The research carried out by technology information website Electronics Hub aggregates average repair times and information about repair guide difficulty from iFixit to determine which smartphones are the easiest and most difficult to repair at home.
Based on this information, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is the third-easiest smartphone to repair after the Galaxy A40 (2019) and the Moto G7 released the same year as the A-series phone.
The Galaxy A40 has an average repair time of 32.6 minutes per fix, and 42.9% of repairs are easy. Likewise, the Galaxy S22 Ultra reaches an average repair time of 48.1 minutes per repair, and 33.3% of repairs are easy to perform.
Galaxy Note 10 is not a DIY-repair-friendly phone
Conversely, the hardest smartphone to repair is the Google Pixel 7 (2022), with an average home repair time of 60.3 minutes. It's followed by the Galaxy Note 10, which has an average repair time of 58.4 minutes. Both phones have repair instructions labeled difficult to follow, which earned them a rating of “100% hard repairs.”
The Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A72 are in a similar boat. Even though they had lower average repair times per fix than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, repairing these phones at home is not considered an easy task due to how difficult the repair steps can be.
Samsung phones released in 2022 are the easiest to repair at home
Based on DIY repair guides for smartphones released in recent years, the study shows that Samsung phones are among the easiest to repair. The top brand is Asus, followed by HTC, LG, Samsung, and Apple.
On the other hand, the most difficult-to-repair smartphones in recent years were made by Sony, Xiaomi, Huawei, OnePlus, and Honor.
Interestingly, the study also shows that Samsung was the top brand in terms of home repair friendliness in 2013 and 2014, after which it lost the lead to Google, Motorola, Apple, and even Xiaomi on occasion.
However, in 2022, Samsung once again became the most repairable smartphone brand in the world, beating Apple by a large margin. The study didn't include 2023 models, but there's a high probability of Samsung maintaining the lead this year, seeing how many of its 2023 phones — including the Galaxy S23 series — now come with battery pouches that greatly simplify battery replacements.
