Motorola bucks the trend – it wants repairable smartphones

Motorola

Motorola is a smartphone vendor that is actively trying to break the upgrade cycle. While that may seem a contradiction to the mantra to sell more, Motorola says its more concerned about customer satisfaction and long-term loyalty.

GadgetGuy reported last October that Motorola (a Lenovo company) had thrown its considerable bulk behind the ‘Right to Repair’ movement by pledging to supply iFixit with genuine OEM parts and the technology to make repairs to its phones.

Motorola is the only smartphone maker to join the movement!

 iFixit says the smartphone industry is undergoing a major quantum shift – people are now holding onto a smartphone for 2.83 years, up from 2.3 years two years earlier.

Now, Motorola has expanded this program to Europe to provide a better service experience to its customers across all 28 EU countries, as well as Norway and Switzerland.

Motorola

While consumers will still have the option to mail in their broken devices to Motorola’s repair centres, they can now find everything they need for a DIY fix in iFixit’s online store for Europe: high quality OEM parts, dedicated iFixit tools with a lifetime warranty, and a free step-by-step repair guide on iFixit.com, available in several languages.

Right to Repair – it is vital

First, it is about smartphone makers freely providing parts and diagnostic software or codes to legitimate repairers.

Second, it is about convenience. No matter where you are, you can select a repairer at a price and location that suits you.

Third, it is about extending the life of a perfectly adequate smartphone beyond the manufacturers planned obsolescence via battery replacement, replacing parts that tend to break (like micro-USB ports) and screens.

iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens said,

“Manufacturers are an important cog in the circular economy wheel, and this program helps to remove some of the longstanding barriers between manufacturers and independent repair. Providing consumers with spare parts and tools to repair their devices is one of the most significant steps a company can take to reduce the environmental impact of electronics production.”

Motorola

You can read more about the new program here.

Well done Motorola. GadgetGuy regularly covers Motorola.

Motorola