IFixit: Difference between revisions

▲{{Infobox website

▲'''iFixit''' is an American [[e-commerce]] and how-to website which sells repair parts and publishes free [[wiki]]-like online repair guides for [[consumer electronics]] and gadgets. The company also performs [[product teardown]]s of consumer devices. It is a private company in [[San Luis Obispo]], [[California]]. The company was founded in 2003, as a result of Kyle Wiens<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://twit.tv/shows/triangulation/episodes/373?autostart=false |title=Triangulation 373 Kyle Wiens, iFixit {{!}} TWiT.TV |website=TWiT.tv |language=en-US |access-date=2018-11-19}}</ref> not being able to locate an [[Apple iBook G3]] repair manual<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/201704/david-whitford/ifixit-repair-men.html |title=Meet the $21 Million Company That Thinks a New iPhone Is a Total Waste of Money |date=5 April 2017 |website=inc.com |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405141932/https://www.inc.com/magazine/201704/david-whitford/ifixit-repair-men.html |archive-date=5 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> while the founders<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/06/fix-things-never-force-it-lessons-from-grandpa/276873/ |title=Fix Things, Never Force It: Lessons From Grandpa |last=Wiens |first=Kyle |website=theatlantic.com |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617040532/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/06/fix-things-never-force-it-lessons-from-grandpa/276873/ |archive-date=17 June 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> were attending [[California Polytechnic State University|Cal Poly]].

▲== Business Model ==

▲[[File:IFixit Pro Tech Toolkit (43563950540).png|thumb|An iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit.]]

▲iFixit has released product teardowns of new mobile and laptop devices, which provides advertising for the company's parts and equipment sales.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cultofmac.com/how-ifixit-uses-teardowns-as-marketing-3-0/16731 |title=''How iFixit Uses Teardowns As Marketing 3.0'', by Leander Kahney, Cult of Mac Sep. 18, 2009, retrieved July 2, 2010 |access-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924010949/http://www.cultofmac.com/how-ifixit-uses-teardowns-as-marketing-3-0/16731 |archive-date=September 24, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> These teardowns have been covered by ''[[PC World]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/159852/article.html |title=17-inch MacBook Pro Gets Torn to Pieces |website=PCWorld |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221132629/http://www.pcworld.com/article/159852/17inch_macbook_pro_gets_torn_to_pieces.html |archive-date=21 February 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[The Mac Observer]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.macobserver.com/article/2008/02/01.6.shtml |title=iFixit Shares MacBook Air Take Apart {{!}}{{!}} The Mac Observer |website=www.macobserver.com |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810174548/https://www.macobserver.com/article/2008/02/01.6.shtml |archive-date=10 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[NetworkWorld]]''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url = https://www.networkworld.com/article/2988060/apple-gives-ifixit-app-the-boot.html |title=Apple gives iFixit app the boot |last=Brown |first=Bob |date=30 September 2015 |website=Network World |access-date=3 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002234004/http://www.networkworld.com/article/2988060/smartphones/apple-gives-ifixit-app-the-boot.html |archive-date=2 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and other publications.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ifixit.com/Quotes |title=iFixit in the Press |access-date=15 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412012827/http://www.ifixit.com/Quotes |archive-date=12 April 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ifixit.com/Quotes |title=iFixit in the Press and Media |website=www.ifixit.com |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810174724/https://www.ifixit.com/Quotes |archive-date=10 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

▲Co-founder Kyle Wiens<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hbr.org/2012/07/i-wont-hire-people-who-use-poo |title=I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why. |last=Wiens |first=Kyle |date=20 July 2012 |website=hbr.org |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222185529/https://hbr.org/2012/07/i-wont-hire-people-who-use-poo |archive-date=22 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> has said that he aims to reduce electronic waste by teaching people to repair their own gear,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/cooling-your-laptop-or-your-lap/ |title=Cooling Your Laptop, or Your Lap? |last=Taub |first=Eric A |date=20 July 2010 |website=nytimes.com |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723160704/http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/cooling-your-laptop-or-your-lap/ |archive-date=23 July 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> and by offering tools, parts, and a forum to discuss repairs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/technology/personaltech/23askk.html |title=Ways to Remove a Broken Plug |last=Biersdorfer |first=J. D. |date=22 September 2010 |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723043357/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/technology/personaltech/23askk.html |archive-date=23 July 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2011, he travelled through Africa with a documentary team to meet a community of electronics technicians who fix and remake the world's discarded electronics.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wiens|first=Kyle|title=Why Fixers Will Save Our Planet|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/10/why-fixers-will-save-our-planet/246349/|publisher=The Atlantic|access-date=15 April 2012}}</ref>

▲iFixit provides a [[software as a service]] platform known as Dozuki to allow others to use iFixit's documentation framework to produce their own documentation. [[O'Reilly Media]]'s ''[[Make (magazine)|Make]]'' and ''[[Craft (American magazine)|Craft]]'' magazines use Dozuki to feature community guides alongside instructions originally written by the staff for the print magazine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Make: Projects |url=http://makeprojects.com/ |access-date=15 April 2012}}</ref>{{Failed verification |date=February 2018}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://makeprojects.com/ |title=Home - Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers |website=Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers |access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref>

▲On April 3, 2014 iFixit announced a partnership with [[Fairphone]].<ref>''[http://createsend.ifixit.com/t/ViewEmail/r/9D0B6C9AEB46859C2540EF23F30FEDED iFixit and Fairphone – Fixing The Cell Phone Problem]'', IFixit e-mail of April 3, 2014 (web version)</ref>

▲During the 2020 [[COVID-19 pandemic]], iFixit and CALPIRG, the California arm of the [[Public Interest Research Group]], worked with hospitals and medical research facilities to gather the largest known database of medical equipment manuals and repair guides to help support the health industry during the pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wired.com/story/right-to-repair-medical-equipment-ifixit/ |title=Right-to-Repair Groups Fire Shots at Medical Device Manufacturers |first=Lauren |last=Goode |date=May 19, 2020 |access-date=May 21, 2020 |work=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref>