When iPhones first came on the market, customers could only get their devices fixed at an actual Apple store. Now that the phones have become ubiquitous, phone repair store have popped up on nearly every block and in every mall, providing owners with a plethora of options and prices when it comes to seeking repairs for their devices. But a new report shows that Apple and other tech manufacturers and organizations are fighting against these choices, pushing to eliminate state legislation that aims to make it easier for anyone to repair electronics. [More]
repair
Flaw In iPhone 6 Can Reportedly Render Some Devices Unusable
By 8.24.16
If you’ve ever owned, borrowed, or simply looked at an iPhone, then you know the device works by responding to the user’s touch. Except when it doesn’t. And that’s apparently happening more and more for some iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners thanks in part to a flaw that can render the devices useless — or simply a $300 flat brick. [More]
In Wake Of Additional Deaths, NHTSA Being Pushed To Reopen Jeep Investigation
By 2.19.16
Three years after Fiat Chrysler and federal regulators agreed to a recall to fix more than 1.56 million Jeep SUVs that could catch fire in the event of a rear-end crash, safety advocates are calling on the government to reopen an investigation into the alleged defect, claiming that an additional 11 fatalities, possibly more, have occurred since that recall was initiated. [More]
iFixit Declares iPhone 6 Most Repairable iPhone Ever, Which Isn’t Saying Much
By 10.1.14
You can save money and extend the useful life of your out-of-warranty gadgets by repairing them yourself, but should you? iFixit, provider of free repair guides and seller of parts and tools, buys the latest devices and tears them apart, assigning them a “repairability score.” They report that some design changes make the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus the most repairable iPhones ever. [More]
Walmart: Sorry Your Glasses Got Scratched During Repair, But It’s Not Our Problem
By 7.26.13
Ronald’s wife needed to get her glasses repaired, so she took them to Walmart. Walmart is convenient and has an optical department, after all. Even though she just came in to have a screw replaced, she left with a large scratch on her glasses. Unfortunately for her, the store manager insists that they’re not responsible for any damage that might happen to your glasses while they’re being fixed. [More]
Time Doesn’t Really Fly When Repair Shop Keeps Your Clock For More Than 22 Years
By 2.27.13
We’ve heard some horror stories about customer service here at Consumerist HQ, but the examples coming from customers of a clock shop in New York are totally taking the cake. One woman dropped off her timepiece for repairs 22 years ago… and hasn’t seen it since.
Apple Announces iMac Hard Drive Replacement Program, Runs Out Of Hard Drive
By 10.25.12
Apple has recalled Carla’s iMac. Specifically, the hard drive, which was made by Seagate, and has has a record of failing more than a hard drive should. Customers were told to bring their computers in so that Apple could swap the hard drive for a nice new one. Carla made her appointment as instructed, but when she got to the store, learned that the replacement hard drives were out of stock and they’d have to hold on to her computer for a week while waiting for them to restock. [More]
LG Rep: Washers And Dryers Are Not Meant To Last
By 8.29.12
Morgan called up LG looking for a part for his dryer. He had learned that he wouldn’t be able to get the appliance repaired. That was disappointing, because he paid $1,000 for it only seven years ago. He was already frustrated enough when an LG customer service rep said the words that prompted him to write to Consumerist. [More]
HP's Repair Depot Fixes The Wrong Problem, Charges Me Extra $200
By 8.16.12
Dheeraj hasn’t owned his HP Envy ultrabook for very long: barely a year and a half. But the computer, with an upgraded display and purchased for photo and video editing projects, began having overheating and video problems early on. He accepted that gaming on the computer wasn’t going to happen, but sent it in for repair once the other problems became unbearable. After a lengthy stay in the HP Hospital, the computer came back with a new, inferior display and the top panel repaired at a cost of $200. Which is nice and all, but neither of these were the reason why Dheeraj had sent the computer in. And it still had all of the original problems. [More]
My Dell Touchscreen Computer Keeps Touching Itself
By 8.2.12
Travis is heading to college in a few weeks. That’s very exciting, but he’s nervous that he’ll be heading to school with no computer or no working computer. He got a new laptop at the beginning of the year, and it’s no longer working all that well. The touchscreen keeps touching itself, moving the pointer to random points on the screen and disrupting whatever he’s doing. A Dell technician came to his house, didn’t fix the problem, and broke his headphone port. A second tech didn’t help all that much, and now it’s at Dell’s repair depot, still not getting the touchscreen fixed. What should he do? [More]
Fixing Your Own Electronics Is Fun And Almost Easy
By 4.27.12
Last year, I bought a used iPhone 3Gs that is now well out of warranty. Not a big deal. Only the battery didn’t stay charged all day anymore, and I wondered whether it was time for a new phone, even though mine is otherwise in great shape. Too bad I couldn’t just order a new battery online and snap it in like with previous phones. Except…I could. I just needed a tiny screwdriver, a few other tools, step-by-step instructions, and a lot of patience. [More]
When Should My Appliance Service Agreement Actually Begin?
By 9.16.11
When should a new warranty begin? Reader ournextcontestant wonders this after purchasing a service agreement from Sears for a broken dishwasher. The new warranty begins on the day it was purchased, and not on the day that the appliance is put back in working order. Ournextcontestant doesn’t like this, believing that Sears is robbing him of valuable days of the warranty. Maybe weeks or months of the warranty, considering how long it takes Sears to actually fix things. [More]
Rolex Mails Precious Inherited Watch To Wrong House, Never To Be Seen Again
By 5.31.11
When Ali’s father passed away last year, one thing that he inherited was a Rolex watch. Ali wanted to wear the watch in memory of his father, but it hadn’t run in years. He writes that he sent the watch off to Rolex for a repair estimate, but found a less expensive repair option and asked for the watch back. Having moved in the interim, he double-checked with Rolex to make sure that they would send the watch to his new address. They promised that they would, then promptly mailed it to his old address. The watch disappeared. [More]
Take Your Jewelry To Kay For Repairs If You Never Want To See It Again
By 4.26.11
Consumerist readers may fault Michelle for patronizing a chain jewelry store, but she and her family have a solid relationship with their local Kay Jewelers store. Such a solid relationship, in fact, that when her boyfriend’s pocket watch needed repairs, she brought it back to the store in her hometown when it needed repairs. This turned out to be a mistake: she would have done just as well putting the watch under her mattress. [More]
Why Does Digital Camera Repair Cost More Than Just Buying A New One?
By 10.14.10
Dan writes that he was very happy with his Panasonic camera, a point-and-shoot with a nice zoom lens. He would have been happy to pay $100 to get it back in working order and avoid buying a new one. Alas, this was not to be. Since a special part needed to be ordered from Japan, Panasonic wanted $488 to repair a camera that originally cost $300. Dan is better off buying a new camera–which won’t be a Panasonic. [More]
Canon Fixes 5 Year Old Camera For Free
By 7.30.10
There was a defect with CCD chips on Rob’s camera, so Canon fixed it for free. Rob would just like us to let people know that he had a great experience with Canon. [More]
Sears Has Your Mower And Doesn't Feel Like Answering The Phone
By 7.22.10
Jeff Pearlman is a columnist for SportsIllustrated.com, and his lawn probably looks like crap because Sears has had his mower for five weeks. Do they ever intend to return it? It’s hard to know for sure, because they won’t answer the phone. [More]
Panasonic: If We Had Actually Helped When You Called For Support, Your TV Would Be Under Warranty
By 6.17.10
James has a sweet Panasonic 42″ plasma screen TV. He writes that the device has an exciting new feature: it now refuses to turn on. Back in January, he called Panasonic support, who were able to help him unplug and reset the TV a few times. That helped, but it broke for good back in May. Now Panasonic says that his warranty is up, but they totally could have helped him if the set had broken closer to the end of this one-year warranty. Say, two months after the warranty ended in November 2009. Also known as January–when he originally called Panasonic about the problem. [More]
