From Grandpa |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/06/fix-things-never-force-it-lessons-from-grandpa/276873/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617040532/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/06/fix-things-never-force-it-lessons-from-grandpa/276873/ |archive-date=17 June 2013 |access-date=20 May 2018 |website=The Atlantic}}</ref> were attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
== Business model == thumb|An iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit iFixit has released product tear-downs of new mobile and laptop devices which provide advertising for the company's parts and equipment sales.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cultofmac.com/how-ifixit-uses-teardowns-as-marketing-3-0/16731 |title=''How iFixit Uses Teardowns As Marketing 3.0'', by Leander Kahney, Cult of Mac Sep. 18, 2009, retrieved July 2, 2010 |access-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924010949/http://www.cultofmac.com/how-ifixit-uses-teardowns-as-marketing-3-0/16731 |archive-date=September 24, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> These tear-downs have been reviewed by ''PC World'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moren |first=Dan |date=February 19, 2009 |title=17-inch MacBook Pro Gets Torn to Pieces |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/159852/article.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221132629/http://www.pcworld.com/article/159852/17inch_macbook_pro_gets_torn_to_pieces.html |archive-date=21 February 2009 |access-date=20 May 2018 |website=PCWorld}}</ref> ''The Mac Observer'',<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.macobserver.com/article/2008/02/01.6.shtml |title=iFixit Shares MacBook Air Take Apart {{!}}{{!}} The Mac Observer |website=www.macobserver.com |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810174548/https://www.macobserver.com/article/2008/02/01.6.shtml |archive-date=10 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''NetworkWorld,''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Bob |date=30 September 2015 |title=Apple gives iFixit app the boot |url=https://www.networkworld.com/article/2988060/apple-gives-ifixit-app-the-boot.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327145739/https://www.networkworld.com/article/2988060/apple-gives-ifixit-app-the-boot.html |archive-date=27 March 2019 |access-date=3 October 2015 |website=Network World}}</ref> and other publications.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ifixit.com/Quotes |title=iFixit in the Press |access-date=15 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412012827/http://www.ifixit.com/Quotes |archive-date=12 April 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ifixit.com/Quotes |title=iFixit in the Press and Media |website=www.ifixit.com |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810174724/https://www.ifixit.com/Quotes |archive-date=10 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Co-founder Kyle Wiens<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://hbr.org/2012/07/i-wont-hire-people-who-use-poo |title=I Won't Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here's Why. |last=Wiens |first=Kyle |date=20 July 2012 |journal=Harvard Business Review |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222185529/https://hbr.org/2012/07/i-wont-hire-people-who-use-poo |archive-date=22 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> has said that he aims to reduce electronic waste by teaching people to repair their own gear,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/cooling-your-laptop-or-your-lap/ |title=Cooling Your Laptop, or Your Lap? |last=Taub |first=Eric A |date=20 July 2010 |website=The New York Times |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723160704/http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/cooling-your-laptop-or-your-lap/ |archive-date=23 July 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> and by offering tools, parts, and a forum to discuss repairs.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/technology/personaltech/23askk.html |title=Ways to Remove a Broken Plug |last=Biersdorfer |first=J. D. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 September 2010 |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723043357/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/technology/personaltech/23askk.html |archive-date=23 July 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2011, he travelled through Africa with a documentary team to meet a community of electronics technicians who repair and rebuild the world's discarded electronics.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wiens |first=Kyle |date=7 October 2011 |title=Why Fixers Will Save Our Planet |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/10/why-fixers-will-save-our-planet/246349/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119075346/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/10/why-fixers-will-save-our-planet/246349/ |archive-date=19 January 2012 |access-date=15 April 2012 |website=The Atlantic}}</ref>
iFixit provides a software as a service platform known as Dozuki to allow others to use iFixit's documentation framework to produce their own documentation. O'Reilly Media's ''Make'' and ''Craft'' magazines use Dozuki to feature community guides alongside instructions originally written by the staff for the print magazine.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foresman |first=Chris |date=2011-08-18 |title=Dozuki will drag service manuals kicking, screaming into 21st century |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2011/08/dozuki-will-drag-service-manuals-kicking-and-screaming-into-21st-century/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106223333/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2011/08/dozuki-will-drag-service-manuals-kicking-and-screaming-into-21st-century/ |archive-date=2023-01-06 |access-date=2023-01-06 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref>
On April 3, 2014, iFixit announced a partnership with Fairphone.<ref>''[http://createsend.ifixit.com/t/ViewEmail/r/9D0B6C9AEB46859C2540EF23F30FEDED iFixit and Fairphone – Fixing The Cell Phone Problem] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608214329/https://createsend.ifixit.com/t/ViewEmail/r/9D0B6C9AEB46859C2540EF23F30FEDED |date=2020-06-08 }}'', IFixit e-mail of April 3, 2014 (web version)</ref>
During the COVID-19 pandemic, iFixit and CALPIRG, the California arm of the Public Interest Research Group, worked with hospitals and medical research facilities to gather the largest known database of medical equipment manuals and repair guides to support the healthcare industry during the pandemic.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Goode |first=Lauren |date=May 19, 2020 |title=Right-to-Repair Groups Fire Shots at Medical Device Manufacturers |url=https://www.wired.com/story/right-to-repair-medical-equipment-ifixit/ |url-status=live |magazine=Wired |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520194454/https://www.wired.com/story/right-to-repair-medical-equipment-ifixit/ |archive-date=May 20, 2020 |access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>
In 2022, iFixit announced plans to open a new distribution center and office in Chattanooga, Tennessee.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Local 3 News staff |date=2022-07-19 |title=iFixit to open East Coast hub in Chattanooga, bringing 200 jobs |url=https://www.local3news.com/local-news/ifixit-to-open-east-coast-hub-in-chattanooga-bringing-200-jobs/article_e824e08e-076a-11ed-a994-e3b0ce0a3f5e.html |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=WRCB |language=en |archive-date=2024-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521154310/https://www.local3news.com/local-news/ifixit-to-open-east-coast-hub-in-chattanooga-bringing-200-jobs/article_e824e08e-076a-11ed-a994-e3b0ce0a3f5e.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Reception == In 2014, iFixit gave away 15,000 free liberation kits, created specifically for opening iPhones. Scott Dingle, a staff member at iFixit, wrote an article about the giveaway, explaining how they are fighting against Apple's corrupt practices and regaining their rights to repair.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-13 |title=We Just Gave Away 15,000 Liberation Kits |url=https://www.ifixit.com/News/6590/liberation-week |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=iFixit |language=en}}</ref> Scott Dingle made an interesting statement about iFixit's relationship with Apple;<blockquote>"We're not necessarily actively anti-Apple or anti-‘the Man,' it's more like, we train other people to do it themselves."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Times |first=Laura J. Nelson Los Angeles |title=IFixit Peers Inside the Latest Devices, Repairs Damaged Technology |url=https://www.theledger.com/story/business/2012/12/29/ifixit-peers-inside-the-latest-devices-repairs-damaged-technology/26758078007/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=The Ledger |language=en-US}}</ref></blockquote>In April 2019, it was revealed that some Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S devices contain a physical Easter egg reading "Hi iFixit! We See You!",<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Adi |date=2019-04-12 |title=Oculus says 'tens of thousands' of its new controllers include secret messages |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/12/18308132/facebook-oculus-touch-controllers-secret-messages-nate-mitchell-apology |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209012129/https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/12/18308132/facebook-oculus-touch-controllers-secret-messages-nate-mitchell-apology |archive-date=2021-02-09 |access-date=2021-05-02 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Oculus Rift S Repair Help: Learn How to Fix It Yourself. |url=https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Oculus_Rift_S |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=iFixit |language=en}}</ref> demonstrating that device manufacturers are aware of iFixit.
In September 2015, Apple removed the iFixit app from the App Store in reaction to the company's publication of a tear-down of a developer pre-release version of the Apple TV (4th generation) obtained under Apple's Developer Program violating a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement, and accordingly, their developer account was suspended.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2025-07-13 |title=iFixit App Pulled from Apple’s App Store |url=https://www.ifixit.com/News/7401/ifixit-app-pulled |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=iFixit |language=en}}</ref> In response, iFixit says it has worked on improving its mobile site for users to access its services through a mobile browser.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wiens |first=Kyle |date=2015-09-29 |title=iFixit App Pulled from Apple's App Store |url=https://www.ifixit.com/News/7401/ifixit-app-pulled |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106223601/https://www.ifixit.com/News/7401/ifixit-app-pulled |archive-date=2023-01-06 |access-date=2023-01-06 |website=iFixit |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5" />
In March 2022, Samsung announced that they would be collaborating with iFixit to provide a self-repair program and parts store for a range of their electronic devices.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Amadeo |first=Ron |date=2022-08-03 |title=Samsung and iFixit launch repair program for flagship phones and tablets |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/08/samsung-and-ifixit-launch-repair-program-for-flagship-phones-and-tablets/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106223330/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/08/samsung-and-ifixit-launch-repair-program-for-flagship-phones-and-tablets/ |archive-date=2023-01-06 |access-date=2023-01-06 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref> iFixit ended their collaboration with Samsung in May 2024, with co-founder Kyle Wiens saying "Samsung does not seem interested in enabling repair at scale."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hollister |first=Sean |date=2024-05-23 |title=iFixit is breaking up with Samsung |url=https://www.theverge.com/samsung/2024/5/23/24162135/ifixit-end-samsung-repair-parts-deal |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=The Verge |language=en |archive-date=2024-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523151416/https://www.theverge.com/samsung/2024/5/23/24162135/ifixit-end-samsung-repair-parts-deal |url-status=live }}</ref>
In April 2022, Google announced that they would be partnering with iFixit to provide replacement parts for their Pixel series of smartphones.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Amadeo |first=Ron |date=2022-06-30 |title=iFixit and Google launch official Pixel parts store |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/ifixit-and-google-launch-official-pixel-parts-store/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106223331/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/ifixit-and-google-launch-official-pixel-parts-store/ |archive-date=2023-01-06 |access-date=2023-01-06 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref>
In December 2024, Microsoft and its sub-company, Xbox, partnered with iFixit to provide guides and parts to its users. iFixit now sells and offers guides for Xbox Series X|S consoles and some Microsoft Surface devices.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-13 |title=iFixit Is Now Selling Official Xbox Parts! |url=https://www.ifixit.com/News/106775/ifixit-is-now-selling-official-xbox-parts |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=iFixit |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-13 |title=Microsoft Repair Hub US |url=https://www.ifixit.com/collaborations/microsoft |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=iFixit |language=en}}</ref>
== See also == * Consumer Rights Act 2015 *Do it yourself *Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act *Repair Café *Right to repair
== References == {{Reflist|1}}
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Category:Knowledge markets Category:Internet properties established in 2003 Category:Maintenance Category:DIY culture Category:Creative Commons-licensed websites