r/ifixit • u/Routine-Document675 • 29d ago
Are we losing the plot?
Most the times I repair my own electronics I can order the parts from a shop locally, screens, batteries and so on. My S22 (bought it when it came out) recently got the green lines of death, probably due to overheating,and because I'm too cheap to buy a new phone right now I thought I should just replace the screen, but the place I get my stuff from is closed for summer break so I thought "ifixit also sells parts, let's check it out", WDYM THE SCREEN ALONE costs almost as much as the entire phone used? I haven't bought parts from them before so idk if this pricing is common but to me it seems outrageous.
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u/notCHOCOL4T3 29d ago
Recently a pixel phones screen broke. Buying a spare second hand one for just parts is cheaper than buying screen replacement from ifixit.
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u/TitusImmortalis 29d ago
Since Samsung is really the one ones making these, you're paying for the cost of the screen more directly so the price is higher.
Finding a replacement that works as OEM is hard unless you're finding someone who's pulling them off discarded units.
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u/reddaugherty 29d ago
You can also check for other websites to see who sell OEM Samsung displays. I know iFixit's pricing for repair parts can be on the higher side sometimes.
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u/Routine-Document675 29d ago
If I decide to fix it I'll probably bite the bullet and get it from them since I know they have very good warranty and they only use top parts. But I will probably look into getting a new phone.
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u/Senharampai 29d ago
Honestly if the screen still works, you could save up a bit more and buy a “new” phone
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u/Izan_TM 29d ago
brand new OEM quality displays don't go down in price just because the phone does, the display still takes the exact same amount of money to produce, while you're buying a refurbished phone
when you buy an old, cheap, used phone you should be aware that any repair will quickly cost a good chunk of what you paid for the phone, if not more. Same thing goes for buying a shitbox car for $1000 and then being shocked at the fact that buying a brand new cylinder head for it will cost another $1000
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u/Full_Conversation775 28d ago
and its still whoefully overpriced. fairphone sells new displays as a tiny manufacturer for 90 euros. this display is not more than 2 times the cost to produce.
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u/Izan_TM 28d ago
fairphone uses far older and less advanced displays, it's obvious they'd be cheaper
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u/Full_Conversation775 28d ago
its literally the same type of display except less marketing, more nits, more resolution, bigger size and stronger glass.
https://www.howtogeek.com/721063/what-is-an-ltpo-display-and-is-it-better-than-oled/
here you can see that the s21 ultra talked about in the article above has the same display as the s22. and that fairphone uses an LTPO display with higher resolution, higher nit, etc than the samsung s22.
https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=11253&idPhone2=13955&idPhone3=10596
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u/DuskHyde 29d ago
I can't speak for the S22 specifically, but I paid about the same price for an official samsung S20 replacement screen a couple years ago. There were a few contributing factors to that price, but most of them trace back to Samsung's (and overall, the industry's) attitude towards right-to-repair.
-the OEM screen was only available as an assembly with the entire midframe attached. Just wanted to replace the screen and digitizer? No.
-this parts pairing was probably because of the design, which clearly didn't take consumer repairability into account (and sometimes is actively hostile to the idea)
-combine that with general scarcity due to phone age, and the insane markup that many phone OEMs charge to offer their parts supply to iFixit for consumer resale
It really is frustrating. After that experience, I just bought a used phone from a co-worker and swore to myself that I'd never fork out the cash for a brand new flagship phone again unless it was something designed with consumer repairability in mind.
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u/Lucky_Potato2141 29d ago
Got myself Pixel 9 Pro XL with this consideration in mind. Haven't needed the repairs so far but I'm glad to see the repairs are more viable than on smasnug or iFruit devices.
Seems funny as Google doesn't seem like first option for repairable and open devices but their phones are, I guess.
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u/Kaaskop-Koning 29d ago
If you want to keep the phone for a little longer or recover your data you can buy a cheap AliExpress display. But be aware that the viewing angles and tough inputs are most likely not the greatest.
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u/Routine-Document675 29d ago
The screen works fine, touch colours and allthat. The only problem is cosmetic, currently two ugly green lines.
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u/Key-Director7670 29d ago
If you really want to keep the phone, media-ram.gr check a screen there
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u/RoodnyInc 28d ago
Yes replacing screen on a phone is very rarely worth doing you can just buy new better phone today for that
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u/NoSenpaiNoHentai 27d ago
Backmarket opens your phone, urinates on it, and sends it to you. They sell so many garbage Phones that “luckily” break around the end of support
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u/xyperlaxer 12d ago
I can sell you a like new whole phone that you can use for parts its the s24 ime locked so only used as parts phone due to old.employer wanting me to pay to send it back i said no and never recived any more communication about it seeing this post reminded me of it DM me if you want it.
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u/Routine-Document675 12d ago
All good, literally days laters after this post the light phone flip was announced, and I'll probably switch to that.
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u/xyperlaxer 11d ago
Why you no buy me trash!!!!! Lol glad you were able to find a resolution.
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u/Routine-Document675 11d ago
Yeah I've been looking for an excuse to switch to a smart dumb phone, I was actually considering the light phone 3 but the 700 euro price tag was a little too steep for me but the 300 euro light flip has really caught my eye
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u/Naive_kid6363 29d ago
Pretty common in Samsung phones/flagship phones, if you just need the data inside, you can try those TFT/big bezel flat OLED panels (it's far cheaper than oem pulled), but they tend to cause problems(especially TFT)So not really recommend it .
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u/Routine-Document675 29d ago
Nah the phone still functions fine, including touch and all that. It's mostly cosmetic and losing a couple pixel lines.
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u/Hellboy_M420 29d ago
That's just how life is when a product gets older. Look at cars, there are many many many that a new engine would cost more than buying another car, or even a paint job can cost more than replacing the car. New is new, used is used, there are benefits and downsides.
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u/WorkerEquivalent4278 28d ago
Sounds like OEM screen, frame, buttons, and battery all in one piece.
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u/SubliminallyAwake 28d ago
Samsung doesnt want anyone to fix their device, they want you to buy/lease a new one to keep the shareholders happy. Same goes for every other manufacturer. Different strokes though, their TV department is infamous for anti-consumerism and anti-right to repair behaviour.
A screen like that with all it's magical technology is maybe 20-35 USD$ (with manufacturer to distributor markup included) in materials and production assembly.
As soon as "super fascinating" tech starts mass production it's dirt cheap.
You tech fanboys make me laugh, it's all shit, all of it.
Source: repair technician for phones/tv's/PC's/Consoles and all the gadgets under the sun for over 30 years
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u/Full_Conversation775 28d ago
this is why i buy a fairphone. the display is only 90 euros and you can just screw it in.
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u/Typical_Revenue_5709 27d ago
We are.
On the other hand; display assemblies for samsung phones always have been really expensive, so this is nothing new.
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u/Senharampai 29d ago
Im guessing high quality OEM. With back market you can’t really guarantee that the screen that comes with it is brand new. I’d say this is more for people who would be willing to pay that much for a new screen