Samsung is making DIY fixes easier for some of its TVs

Samsung is making parts and repair guides available for a bunch more of its devices, including three sizes of this year’s The Frame TV and both of its flagship foldable phones. The company says that for many of the TV and other display repairs, you’ll only need simple tools like a screwdriver to make a fix happen.

Samsung says DIYers will be able to replace “parts related to picture, power, WiFi connection, [and] sound” for various display types. Users can also buy repair guides and parts for some of the company’s 2023 soundbars. Samsung even says all it takes to do any of these repairs are “common tools like a Phillips-head screwdriver.” (From experience, I urge you to be careful popping the bezel off the TV. The “TAB” connections from the motherboard to the display are fragile and not worth trying to replace.)

Samsung’s partner in today’s announcement, Encompass Supply Chain Solutions, has long distributed parts for the company. Besides Encompass, Samsung partnered with DIY repair veterans iFixit for the program in 2022, and last month, the company announced iFixit would start carrying foldable parts in December, though it doesn’t seem to have them listed yet. Encompass does, although CEO Robert Coolidge told The Verge via email the parts for foldable phones “are expected to be available at the end of next week.” We reached out to iFixit to find out when it expects the parts to be available.

At the moment, Encompass offers parts for 2023-model displays, soundbars, and TVs, along with the Freestyle Gen 2 projector. TVs include three models of The Frame, four M-series smart monitors, two of the company’s curved monitors, and the ViewFinity S9. It’s also stocking Galaxy products, including phones from the S20 up (including the S23 FE), Galaxy Tabs S7 Plus and S9, and the Galaxy Book and Book 2 (15-inch standard models, 13- and- 15-inch 360 versions).

Right-to-repair advocates like iFixit have been demanding more repairable tech for years, and for a long time, companies resisted. Now, as legislative victories have mounted, companies like Samsung, Apple, and Google have made more of an effort to offer parts and guidance for DIY repair.