You Can Finally Fix Your Damn Pixel

You can babysit your new phone all you want, but sometimes the crap just breaks. Case or no, screen protector or not, one bad fall means the death of your pixel. Traditionally, a broken phone should be taken to a repair shop or the company that made it. But like more and more companies, slowly but surely, Google is now backing your decision to fix your phone yourself.

Google now lets you fix your own pixel

Back in April , Google announced its plans to offer genuine Pixel parts to customers so that everyone can get their Pixel phones fixed. Google chose iFixit as their partner in this Pixel self-healing program, which was a good choice. iFixit specializes in both parts sales and detailed step-by-step repair guides for your own appliances, so they make a good all-in-one package for a company like Google to collaborate with. While Google hasn’t officially endorsed the walkthroughs, iFixit is well respected.

Do-it-yourself repair has many advantages. First, you’re in control: you don’t hand your phone over to someone else hoping they don’t abuse the data inside. Of course, the risk is low there, so the more immediate benefit is the cost. As with everything in life, when you only pay for parts and not labor, you save a lot of money.

This has been a sticking point for some time now and is the backbone of the Right to Repair movement. Tech companies would prefer that you not repair your devices yourself, and would hardly prefer that you take them to a third-party repair shop. Instead, they would like you to return the device directly to them, where they can charge you to repair it, or tell you that the repair is simply not worth the cost, so you are buying a completely new device. Some, like Apple, have even tried to penalize users for using non-genuine parts by forcing users to take third-party repair shops to get the repairs done properly.

However, like Google, Apple has also relented , offering customers an official way to fix their own stuff last year. However, unlike Google, Apple’s system is confusing, expensive, and generally not worth it. It is often better to use iFixit than the Apple program to repair Apple devices.

How to fix a Pixel using Google’s repair program

But back to repairing your Pixel: the program supports parts from Pixel 2 to Pixel 7, but I guess we’ll see parts for the new Pixel 7a (and possibly the Pixel Fold) soon. iFixit also has parts for older Google devices, like the OG Pixel screen and Pixel XL charging box, but they’re not officially covered by the program.

To get started, go to the official iFixit Pixel repair page , then choose whether to buy individual parts or repair kits . Repair kits include everything you need to fix a specific problem such as screen replacement, battery replacement, or camera repair. Let’s say you want to fix your Pixel 7 Pro display. The part is available for purchase here , as is the associated display repair manual . It shows you how to use all the tools needed to complete the repair, as well as the duration of the repair and the level of difficulty. In this case, it will take 30-40 minutes and be moderately difficult.

Youtuber Hugh Jeffries followed the program to fix this Pixel 7 Pro and you can see the results in the video below:

Of course, not all of us want to repair our own devices, preferring to outsource this work to someone who knows exactly what they are doing. This is especially wise when it comes to replacing batteries, but even screen repairs are intimidating. Google is also partnering with uBreakiFix to supply original parts and train repair technicians, so it’s worth checking out one of these stores. However, don’t forget: It’s always worth getting a second opinion on maintenance , so don’t accept the first offer you get.