You should be able to crack open that smartphone, swap out a faulty chip, and put it back together.
You should be able to, but — even if you want to — you probably can’t, thanks to the way most consumer electronics are manufactured.
Unlike the cars and appliances of a previous generation, gadgets are not made to be repaired by their owners. They’re mostly designed to be used, abused and then disposed of. They’re sealed into their plastic and metal cases with glue, Torx screws and carefully-machined joints.
If you need a repair or want to make an upgrade, you’re entirely dependent on the manufacturer.
And that’s just not right, says iFixit, which posted its “Self-Repair Manifesto” this week. It’s a call to arms for shade-tree tinkerers, hackers and modders, and anyone who feels that the throwaway approach to making and disposing of gadgets is a travesty. (Not to mention a global injustice, if you look at the places where old gadgets go to die, as iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens did.)
IFixit is offering the manifesto as a downloadable image (part of which is shown above), and you can also ask the company to send you a free poster. We’ve already got one hanging in the Gadget Lab.
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