IFixit

Business model

iFixit has released product tear-downs of new mobile and laptop devices which provide advertising for the company's parts and equipment sales. These tear-downs have been reviewed by PC World, The Mac Observer, NetworkWorld, and other publications.

Co-founder Kyle Wiens has said that he aims to reduce electronic waste by teaching people to repair their own gear, and by offering tools, parts, and a forum to discuss repairs. 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.

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.

On April 3, 2014, iFixit announced a partnership with Fairphone.

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.

In 2022, iFixit announced plans to open a new distribution center and office in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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. Scott Dingle made an interesting statement about iFixit's relationship with Apple;"We're not necessarily actively anti-Apple or anti-‘the Man,' it's more like, we train other people to do it themselves."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!", 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. In response, iFixit says it has worked on improving its mobile site for users to access its services through a mobile browser.

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. 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."

In April 2022, Google announced that they would be partnering with iFixit to provide replacement parts for their Pixel series of smartphones.

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.

References

References

1. Wiens, Kyle. "Kyle Wiens".
2. "Leaderboard".
3. "Content Licensing".
4. (March 29, 2018). "IFixit Channel Trailer!". YouTube.
5. "Triangulation 373 Kyle Wiens, iFixit {{!}} TWiT.TV".
6. (5 April 2017). "Meet the $21 Million Company That Thinks a New iPhone Is a Total Waste of Money".
7. Wiens, Kyle. (14 June 2013). "Fix Things, Never Force It: Lessons From Grandpa".
8. "''How iFixit Uses Teardowns As Marketing 3.0'', by Leander Kahney, Cult of Mac Sep. 18, 2009, retrieved July 2, 2010".
9. Moren, Dan. (February 19, 2009). "17-inch MacBook Pro Gets Torn to Pieces".
10. "iFixit Shares MacBook Air Take Apart {{!}}{{!}} The Mac Observer".
11. Brown, Bob. (30 September 2015). "Apple gives iFixit app the boot".
12. "iFixit in the Press".
13. "iFixit in the Press and Media".
14. Wiens, Kyle. (20 July 2012). "I Won't Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here's Why.". Harvard Business Review.
15. Taub, Eric A. (20 July 2010). "Cooling Your Laptop, or Your Lap?".
16. Biersdorfer, J. D.. (22 September 2010). "Ways to Remove a Broken Plug". The New York Times.
17. Wiens, Kyle. (7 October 2011). "Why Fixers Will Save Our Planet".
18. Foresman, Chris. (2011-08-18). "Dozuki will drag service manuals kicking, screaming into 21st century".
19. ''[http://createsend.ifixit.com/t/ViewEmail/r/9D0B6C9AEB46859C2540EF23F30FEDED iFixit and Fairphone – Fixing The Cell Phone Problem] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-06-08 '', IFixit e-mail of April 3, 2014 (web version))
20. Goode, Lauren. (May 19, 2020). "Right-to-Repair Groups Fire Shots at Medical Device Manufacturers".
21. Local 3 News staff. (2022-07-19). "iFixit to open East Coast hub in Chattanooga, bringing 200 jobs".
22. (2025-07-13). "We Just Gave Away 15,000 Liberation Kits".
23. Times, Laura J. Nelson Los Angeles. "IFixit Peers Inside the Latest Devices, Repairs Damaged Technology".
24. Robertson, Adi. (2019-04-12). "Oculus says 'tens of thousands' of its new controllers include secret messages".
25. "Oculus Rift S Repair Help: Learn How to Fix It Yourself.".
26. (2025-07-13). "iFixit App Pulled from Apple’s App Store".
27. Wiens, Kyle. (2015-09-29). "iFixit App Pulled from Apple's App Store".
28. Amadeo, Ron. (2022-08-03). "Samsung and iFixit launch repair program for flagship phones and tablets".
29. Hollister, Sean. (2024-05-23). "iFixit is breaking up with Samsung".
30. Amadeo, Ron. (2022-06-30). "iFixit and Google launch official Pixel parts store".
31. (2025-07-13). "iFixit Is Now Selling Official Xbox Parts!".
32. (2025-07-13). "Microsoft Repair Hub US".