Samsung has finally launched its self-repair program in the UK and Europe, which means owners of some Galaxy-branded phones and laptops can get replacement parts to fix their compatible tech.
The program arrived in the US last year, which we tried on a broken Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra with mixed results. And now similar self-repair kits have been made available in the UK and many European countries, including Belgium, France, Italy and Spain.
Which Samsung products are supported? If you own a busted Samsung Galaxy S20, S21 or S22 phone, you're in luck. You'll be able to replace the phone's screen, back glass and charging ports under the program, for varying prices (see the table further down).
There are even more parts available for the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360. On both of those laptops, you'll be able to fix the front case, rear case, display, battery, touchpad, power key (with fingerprint reader) and rubber feet under Samsung's self-repair program.
The benefit of the scheme is that you get both the genuine parts needed for the repair, plus the instructions needed to carry it out. Samsung says you'll also be able to keep all repair tools, so you can tinker away again in future (as long as you're aware of the risks).
Those risks include the fact that Samsung says it isn't "liable for any damage to the product, any injury, or any other product safety issue caused by a repair which does not follow the instructions in these Repair Guides". Any damage you cause to the product in "an attempted repair" also isn't covered by your warranty – and Samsung says you also shouldn't attempt any repairs if your product has a swollen battery.
How much does a self-repair cost? The pricing for each replacement part varies by the device, but the basic self-repair tools cost £24.80, while a new display (with battery) for a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra can cost as much as £268.50. Unlike in the US, where Samsung partners with iFixit, Samsung says it's instead working with the German parts distributors ASWO in Europe. You can get an idea of the pricing at Samsung's spare parts store.
Fix and match
Samsung says you'll be able to get more info about its Self-Repair program "from the end of June" at its UK website, but you can get a rough idea of the pricing from Samsung's spare parts store.
The pricing below is roughly in line with the cost of Samsung's self-repair program in the US. Over there, a charging port replacement costs $66.99 (around £52), while back glass kits will set you back $76.99 (about £60). Naturally, replacing a phone's display is the most expensive repair, though still significantly cheaper than buying a new phone.
Unfortunately, the Samsung Galaxy S23 and Galaxy Tablets aren't included in this first of self-repair devices, but Samsung has said that's it's "committed to expanding its Self-Repair programme in the near future to include more devices, repair tools, manuals and markets".
Whether or not these ultimately include foldables like the rumored Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is unclear, as these are obviously significantly more complex to repair and fix. But it's still good to see Samsung join Apple and Google in offering self-repair options for its phones.
