Can you repair it? Two reviews that look past the box

A laptop review with the next few years in mind

Betty Van reviews an everyday laptop by first using it for writing, a video call and a photo folder. The keyboard suits her and the camera is adequate for calls. Then she checks what happens if a part stops doing its job: she finds the model’s service guide and looks for a replacement keyboard and storage drive. The guide shows the drive as a separate part, but the keyboard replacement involves the whole upper assembly.

Her review does not end at a list of parts. Betty replaces the drive in the review unit, puts the machine back together and opens the same photo folder and document again. They work as before. She likes having a route to more storage later, while the larger keyboard assembly makes that potential repair a more involved decision. Both parts are available at the time of her review, but the keyboard assembly costs substantially more than the drive. She recommends the laptop to someone who values a documented storage upgrade and can accept the more expensive keyboard repair.

iFixit describes repairability as more than opening a device: its assessment also considers access to instructions and replacement parts. Those details matter when a component fails years after the original purchase.

References: iFixit

A phone repair, tried twice

iJustine puts two phones marketed as repairable through the same test: each has a faulty loudspeaker, and she attempts to replace that part. Before opening either phone she checks the matching instructions and replacement speaker. On the first, the speaker can be reached after opening the back and removing its cover; she replaces it, reassembles the phone and plays the same voice recording used before the repair. It is clear again.

The second phone takes more work: its guide requires removing the display assembly to reach the speaker, and she has to keep track of more small parts. She completes the replacement and the same recording plays clearly, but the extra handling makes the second repair less appealing to her. Both attempts show an outcome; the comparison also shows why a repairable label alone does not tell a buyer what the job involves.

Pulenaz checks the purchase, not just the promise

Pulenaz is considering a laptop for writing and calls. After her own older machine needed battery service, she compares two models before buying: one has a repair guide and a separately listed replacement battery; for the other she can find a guide but no battery offered separately. She asks a repair shop for a quote for each route and checks that both laptops can run the programs she needs.

She chooses the first because the documented battery route fits her wish to keep it in use, even though it costs more at purchase. Betty’s review helps her ask what the work involves; iJustine’s phone test shows why reaching a part and restoring the device to use are more informative than a promise on the box.

Sources and attribution

1. iFixit

   How iFixit Scores RepairabilityPublished May 18, 2023 · Recorded Oct 30, 2026