its painfull to hear how evil some corporations are when it comes to parts supplys, i have the same problem here in Argentina whith spare parts, for notebooks , phones , pcs , tools and even air conditioners. anyway hope you could find a way to keep goow Good luch " The Greates Technitian That Ever Lived"
Been building computers since the late 80s, and been A+ certified for so long it's grandfathered in as lifetime. Proprietary crap has always been the bane of being a technician, big shop or small. Glad there are some brands making an effort at standardization and part availability like Framework, but the big makers always want that repair money.
@@SalemTechspertsain't it called - corruption? In EU more common thing to get politician or his party in bad light on next election or even start big law stuff on them. Tho not working with auto industry lobbying😢
The problem of right to repair is that it infringe on your right of ownership. Not talking about garbage parts, but imagine buying a car and have to change your battery. Manufacturer's one at 75% the price of your car, licensed ones at 50% or generic one around $150-$200. With the licensed one working 1 out of 10 times or the generic one never working. Then have the same BS for your tires. What really is needed is to bring back true ownership. Anything working like a lease or a rent MUST have the same warranties. Repairs being the seller/manufacturer's problem, without extra charges.
i think its deeper than that, most retirements, 401k, and hedgefunds rely on the stock market. companies like google, apple, Microsoft are some of the biggest valued stocks. How do they keep their stocks high? by selling more devices, its easier to scale selling devices than providing services which require labor aka people. Our government has done a poor job with finances so much so that we have to depend on illegal immigrants contributing millions of dollars into social security and medicare. They will not be entitled to use any of these benefits. Politicians don't care because they make so much more than the average citizen that they can afford to go to the dealer/ manufacture to repair or replace their device. avg consumer either doesn't know or doesn't care, you see middle and lower class buying new $1k phones every year for what? We are Currently providing repair services however I do not see this as a long term viable business.
Just like the other nationwide and worldwide issues, most people just don’t care about them until they’re directly affected by it. Then instead of getting angry at the tech giant’s for not supporting their products, they’re mad at some dude in a struggling repair shop for “ruining their child’s birthday”
Ding ding. When most shops get to this point they just stop helping consumers and become an MSP for businesses. It’s more profitable and much less work when setup correctly. I was at this point before RUclips proved to be a viable replacement for my income
And then they won't be mad at the right people, they'll just be mad that there aren't any affordable third party repair providers, instead of being mad at both the manufacturers and the legislators for fucking them over.
I owned a repair business from the late 1978 to 1989. At its peak, I had two shops with 28 employees. We repaired just about everything TVs, VCRs, Camcorders, Microwave Ovens, Cordless Phones, Calculators, CB and Ham Radios, tons of Walkman's (portable cassette players), and the occasional PC. My business was run on an Intel 8088 PC, but the 286 and 386 were on the market. I was researching what the hell is going on with the brand new Geekom XT13 I purchased. It randomly started to not send video to the monitor and then one morning I came in and the PC was stone dead, not even an LED lit. The PS checked at 19V, so I am in the middle of the journey of trying to get someone in Taiwan to swap this. They of course tried to say it must be the PS. I was told I could take out the SSD storage card and ship it back on my dime and they would send me a GT13 version. I popped the cover and there it is, a blown component near the DC input jack. It literally vaporized; it appears to have been a surface mount resistor. They did try to double down on "it must be the PS" and they know there is a design problem here. Anyway, I went out-of-business in 1989 because the cost to maintain a professional repair shop that did in-warranty, out-of-warranty, and factory repairs (yes, we took in van loads of repairs from manufacturers who were getting out doing repairs), just became impossible. Out-of-warranty parts were a nightmare as we had to shop the universe constantly. One of my technicians wanted to downsize the operation and cheery pick the items that were still viable to repair. He actually managed to keep going for about twenty more years to around 2009. Just some background on him. One day he walked into my shop, he was maybe 25 and he asked if I had any work and that he always loved fixing things, but he had no technical education or job-related experience. He was working in a local pizza dough factory. He turned out to be the most reliable and trustworthy guy and he learned fast. I get a kick out of the uncanny resemblance you are to me as a young man with a trimmed beard and a sense of humor. The shop was in NJ, I had moved to Washington State in 1989 after going out-of-business. I went back to NJ around 2008 and randomly dropped in and he was there. He introduced me to an older man who was working on the bench. He had the same story. The man walked in one day and asked if there was any work and he was handy and could fix things, but didn't have a lot of related experience. The man was his best technician and most loyal. I don't know what happened to my old friend, the business is now a real estate office or some such thing, there is no trace of the thirty plus years of being a repair shop. I still miss doing repairs as it's more than a source of income, it is a positive human experience when you hand back a device someone enjoyed and didn't want to part with. Sadly, today, we live in a throw away society, everything is designed for obsolescence. When I was a kid in the 60's, repair shops were numerous. American built everything here and stood by their products. I went back to school at the age of 33, finished my engineering studies and got an MBA and went back to work for OEM's (as I did before opening the shops). The sad difference being I had work for the Taiwanese/Chinese/Thai OEM's. I retired when the pandemic hit. Now I just have these memories of an America that for most never existed and I did save a box full of discrete components that surely have long lost any hope of use because the devices they served are either in the landfill or a museum. Good luck to you. Few people understand the effort and knowledge it takes to be a good repairman.
Amazing how you went 10 years repairing electronics without putting all of their manufacturers out of business. Nowadays if Apple allows any of their screens to be replaced without a component security code, they'll instantly go bankrupt.
I'm focusing on transitioning into a data recovery business. I did my best for the past fifteen years but nothing changed. I'm glad you found a niche here.
Farmer here. Recently I spent 150 dollars on an o ring. An O RING. The only thing dumber than that, is the the US postal service charged 60 bucks to ship it.
@@StevenLastname "What kind of o-ring cost that much!? Couldn't just any o-ring with the same dimensions work just as well?" Unlikely. $60 For shipping, probably because it shipped from overseas & was priority (ie he needed it the next day).
I used to repair phones, tablets, computers, consoles, controllers, drones, even got into TVs there at the end (ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE) at my shop, ended up closing it in 2018. The part where you said "You do everything perfectly just to have the part malfunction" hit the hardest with me
I'm a freelance network engineer. One company offered me a contract (years ago) to repair flat screens in residential environments. They sent me a big box of parts and said to replace things one at a time till the problem went away. It took hours, if it worked and didn't pay squat. That was the one and only time I took that kinda contract.
@@Bewefau since you can’t (or at least couldn’t then) buy legit apple screens they were all after market and the defect rate was pretty high on them. Like 10-20% defect rate
Shut my business down march 2023. Everything you are saying now resonates so well it’s bringing me ptsd. Don’t do what i did and keep it open 2 years longer than I should have. Since COVID parts availability quality and difficulty to change without an annoying error (apple) Too many hoops. Juice no longer worth the squeeze. 2020-21 I had next to no phone repairs. Everyone got all that unemployment bonus and went and bought all new devices. Now they can’t get those repaired due to everything you state in your video. They just joined the subscription based everything economy. 2000$ every 3-5 years to get a new pc or 4-600 per year or 35-50 per month. They think this “capitalism” is going to succeed by socializing products and services that long should have imploded from lack of innovation. Thank you for shedding light on the issues.
Honestly, I believe the consumer is just as much to blame as the companies. The average person just does not give a flying fuck about right to repair, until they are on the receiving end of this diabolical mess and suddenly they wonder how it could have ever gotten so bad.
@@leviathan5207kinda why the average person is poor or not very wealthy. Low IQ people making even worse low IQ decisions. People who buy an iPhone and barely make 40k are a joke.
@@leviathan5207 The average consumer wants their thing working, they don't want to wait, and they've been told over the last two decades or so by either politicians or corporations that repairing the things you "own" is "dangerous". It's hella frustrating.
I used to do repair, many years ago. The boss didn't like working or paying for parts, though, so people were always pissed at me, I burned out, and the shop went out of business. Now I'm trying to get SSDI and a home. What pisses me off the most about the straight-to-landfill devices is that somebody built that for shit pay, and now they have to build another one, slightly newer, but much more expensive. Everybody on that entire production chain, from mineral extraction to point of sale, is exploited, made to work to be allowed to have some tiny piece of the fruits of society, to draw breath, to be allowed food, water, when there is so much to go around that nobody needs to do anything for, so much food thrown away, so much housing left unoccupied, just to protect profits. That's what planned obsolescence is for. Creating artificial scarcity, creating dependence on a manufacturer.
I feel ya, I worked IT at a company where anything IT related was a complete after thought (this was back in the early to mid 2000's.) I loved cracking open Desktops and Laptops. Cobbling hardware together to make it work, and shopping online to find replacement parts. I was really proud of doing all the pc repairs in house. I really miss trouble shooting and working on hardware.
In EU it's quite easy to find spare parts but there are so many low quality ones, and customers look up for parts and choose the cheapest ones. For example, a couple months back, I told a customer his iphone 14 would cost 300€ to replace his display for a genuine one, and he told me he found a 20€ display. I had to explain about about that display and he wouldn't listen. I refused the job.
I've run into that as a end user. It's easy to find replacement batteries (etc) that claim to be compatible. When I replaced a faulty switch on my Logitech G900 (left mouse button doing the double click) the soldering wasn't a problem, but the end result was utter shit because the replacement switch turned out to be mushy garbage despite claiming to be genuine.
I'm a consumer lawyer in brazil, and tech nerd. Our contry is a shit place, and our laws and politicians are pretty trash. Buuuut, at least the consumer laws are really good. Every tech product here must have the parts available for its average life. For instance, 5 years for laptops and smartphones, 6 years for TVs, etc. Its not a fixed number, but thats the average. If my phone runs out of battery with 5 years, and the company doesnt have the battery to replace it (being paid, ofc), I can sue them and have all my money back.
@@DefaultProphet Not much if nothing. We have specialized courts here in Brazil for these issues, they are quicker and sometimes cost nothing. We also have some government entities that do some of the work for the consumer depending on the situation.
Even if the big companies launced Self-Repair Programme for the consumer, it's not to show that their products are repairable, but to show that it's not worth to repair their product and better to buy new product (sometimes with the worst build quality than the previous gen product).
Exactly my point regarding “meaningful” right to repair laws. If they have to make parts available, they’ll simply price them so outrageously that it doesn’t make sense to buy. THIS is the most important part of the law. CAP THEIR PROFIT on replacement parts!
@@SalemTechsperts Or at least limit them to like 20% more then original price. They arent making them themselves anyway, and having an extra batch or two from china isnt that expensive as parts are priced.
@@SalemTechsperts they should make it so the sum of all replacement parts to completely construct one from scratch can’t cost more than 1.1x that of the purchase price.
@@alexturnbackthearmy1907 - Make it so that people have a right to buy literally every single component that makes up the device, and assemble a "new one" themselves at no more than a 20% markup over the original device, and shipping services must be offered "at cost." No charging the customer more than the USPS charges them.
You are spot on. I've experienced the same plight, same vendors, same journey. We are still allowing customers to drop off repairs for phones with expensive and proprietary nonsense, and laptops with no genuine parts, but we make the customer sign-off on the caveats, as we unfortunately can't recommend that they complete certain repairs on certain devices. So. Sad. The best way to send the message, as a consumer, is to stop buying devices from companies who play these greedy games with replacement parts and repairs.
I stopped doing electronic repairs like satellite receivers, VCRs, etc. back in '96 because I saw the writing on the wall. I moved to computer repair and then quit that five years later for the same reason. I tried getting into mods as a service (MaaS...I guess) and that only lasted a few months. Everything is now designed with a limited lifetime in mind and it's all for profit.
similar timeline for me, I saw the writing for repairs and builds on the wall when the white goods shops started to sell them alongside freezers and tv's with 'extended warranty's'
Part of the problem with repairing electronics today is that every advancement in technology makes repairing them harder. Components get smaller, moved closer together, and more specific to an application. A manufacturing company can't be expected to produce some special display that someone contracted them to mass produce for a short period of time, and the companies that do want to offer repairability of the product after just have to over-order them and hang on to the inventory which will diminish in value over time.
This story hits me in the heart Andy. I'm a recent industrial designer graduate and ffs this is exactly what I'll sink my teeth into. Designing consumer goods with a proper lifespan comes first, but then also allow consumers to disassemble and repair without too much hassle. You know... pretty much design consumer goods like they did up to the 90s. I wish you and all other repair shops the best. Give me some time and I'll make your liife easier.
Unless you run your own company, you will not be allowed to do any of those things. And if you do run your own company, you'll find that doing those things costs you time and money you don't have. Then there are the competitors who will undercut you by not doing those things, and will eventually force you to abandon your principles in order to stay in business.
@@anthonyobryan3485 - Nah, it's "planned obsolescence" and it's entirely deliberate. Make the customer blame the repair shops for being shit instead of the manufacturer, and then they go out and buy a new device they shouldn't need because the "awful repair man" can't fix the old one. Brand loyalty ensures that people don't jump ship once their old device no longer works. They just buy a new one from the same company.
I remember the first time I made friends with a bunch of engineering students. They were prototyping something for a project, and while they were actively designing it and showing me things for feedback, I asked "what will you do if you have to change something?" They looked confused and said "what do you mean?" I said "what if you have to take this all apart to change or fix something? you haven't built it for that." Other commenters are, unfortunately, 100% correct. You will be receiving instructions from some fuckass "product manager" who gets to sit at home all day every day firing off 3 e-mails a week asking "how's the product doing?" who makes twice as much in a year as you do. These are the people who will tell you that no, you in fact can't make the battery replaceable as per the customer's request.
Actually its all worse then what same have already said. Since the companies that make the original will sue into the dirt for violating their patent/copyright/trademark to prevent you from making replacements for THIER products.
Dying? I thought it was dead. I closed my formerly highly successful ($1mil+/yr revenue) shop after 22 years in 2017. The world switched from desktop, to laptops, to phones. Once it got to phones it no longer made sense to continue. Too little profit to be made and people are too neurotic about their phones and can't leave them more then 20minutes for a repair. Maybe if I worked in a shack or my house, but it no longer made sense to have a 3,000 sq ft store/shop and 5 employees.
Ive been running my IT business from my house for over 10 years. No brick and mortor overhead cost, no employees. I can come to you or you come to me. I do phones, laptops, desktops, servers, whatever. I then got 2 lifts put into my garage and now offer Car Repair. Im also the cheapest mechanic in our county, because i dont have an overhead of owning a shop. As long as I do good work, customers keep talking and word of mouth has done well for free advertising. When i talked to shop owners 15 years ago, their main complaint was the lease cost of their shop, which is why I never invested into a shop, but instead, my home.
Just watching stuff like you and Louis rossmann for years has been so frustrating and tiring, i couldn't imagine actually dealing with it day to day. Good repair men truly are saints
@@JeredtheShy Not trying to throw shade but I'm honestly surprised Salem's business is even profitable to begin with. Like, he doesn't really "repair" parts, he just replaces entire parts from what I can see. For instance, him complaining about USB-C parts not being modular and having to replace the entire board. Like, it's not exactly hard to replace a USB-C port on a board, man. Like no wonder your repair shop is struggling. Just not exactly flexible when you're putting stock on everything being super easy and modular. I imagine you're missing out on some extra cash on easy to do jobs because you don't want to solder.
@@EvilWifflesI believe he’s said before the reason he doesn’t is the lack of available first party schematics, no reliable part supply for some components, the increased liability, and the low profit margin relative to the time it takes means it’s not feasible.
Hey Andy. I was also planning on becoming a future repair technician for computers, consoles and phones in New Zealand. What do u think about the situation there?
I buy broken laptops and flip them as a side hustle and I've simply stopped bidding on any touchscreen laptop with a broken screen because I know the cost of the screen is going to be more than I can sell the laptop for. Mostly I stick to older thinkpads because I know I can fix them.
Well could still be worth it if they're cheap, a few people like myself will gladly buy busted screen laptops as long as I know they boot, but random unknown/untested, is usually a nope from me.
Used to do that a lot in 2005-10, parts were available and laptops were easy to upgrade (New cpu? Not a problem mate!) Now if I do it I buy ones with faulty motherboard that I think I can fix and don't touch screens.
I have a small security alarm company, been doing this for 31 yrs. I stopped doing alarm systems, equipment is crap! A lot of companies went to Mexico and all I do is make free service calls going back fixing the same thing over and over because the stuff doesn't work right. Customers get frustrated and it makes me look bad, as if I don't know what I'm doing. But you can't fix what is programmed in a chip! All the time on the road and gas is making it hard to profit. Glad I'm old enough (66) to bail out while I still can.
So, in Australia they have this consumer protection law. It applies to reasonable life expectancy of the device and it cannot be negated because the brand might have a warranty period. That becomes irrelevant. If it's broken, but not completely busted, the company has the choice of fixing or replacement at no cost to the consumer. If it is bad, they are required to replace the whole item, free of charge. This will get back to the manufacturer, I would think, apart from insurance? At least, that's something?
IT-Technician by myself. In Europe we are lucky that we got Greencell. A polish aftermarket battery fabricator which does for most common Batteries. I have good experience with them. Aroung 95% to 100% of the standard battery real capacity and they hold the usual 5 years. But yeah other parts are becomming unoptanium. Worst part are modern Laptop Keyboards. Even worse then Screens imo. A falling waterbottle can destroy 2-3 keys, don't ask how i know, my old Laptop get it 3times replaced, each time 20-30€. When my new one... i need a complete new top and thats a 150€ part, if i get some, my top has the 3D Fingerprint Scanner which works great, i can get used for 110€ without... I love the Laptop but my next will be a framework. I prefer a 1500€ Laptop were i can repair things, insead a 1000€ Laptop which is one accident away of beeing useless.
GreenCell is just branding Chinesene products with European name. Some compare them to Manta or Kruger&Mantz. Maybe it's better than typical no-name one-time brand but quality also varies. I had rechargable baterries from GreenPower (GP) which is sub brand of GreenCell and they couldn't compare to eneloop. Good luck with Framework because in case of issues their Indian support is virtually non-existent and they don't have good representation in EU but that's the dilemma we have to live with these days: buying chinese one-time electronics for a reasonable price or paying clever Indian CEO for very overpriced modular laptop with right to repair. If mobility is not a must, I recommend desktop PC
@@ssthh desktop pc is dying too. it is even harder when you need to repair psu, mobo, GPU, etc. when manufacturer refused to honor warranty and or ask crazy price for replacements. at least unlick laptop, PC last way longer due to having a literal case to disapate spicy 90C hot chips.
We need more people like Lina Khan in office that will actually sue companies for anti-consumer and monopolistic practices. The economics are screwed. We shouldn't have to be forced to buy something every time when a simple repair should suffice. Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle.
Theres a concept in economic meaning reductionism in consumerism. I think we need more people that do this. I know i have been keeping my phone and my old laptop for more than 8 years each.
Lina Khan is absolutely based, but I fear her time in the FTC chair is limited. The thing is, she wasn't actually Biden's pick for FTC chairperson. But the far right was blocking all of Biden's appointments. Biden got the FTC chair filled by throwing a bone to people angry about Trump getting banned off Jack Dorsey's Twitter. Big Tech has learned their lesson: buy more politicians. Elon and Zuck are embracing Trump, Tim Cook is begging Trump to stop the EU from opening up iOS app distribution, and crypto scammers are pouring money into Kamala Harris's coffers (to get her to fire the SEC chair for trying to stop their scams). So it's likely that *no matter who wins*, we're going to either see Lina gone day one, or a manufactured controversy to justify removing her shortly thereafter. The thing is, curbing the power of Big Tech is actually extremely popular, despite the bipartisan opposition. And all of Lina's lawsuits were joined by various state AGs, all of whom can continue the lawsuit no matter what stupid things a future compromised FTC tries to do.
Of course our returning orange "savior" has to put his buddies back in office to put in effect our corporate overlords will and save their profit margins. Its only right of course us normal people dont deserve anything of the sort (/j if you cant tell)@@YakBat
Not just computers. I bought the last new passenger side windshield wiper molding (plastic panels below the windshield wipers) for a 2004 Honda Accord in America (possibly the world). So far, here's what's also something you can't buy new on it: the lens, meter (clear plastic cover over your driver gauges), the plastic strip that keeps dust out of your shifter, all air bag covers (they're just covers, not the actual airbags, but they're probably out of stock too). And the list goes on. The car does 350k easily. Mine is currently at 77k. A new car that's closest to mine (they no longer make V6) is over $40k.
I manage an automotive repair place and I just ran into the problem of having to order refurbished parts for a customer because the new parts are no longer made and it's nearly a thousand dollars my cost for the parts that are still left on a car thats from the last ten years. It's absolutely wild how companies can make something that's designed to fail yet not even offer the replacement parts easily.
I have a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan that is a paperweight because the computer and wiring harness are toast. But the body and engine are just fine. Not ok :-(
HVAC Service Technician here, and couldnt agree more between motors that are DOA right out of the box, or faulty control boards that die within the first week its difficult, annoying, and defeating having to come back multiple times to your customer because of a defective part. Not only does it hurt the "look" of what we do its a huge labor sink. Keep up the great work!
At some point, the only option is to just get the parts from Alibaba. Sameish quality, without the Ebay or Amazon markup. Sometimes, you might get lucky and buy the part from the same company that was originally contracted to make the motor.
After the 10th service call to my HVAC tech for my brand new 5 ton Trane unit, I gave up and installed a window unit. I am also an HVAC but im not licensed so I can't work on my own unit. It's very simple for me, if you can't fix the problem, you are the problem. I have replaced entire AC systems in cars, ships, etc and haven't had a problem doing it by myself. Yet an entire team of local morons can't trouble shoot a brand new system. It seems they just let everyone pass tests for competency in the trades these days. I work on everything myself because you can't find competent and honest people anymore. The entire industry is cheap labor; I saw it when I was a machinist in Federal ship yards, and I saw it overseas. Corporations have monopolies and they need to be broken up.
I grew up bothering the dudes at Radio Shack as a kid in the 1980's. It's shocking to see how things are now. It makes me sick to see good technology go in the trash but that's all you can do now. I still tinker with SBC's, Pico Pi's, and mini PC's which are fun but laptops and phones literally end up in the garbage. I wish Framework would partner with repair shops instead of running all orders through their website. Literally the only repairable and upgrade-able laptop could make repair shops distributors but nobody ever learns and they are only looking out for themselves in the end.
A large problem with this idea is that Framework laptops are too expensive for the type of customer who buys a laptop from a repair shop. I say this from experience: our customers generally never spent over $600 on any computer we sold that wasn't a custom desktop.
I've accepted we're already living in the "dystopian world" we heard of as kids back in the 90s and in movies. The government is bought/ran by massive corporations/investment firms to ensure policies are kept or enacted to keep profits rising. Cost of living is out of control that people making $100k/year are struggling. Noting is changing, it's only getting worse daily.
People making 100k a year aren’t struggling lmao. This is straight up propaganda. The only place in the country where $100k/year isn’t enough is Silicone Valley where your neighbors are tech million/billionaires.
here in fiji from my experience as a computer repair technician the main issue is that there are just too many computer repair shops trying to to business at the same time
My business partner and I closed our store of 8 years in 2022 because even with having the group power and a Fortune 500 company behind us it was still a slog and a struggle. We were able to get Apple OEM parts, access to OEM software tools. Apple still kept a stranglehold over the whole process and wouldn’t even warranty their parts. You had to price the repairs to try and compensate for their failure rate. I have a peaceful life now as in house IT, but I gained so much experience in those 8 years that just has to be experienced. You have to be well capitalized to do anything big, but it’s not hard to be small time if you focus just on Windows computers & Servers and services.
I explained to my 23 year old co-worker that it was stupid to rent your music from Spotify. He looked at me like I was crazy for suggesting that he buy albums instead of blowing $200 a year on a service. Everything is like that now, software, tv shows - hell BMW tried to make heated seats a subscription! It's insane, everything is designed to be rented out and disposable and people just accept it as the new normal.
@@FreakTimmah I use Spotify for the convenience, which I don’t mind paying for. But I still buy CD’s due to the shitty quality of streamed music. I recently bought the Dio collection and the CD’s are amazing quality compared to the blown out loudness of the same songs on Spotify
@@SalemTechsperts good idea to still buy the music... spotify cut to publisher is already bad, and then said publisher have even worse contract to their artist that receives even less cash... so yeah wanna support your maker, buy cds vinyls and go to concerts.
I closed up my PC repair business in 2020 after quite a few years of trying to turn livable profit. Everything you said in the video was true then and I can only imagine is 100x more true now.
Lack of business is a real killer... if you can find something to charge a monthly rate on, be it, reselling anti-virus, or general tech services... that can really help the business survive.
I have the space, tools and equipment to build and repair PC's and I just do it as an occasional side hustle. I have a few friends, people from church, things like that that have had me build their PC's , and occasionally fix and stuff like that and as an occasional and sporadic extra income of a hundred or two every so often but I won't make it a full time business or anything like that, I just don't see the sustainability in it, the only other advantage I have is living in an extremely rural area and there only being one PC shop within an hour an a half of here
As much as Right to Repair (RtR) needs to be implemented, a perfect example of the obstacles facing RtR is Apple "adopting" USB-C. It took an entire continent's supranational political and economic union's efforts to force Apple to put USB-C on all devices. Imagine all the political bs that would occur in the US without having such a entity like the EU to back RtR.
I used to work at a company that was the only HP Authorized Service Provider in ~100 miles and MAN the amount of e-waste was crazy considering they like bragging about being "green". It'd take 5 shipments to get a replacement screen for a laptop that wasn't cracked because they REFUSED to bubble wrap it despite me begging them, and we'd have to constantly send them back parts because we received the wrong ones. We also got stripped of our ASP privileges last year because we didn't sell $20,000 worth of their warranties... seemed like an excuse and counter intuitive to their company mission
I'm with you, bro. These companies need to be held accountable, and they need to make their products accessible, at least in a way that allows for general repair. They should be investing more in the proprietary software side of things, not on blocking people from repairing their legally owned devices. It's like buying a car and not being allowed to change the tires, windshield, washer fluid, or the battery
Yep, I feel your stories. I worked for Louis Rossmann for 5 years in NYC. I didn't move to TX with him so I opened my own shop in NJ. Especially working on MacBooks, parts have always been a mild struggle but now it's getting crazy. For what Louis and I do we need more than just parts, we also need the information (Schematics and board views). A lot of what we do is going beyond upgrading. With all these machines having everything soldered directly to the logic board we need to get the machine working if you ever want to see your data again. Apple has been making it very difficult in the last few years with software pairing chips to the board and making it so chips are not available in any way to anyone. I don't know why they feel their battery charging chip is so revolutionary of a design that nobody else in the world can have it. Like it's the way their battery charges is why their machines are so successful. Same with their USB-C port controllers.
@@breakingthemasks Apart from Framework and Fairphone, maybe the enterprise division of HP or Dell. Angry corporate customers are not what businesses want, and a good way to piss them off is if the IT department gets pissed at being unable to service the laptops they have. Employees break stuff, so laptops get replaced from stock while IT tries to fix them.
@@breakingthemasks same thoughts as demopans, I've always suggested follow what corporations issue their employees, back in the day it was Fujitsu and panasonic, I've always liked Dell myself. But stick to the lines that corporate uses not the slim glued together consumer ones. But straight to your question, framework is the anti apple.
Here in Iran we have a repair shop and the struggle here is apparent because of sanctions. It's reached a point where repairs people like us end up having to spend a fortune buying broken laptops in hopes of one of them having some spare parts, and ofcourse because we need to make a living we need to also charge a fortune for repairs.
Not going to lie, speaking as a Systems Engineer who does repairs on the side for beer money, your videos keeping it real are such a mental reprieve. Like, I appreciate hearing the same stresses other people have; it's incredibly grounding even if we're all just suffering together. Keep your head up, my dude, you're doing great work and educating so many more!
I NEVER.... EVER sit and watch creator advertisements for 3rd party companies.. you know sponsors.. But i actually found your sponsor ad to be very entertaining and pretty great.. so smile for being a first. Thanks for what you do..
I own and operate a repair shop out of St Louis, and yeah you're pretty spot on. I at least knew from the beginning that this was going to be temporary, that I would have to find a another job, and I just feel bad for everyone who didn't know that and are now panicking
Currently where i live it's mandated that companies provide spare parts (or fitting alternatives) 7 to 10 years after they stop producing the product itself. I have an old e-bike from 2007, they stopped production of it in 2008 and i can STILL get a new motor, battery, controller etc. Why? Because the company knows it's one of the most sold electric bicycles ever produced (75.000 in just 2008) They aren't making a profit on these parts anymore because of the out-dated machinery they have to keep running but they know that people still use a lot of these and need them. They stopped production of these parts 3 times so far but the demand is just so high they keep restarting production. Now they are set to halt production permanently in 2028 (10 years AFTER the law mandated limit) Companies should be more like this, allowing people to get the parts they need to keep something expensive going for decades, not several years.
I had to reseat my ram a few weeks ago in my pre build because it kept bluescreening every couple days (and this it fixed it as far as I know) and it was my first time messing with my PC components. RUclips picked up that I was interested in pc maintenance because I watched a ram reseating tutorial and started recommending this channel and I've been binging all the videos and shorts since. So funny and informative, I've learned so much. All this learning will help me keep my rig clean and maybe upgrade/repair it myself in the future depending on the scenario. You guys are really doing a service with these videos and I hope you can stay a float in the industry and keep doing awesome things! Cheering for you from Canada
I saw this happening like 20 years ago, which is why I got out of the tech industry and into a more stable career as an automotive technician. There's truthfully only 3 reasons that computer repair stores are becoming a thing of the past; 1. "Brand" computer's chassis are designed around the parts they're shipped with.* 2. Everyone has a nephew who can repair computers and order parts online. 3. Those who are smart enough to have a custom computer know how to fix it. *Brands like Dell have been doing this for over 30 years now... Now, on to the Auto Industry. I wouldn't really call the car industry an industry that's preventing your typical backyard mechanic from doing repairs. What I will say about it is that the actual cost for a backyard mechanic to do repairs is skyrocketing to the point where they might not see much profit. Most vehicles are now more computerized than ever, some having up to 60 little computers in them. In order to scan most vehicles (beyond a basic surface scan) you need extremely expensive scanning equipment with subscriptions to the specific brand vehicles you're working on. This equipment can even be required for things that used to be considered basic repairs, such as transmission fluid checking and brake bleeding. So it's not that your typical backyard mechanic is being denied the ability to do repairs, in most cases it's just too expensive for them to do so. Most wearable components like shocks, struts, brakes, tires and the like can still easily be done by most backyard mechanics. The most profitable way to be a backyard mechanic, these days, is to also have your foot inside a dealership. Working a dealership during the day and doing your backyard stuff during the evenings/weekends gives you access to parts and information that just your regular backyard mechanic wouldn't have. This is how a vast majority of backyard mechanics operate these days. As for 3rd party shops, much like the stand-alone backyard mechanic, they're very limited on what they can actually repair due to costs.
After 10 years, I finally had to close shop. I’m trying to still offer business consulting but Google, and a corporate takeover of the office that I rented, have put me out of business.
Corporate tech here for the last 10 odd years. We've seen it too. The push to stop servicing devices and just replace the whole unit has gone full torque across nearly all sectors. We've been asked to say that devices "just don't break down like they used to anymore", but most of us know better. Anyone who talks to the elders will hear the same cycles of "everything is working, what are you doing here?" into "everything isn't working, what are you doing here?" over the decades. Yes, it's frustrating for everyone involved.....
I own a repair shop in California and even though right to repair laws passed here it’s still miserably difficult to find customers because everyone either has something out of my skill range that I have to pass on to somebody else or any decent replacement parts cost an arm and a leg and nobody wants to pay that.
This is also true of most (if not all) modern sink faucets. It used to be if a part (in most cases the washers) was worn out you just went to the local hardware store & got a replacement part & it was a simple fix. Faucets now however seem to have washers that you can't replace. There's no hardware store that carry's the type of washer you would need for a proper replacement. It's really frustrating (not to mention the extra cost) of having to buy a whole new faucet just because you couldn't get that one tiny washer.
I recently ordered several cordless paint sprayers from my supplier in China to test out. When I asked whether the batteries were proprietary (eg Dewalt), he said most manufacturers across different sectors just used the de facto form factor because it was easier for the customer. Mind blown.
Former phone tech here. Can confirm. 99.999% of the parts we get are aftermarket, and have a whole host of issues, and it's been going on since the iPhone 6 or before.
Very true about phone repairs. The other problem. Not only do all the reputable repair stores go out of business. The space gets filled with skeevy, scammy operators. People who've having taken a basic soldering course. No customer service skills. Stores packed full of knock-off merchandise (cases, stands, screen protectors.) I remember last Christmas trying to get a micro USB charging port repaired. Something which I presume as a fairly basic, tech repair 101 process! Took two attempts. (Charged both times) before it failed a third time. I just decided fuck it, and replace the tablet.
I repair household appliances in the US and the industry has remained generally the same in the last 20 years. However, just recently I have been noticing a significant shift away from repairs. Parts are becoming much more proprietary and appliances aren't being made for accessibility anymore. Especially in imported appliances such as Samsung's LG's Hisense everything for these things are being sold in kits. Oftentimes are able to purchase individual parts. Won't even get a part number for the individual Parts you need requiring you to buy the entire assembly. The only good thing is that in appliance repair in the United States, these manufacturers are required by law to support their Appliance for some years with replacement parts. I suppose that's the only silver lining to be had from here.
It is intriguing that the United States advocates for environmental sustainability while simultaneously neglecting the fact that individuals dispose of computers that may require simple repairs but lack access to the necessary parts. This situation arises from the absence of a legal mandate compelling companies to facilitate such repairs.
Agree with all your points. Will just like to add that sometimes even getting a part shipped to my caribbean region presents a next level of hoops. Sometimes there is no shipping of the replacement parts to the region. When it is shipped, the cost of clearing it from customs is soo huge that it must be passed onto the customer just so the shop could survive. Thus the repair price for the simplest of issues is huge and results in disgruntled customers and negative reviews.
@@SalemTechsperts That's the funny part some don't. Not making enough to cover employee salaries,shop rent and to restock brand new inventory. Trying to sell outdated stuff and telling customer that "we don't do such repairs, we don't sell that, we don't sell graphics cards,we don't have in stock but store down the road has it"doesn't help. Said place i worked at earlier this year closed down.
I feel your pain. Being in he Caribbean is really bad on ordering parts. If the part itself isn't already expensive, substandard quality and sometimes inaccessible for shipping then if you do get it, the governments in act ridiculous measures to charge you for customs and clearance. This makes the entire process madness. Cheaper to jus buy something new, which defeats the whole purpose of repairing and caring for your existing electronics.
@ManBearGote 100% true. I forgot about that. Here in my country computers have no additional charges on them to clear from customs. The parts though are another story.
The funny thing is since they used a unibody back lid, the kickstand hinge is insanely strong. They KNOW what they’re doing, they just don’t give a shit cause 💸
13:50 data recovery. Data recovery.... I opted out of advertising iphone screens in a real way around 2015. What makes it fun to do what we do is that we do a better job than others.
Thank you. I'll keep it short for now. I agree with so many of your points. I’d love to share my supporting thoughts and experiences with each of those points, but that would take too long. Liked and followed. lmk if you testify again because I would love to change regulations.
My BP went sky high after 14 years of small business tech support and I was essentially forced to retire. Once you leave that world, your body and mind start to heal and the realization slowly dawns that all of that struggle really was not worth it. You and Rossman are correct. The politicians really do not care, so it will never happen. Too many sheep, time to sleep.
I subsidized a lot of my living costs during college working on PCs, building them and fixing most any electronic brought to me on the cheap for the fellow college kids I was at school with. In just 8 years since I couldn't do 1/8 of what I was able to do out of my apartment's kitchen. The two examples you used of batteries and screens being something I could reasonably source were parts I couldn't even pay someone to find for me when my friend asked me to replace his broken laptop screen and I couldn't find anything to replace the screen on my phone when it went out. When I went to root and flash a new rom onto an old tablet a friend gave me it was so locked down that I was astounded that it was natively an Android device to begin with because I'd never had those kinds of issues in the past when putting a new OS on a device.
Much appreciated topic. I have searched for parts to repair my devices and 3rd party parts or none were available. I got my phone repaired by a shop and it's replacement battery went bad in about a year. I had a transmission repaired and got a 1 year warranty spending thousands. It went bad a couple weeks after a year and only after weeks of arguing I got them to honor the warranty. I got a transmission fixed on another car and agreed to the repair only if I got a 2 year warranty which I am still covered under. My air conditioning on my Toyota Rav4 stopped working. The put the refrigerant in and in 2 weeks it leaked out. The get behind to dashboard to replace the Heater Cooler I was quoted $2850, F that! Sickening the cost of repairs. I want someone to design a car that's inexpensively repairable or can easily be repaired by the owner who has mechanical skills.
If I want my IPad battery to be replaced I would get a my own battery idk why apple would just replace it when the time is right with a good fee but no they make it complicated and say “Oh so you bought this from somewhere else besides apple we can’t repair it.” I was like what the heck man if your not going to replace my battery then I’ll take my business elsewhere where.
Our shop just does services for business networks and dropped all repairs for this very reason. We suggest you always keep an extended warranty or just plan on replacing every three years when the warranty runs out. The big deal is not all HP business class equipment has a three year warranty anymore. I used to be that was the clear distinction between consumer grade and business grade is the business always came with 3 year.
11:01 and the reason they don’t sell it is Razer consider the entire screen assembly a trade secret. Yes. A trade secret. That’s why they don’t sell it to third party. It’s absolutely should be illegal explanation but unfortunately they are legally allowed to use that as excuse to not sell the parts to third party.
I foresaw this like 10 years ago when I was a phone repairman. I loved what I was doing yet the money wasn't there and the ratio of cost of repair to actually getting a new device gradually killed it. It was becoming worse and right now is at its' peak. I hate the industry that is producing these devices that I once loved.
My last two phones, Galaxy S5 and XCover Pro. User swappable batteries. Pop the cover, take out old, replace with new, and boot. Takes about 20 seconds if you are moving slow. Spare in the backpack or glove box. (But this is really not what the industry wants.)
I can't imagine how difficult it is to be in the tech repair industry...manufacturers that won't release repair specs, parts that you can't buy so you have to hope you have a working part from a donor board. And, as with any customer facing job...an endless ocean of customer entitlement.
Not a shop owner, but a bus mechanic for MAN. I’ve noticed over the years now that the quality of our original parts has been declining. Last week we had a case where a brand new caliper was mounted, and less than a month later, the bus stopped getting a signal from the potentiometer for the brake pad wear sensor. We’ve replaced so many calipers recently because of the potentiometer, and we can’t get a hold of that part on its own. It’s tragic, man.
I've been doing this for 25 years and the industry has steadily become worse and worse and worse and I'm having to turn away 3 out of every 4 jobs because of parts availability or the sheer cost of repair. Sucks. Good video. keep up the good work.
What kind of jobs? We do general tech stuff, physical repairs, as well as just new computer setups with data (cloned over if we can). We've been steady, and we haven't turned away business unless we're FULL, but it's been about 6 months since we've been totally flooded for a couple weeks.
I have an Acer Nitro 5 (an515-5X for those who want more specifics) and it came from Acer defective. The screen was glitching, and the bottom of the screen just turned into unrecognizable nonsense. I went to college for IT and learned a lot about how to fix laptops and computers and thought this is a perfect opportunity. It was incredibly hard to find a matching screen from AliExpress, and it was impossible to find a legit, from Acer original screen. Hours, days, and weeks looking for authentic Acer parts for nothing. I have it replaced now with a knockoff (oddly enough, it looks better than the original in quality and sharpness) and works flawlessly. Despite it being a bit too plasticy for my liking, the Nitro 5's for now (mine is 7 going on 8 yo) are pretty damn tough and relatively repairable. Anyways, thought I'd share the story and join in on the misery. Great video as always!
Non-fused laptop displays are one of the only parts left where you CAN still buy the original part. Only a few companies actually make display panels, and you can grab the exact part number off the back of the panel. It’s one of the only exceptions.
@SalemTechsperts Once I got the number off the back of the panel, it made the search much more refined. My model number (laptop wise) is one of the less common models. Asked Acer, and they more or less said, "Sucks to suck, bro." The right to repair is so crucial to businesses like yours and consumers. They have to realize that repairing a device can also make them more money in the long run. Computers 10 years old need major replacements usually, and if they still sell the parts, then they can gain the initial revenue from a new computer with long-term revenue from replacement parts.
@@a.billinski9614What good is right to repair if you can't find the parts to repair it with? Is right to repair going to force manufacturers to hold a stock of parts inventory? Will that apply to me, a small time builder? Although I support right to repair as an IT repair shop, I don't want the government making specific laws controlling my sources. I don't mind the government saying that you can't build something with the express purpose of keeping a repair difficult or impossible. When the government gets involved in business, repair costs are going to rise, no question. Added to that, manufacturers are making so many variations of a particular product which is obsoleted in about 6 months, when they've moved on a whole different model. It's like herding cats. Difficult, if not impossible.
I had a shop back in the early 00s, We were doing great until office depot moved in. We could no longer compete with those computer prices and were forced to close a year later as we were in a small town and new builds were over half the income. We did make the business work for another couple years working out of my business partners garage with service calls and repairs, but it wasnt enough sadly and Infinity Computers closed Permanently in 2004. I still do some freelance stuff from time to time. Never let my skills stagnate either but Im at the age now where a shop will always pick the fresh college kid over the mid 40s nerd.
When I was younger, I thought of opening my own store, but there were a ton of similar stores around me. For whatever reason, they didn't grow; they just stayed small and eventually disappeared. In my head, I was like, "Well, ok, clearly it wouldn't be smart to start a business because no one needs computers that much." Also, my reasoning was flawed-it was abundantly clear that it wouldn’t be the smartest thing I’d ever done, as they were everywhere but kept closing. Then, another one would pop up in its place, like it was clearly not sustainable for them to keep appearing everywhere. I think people need to be educated on the facts. It would be nice if companies could provide people with the parts they need, but these are multimillion-dollar companies-why would they waste a penny on parts people may or may not need? That's like a whole penny they can keep, and if they can cut corners, they will. But at least to me, there seriously needs to be some education in the IT field when it comes to starting your own little store. Stop letting your buddies hype you up to go out there, start a business, and open a location, only to shut it down in a few years. It's sad to see, and I wonder who’s lying to these people.
I am sorry for that. PC builders put so much effort yet their profit margin is so less. Also, the fact that there's a tutorial for almost every problem doesn't help. My brother started a PC building repair shop back in the 2000s. It was a huge success but since the late 2010s, it started declining. He had to close it down earlier this year.
Yeah I mean I have a shop but it's not just repair it's IT support and in home support for Networking and all things tech. You need to branch out to stay alive.
@jtkachlmeier agreed. I started repairing computerized assemblies in 1975 and have had an on-call IT repair business since 1991. I'm not closing for sure, but as you said, you have to be flexible and branch out. Computer builds started becoming slow more than a decade ago, so I work out pre-built packages with customization, installation and network troubleshooting. Things I don't do, programming apps, make websites, SEO work, or hosting email. Also I stay away from Apple repairs, phone repairs and anything that might be internally glued. Gotta pick your poison and be the best at it.
when i graduated last year i couldn't find a job and started to try and do tech repair with my limited knowledge patience and you tube ended up loosing all my savings on either faulty parts or reimbursing my customers, i really love tech repair i genuinely find it fun to fiddle with all day regardless of the monotony but it just isn't viable under most conditions.
I used to rebuild computers for parochial schools. I would pick up discarded equipment, salvage good parts and reuse them on other systems. One day I called the corporation where I was getting computers from, they decide to stop and went with something else instead and couldn't donate computers, I had schools lined up for refurbished computers and had to tell them I no longer couldn't because the corporation when with another supplier.
My dad was a TV repair tech. He bought the shop he worked at in the early '90s and continued until 1999. His biggest gripe was the cost of repair vs new replacement. In hindsight, repairability was also an issue. I've been in the auto repair industry for almost 30 years, which has been relatively safe, but I'm seeing some disturbing trends. Chrysler and Nissan now require a subscription to a security gateway to scan, and Ford now requires the scan tool to be online so they can monitor repairs. Manufacturers are discontinuing parts right after they are mandated to keep them in production and adtermarket options take longer to develop. If you add cheap Chinese auto imports, the auto repair industry will fall as well.
As someone who wanted to start a shop at some point, he really points out the reality of the repair problems we face in the industry. I make sad technician noises, as I most likely will never get to start my own shop.
People I know: can’t you repair this?!?!?! Me: nope for the cost of the repair, you can get new unit at the same price People: but I don’t want this in the garbage Me: nothing I can do It’s like people don’t bother researching the cost of things and want things fixed not realizing it doesn’t exists or is too expensive just buy new and take care of it
Learned how to disassemble and troubleshoot PC and PC components in 2008. Moved onto learn how to disassemble and reassemble laptops. Did that for a couple of years, then tablets really began taking off. More phones and tablets that couldn't easily be disassembled (by design) kept coming in and ultimately became easier to tell people that they may as well buy a new replacement. Even if replacement screens and parts could be obtained, the labor cost would end up more expensive than just outright buying a new device. I really wanted to keep repairing PCs and laptops but ultimately had to face that the industry was making that kind of work unsustainable. I wasn't even repairing PCs by the time the pandemic hit so I can't even imagine how much harder it got with supply chain issues and cost. I am sorry about your business and hope you thrive at your next endeavor! I hope to still keep up the content posting since I'd miss seeing those raccoon like fingers and I'm sure some peoples' mothers would suffer without you.
this is the reason why motherboards especially Laptop motherboards are flooded on the market. because why? customer laptop cannot get repaired because of LACK OF LCD SCREEN AND BATTERY SPARE PARTS. its been a months since i commented here venting about repair jobs. but i really hate about these.. heck even you buy aftermarket parts. you have to wait for them. and when they come. IT DOESN'T EVEN FIT OR CORRECT WITH YOUR LAPTOP THAT YOU REPAIR. these are costing you and your customer time, money, and patience. i have no idea why, the right to repair here in asia are nonexistent, everything is aftermarket from china. but I REALLY WISH I CAN BUY GENUINE SPARE PARTS FOR ELECTRONICS, NOT ONLY LAPTOPS BUT EVERY ELECTRONICS. thanks for the video Andy. wishing you the best with the right to repair so us as a repairman can feed our family.
I'm personally not too bothered simply because I enjoy picking up the occasional bad laptop and using it as a server, I have so many I could make a mini rack and cluster system if I wanted lol
@@vgamesx1 its ok for a few motherboards. But not when you have loads of them. And you cannot sell them because of the supply didn’t even meet the demands.
I wonder if it would be possible to manufacture "universal" LCD screens as a small business, or if it's a difficult process that requires large scale assembly lines. If it were possible, I'd definitely do it, so that repair shops can buy from me when they can't find official parts.
had the same issue, would receive parts that didn't match the listings. no way to return unless i wanted to buy expensive shipping back on $20 parts that were the wrong parts. from what i seeing is its getting worse, no batteries or screens. no way to repair something that should be repairable. you have to pick and choose your repairs. and most of the time reject the repair. glad im out of the business as it just got worse and worse 2008 to 2014 ( I was so happy to be self employed when i started )
i think a way to fix this problem of parts is to make a company that buys broken laptops phones and anything that can be repaired using parts and buy them from people for the parts and partner with tech shops to put out what specific parts they need and be able to find someone thats willing to find those parts for them or have them around and they make some cash selling them and tech shops will always have parts.
Ifeel your pain dude!I've experienced pretty much the same crap as in car repair. Big Biz's attitude of "just buy a new one and CONSUME!"makes us dinosaurs (Shoutout to Uncle Tony's Garage)!
We need something like the Magnuson Moss act that the auto industry has. I own a repair shop but also provide IT support. I do new machine sales and in home tech support as well including networking and security cameras. Many of those things people don't like to do or aren't qualified for. You need to branch out to stay alive.
We need a meaningful Right to Repair law. Branching out is the only solution, but if you’re in a high cost of living area, it’s not feasible as a one man retail shop.
@@SalemTechspertsIt can be if you run it from a home basement. If no basement, set aside a repair room and do pickups and drop offs if you must. You have to think outside the box, as the Box walls slowly squeeze in on you. 😊
Part of the problem is that in order to keep costs low every single part is outsourced to someone which outsurces it as well. Margins on suppliers are also very low so spair parts are kept to a minimum. Its becoming so ridiculous. Pretty soon you have to buy a second item to guarantee parts. If the right to repair isnt a law a warranty of 5 years should regardless of the part. But i guess corporates specially in US love that 1 warranty policy. In EU it is now 3 years bit dont get too excited because normally the extra 2 are in most cases given by the local supplier or the shop. I've heard of cases where the shops eventually get all the loss. This is also valid on cars, manufacteurs in most cases they dont care about after sales and they dont want that risk in their balance sheets.
I was gonna rant about how everything is outsourced to other companies, but you hit the nail on the head. I don’t think most manufacturers could get the parts if they wanted too. They ordered a run out of China, or Taiwan or whomever and getting another run isn’t feasible. We live in the world of just in time inventory so most businesses are not going to double a run just to have parts available for an item. Even if it were in stock the vast majority of consumers would rather just buy the latest thing than to try and repair it. I know most of my friends won’t buy a frameworks laptop just because of the higher upfront costs. It’s easier and cheaper to buy a disposable computer at Walmart. Repairs and parts are just tomorrow’s me problem and nobody cares about that guy. Good luck getting any politician to care about this when their donors pay them not to care and the citizens don’t care.
Honestly, repairing your own stuff just feels so good. My laptop hinge broke off, the speaker diaphragm rot away (ik it sounds weird, rotting away) and the battery literally won't hold a charge. I'd hate to put this laptop in some land fill because this laptop helped me out during trying times back in 2020 to at least get some food on the table. I'd want technology that's repairable and not irreparable and use it for years to come.
If the hinge "broke" by just ripping the brass nut out of the plastic it was sealed into, then I usually fix that by drilling a hole straight through the case, where the hinge nut/bolt went, and running a new (longer) nut through the case, and up into the hinge. Then put a small bolt on the nut to hold the hinge in place, and maybe a spot of glue on the nut, or two nuts, to lock it in place. This is the only reliable repair...plastic glues, epoxies, crazy glue with baking soda, etc., don't hold. If you actually broke the metal hinge itself, so the metal snapped, then you have to get the part from another similar laptop.
@@PracticaProphetica since it's a combination of brass, metal and plastic, I did try JB Weld, which did work on one Job. Tried it on another couple jobs and it couldn't adhere. Then I took a chance on another brand of epoxy and it worked beautifully where the JB Weld failed. I can now permanently and reliably epoxy the metal plate to the plastic. As for the screw and the brass nut, I just throw them away now.
@@SpaceCadet4Jesus It still won't be as strong as running a bolt right through the case. And also, if you ever need to take it apart again, you'll be chiseling away at epoxy.
I was an electronics maintenance warrant officer in the army for 25 years, when I joined back in the 90s we could actually repair equipment, replaced subcomponents like resistors, etc., then in the 2000s after 9/11 we switched to replacing components like a whole circuit card, after 2015 we now just replace the whole item. Got a radio with a broken knob, the customer is given a whole new radio, and the broken radio is shipped back to the manufacture for repair.
@@gallowaylights NYC is one of the more backwards places from what I know about it, such as forgetting re-use is still better for the environment than tossing or recycling perfectly functional devices.
I ran a repair shop in Alaska for a decade, eventually had to just quit and find a new profession due to the issues you described. It was extremely frustrating with trying to get parts that were reliable and economical. Back then we also parted out abandoned systems where possible just for the screens. I remember the first time I ran into a glued and potted phone, that was when I saw the writing on the wall.
Rather ironic, I'm currently viewing a kiddy movie, Robots (2005) on YT, where the maker of robots does not make replacement parts. Maximizing profits by having robots scraped rather than fixed.
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its painfull to hear how evil some corporations are when it comes to parts supplys, i have the same problem here in Argentina whith spare parts, for notebooks , phones , pcs , tools and even air conditioners. anyway hope you could find a way to keep goow Good luch " The Greates Technitian That Ever Lived"
Been building computers since the late 80s, and been A+ certified for so long it's grandfathered in as lifetime. Proprietary crap has always been the bane of being a technician, big shop or small. Glad there are some brands making an effort at standardization and part availability like Framework, but the big makers always want that repair money.
@@renzoeerens Fixed! Sorry about that!
@@EXTREMOZAU Fixed!
@@Mepharius Fixed it my bad
right to repair is honestly probably one of the most important things in any industry. It's sad this isn't the case in the US.
As long as lobbying exists we will never have anything meaningful for the people
@@SalemTechsperts It's ironic how the bill that allowed lobbying was lobbied for smh.
and just like anything else, you need to fight for your rights
@@SalemTechspertsain't it called - corruption? In EU more common thing to get politician or his party in bad light on next election or even start big law stuff on them. Tho not working with auto industry lobbying😢
The problem of right to repair is that it infringe on your right of ownership.
Not talking about garbage parts, but imagine buying a car and have to change your battery. Manufacturer's one at 75% the price of your car, licensed ones at 50% or generic one around $150-$200. With the licensed one working 1 out of 10 times or the generic one never working.
Then have the same BS for your tires.
What really is needed is to bring back true ownership. Anything working like a lease or a rent MUST have the same warranties. Repairs being the seller/manufacturer's problem, without extra charges.
greedy companies won't help the greatest technician that's ever lived, but we will.
😂 you are the best 🥰 THANK YOU!
@@SalemTechsperts you are the the greatest technician that's ever lived
Very cool guy.
i think its deeper than that, most retirements, 401k, and hedgefunds rely on the stock market. companies like google, apple, Microsoft are some of the biggest valued stocks. How do they keep their stocks high? by selling more devices, its easier to scale selling devices than providing services which require labor aka people. Our government has done a poor job with finances so much so that we have to depend on illegal immigrants contributing millions of dollars into social security and medicare. They will not be entitled to use any of these benefits. Politicians don't care because they make so much more than the average citizen that they can afford to go to the dealer/ manufacture to repair or replace their device. avg consumer either doesn't know or doesn't care, you see middle and lower class buying new $1k phones every year for what? We are Currently providing repair services however I do not see this as a long term viable business.
@@SalemTechsperts love your videos and humor hope everything's ok.
Just like the other nationwide and worldwide issues, most people just don’t care about them until they’re directly affected by it. Then instead of getting angry at the tech giant’s for not supporting their products, they’re mad at some dude in a struggling repair shop for “ruining their child’s birthday”
Ding ding. When most shops get to this point they just stop helping consumers and become an MSP for businesses. It’s more profitable and much less work when setup correctly. I was at this point before RUclips proved to be a viable replacement for my income
@@SalemTechsperts You know what else is a viable income? Selling d
GAMBLING!!!
I'm just wondering how some repair shops even survive, right to repair is more like right to live now
And then they won't be mad at the right people, they'll just be mad that there aren't any affordable third party repair providers, instead of being mad at both the manufacturers and the legislators for fucking them over.
@@SalemTechspertsDis is de wae
I owned a repair business from the late 1978 to 1989. At its peak, I had two shops with 28 employees. We repaired just about everything TVs, VCRs, Camcorders, Microwave Ovens, Cordless Phones, Calculators, CB and Ham Radios, tons of Walkman's (portable cassette players), and the occasional PC. My business was run on an Intel 8088 PC, but the 286 and 386 were on the market.
I was researching what the hell is going on with the brand new Geekom XT13 I purchased. It randomly started to not send video to the monitor and then one morning I came in and the PC was stone dead, not even an LED lit. The PS checked at 19V, so I am in the middle of the journey of trying to get someone in Taiwan to swap this. They of course tried to say it must be the PS. I was told I could take out the SSD storage card and ship it back on my dime and they would send me a GT13 version.
I popped the cover and there it is, a blown component near the DC input jack. It literally vaporized; it appears to have been a surface mount resistor. They did try to double down on "it must be the PS" and they know there is a design problem here.
Anyway, I went out-of-business in 1989 because the cost to maintain a professional repair shop that did in-warranty, out-of-warranty, and factory repairs (yes, we took in van loads of repairs from manufacturers who were getting out doing repairs), just became impossible. Out-of-warranty parts were a nightmare as we had to shop the universe constantly.
One of my technicians wanted to downsize the operation and cheery pick the items that were still viable to repair. He actually managed to keep going for about twenty more years to around 2009. Just some background on him. One day he walked into my shop, he was maybe 25 and he asked if I had any work and that he always loved fixing things, but he had no technical education or job-related experience. He was working in a local pizza dough factory. He turned out to be the most reliable and trustworthy guy and he learned fast. I get a kick out of the uncanny resemblance you are to me as a young man with a trimmed beard and a sense of humor.
The shop was in NJ, I had moved to Washington State in 1989 after going out-of-business. I went back to NJ around 2008 and randomly dropped in and he was there. He introduced me to an older man who was working on the bench. He had the same story. The man walked in one day and asked if there was any work and he was handy and could fix things, but didn't have a lot of related experience. The man was his best technician and most loyal.
I don't know what happened to my old friend, the business is now a real estate office or some such thing, there is no trace of the thirty plus years of being a repair shop. I still miss doing repairs as it's more than a source of income, it is a positive human experience when you hand back a device someone enjoyed and didn't want to part with. Sadly, today, we live in a throw away society, everything is designed for obsolescence. When I was a kid in the 60's, repair shops were numerous. American built everything here and stood by their products.
I went back to school at the age of 33, finished my engineering studies and got an MBA and went back to work for OEM's (as I did before opening the shops). The sad difference being I had work for the Taiwanese/Chinese/Thai OEM's. I retired when the pandemic hit. Now I just have these memories of an America that for most never existed and I did save a box full of discrete components that surely have long lost any hope of use because the devices they served are either in the landfill or a museum.
Good luck to you. Few people understand the effort and knowledge it takes to be a good repairman.
It makes me angry. Here in New Zealand, the industry is all but dead. (Small country, cant get much stuff.)
Thank you for our service to the community for so many years. True heroes are rarely thanked.
Thank you repairman, you did a good service for a better america 🙏🙏🙏
Amazing how you went 10 years repairing electronics without putting all of their manufacturers out of business. Nowadays if Apple allows any of their screens to be replaced without a component security code, they'll instantly go bankrupt.
Can I ask where in NJ the shop was?
I'm focusing on transitioning into a data recovery business. I did my best for the past fifteen years but nothing changed. I'm glad you found a niche here.
Farmer here. Recently I spent 150 dollars on an o ring. An O RING. The only thing dumber than that, is the the US postal service charged 60 bucks to ship it.
Unless it went via express mail I cannot possibly fathom how or why USPS charged you 60 to ship.
You sure the VENDOR didn’t charge you that?
You got ripped off twice. Once on the part, then on markup on shipping. It probably cost like
This is exactly the reason why the auto repair business is dying out
What kind of o-ring cost that much!? Couldn't just any o-ring with the same dimensions work just as well?
@@StevenLastname "What kind of o-ring cost that much!? Couldn't just any o-ring with the same dimensions work just as well?"
Unlikely. $60 For shipping, probably because it shipped from overseas & was priority (ie he needed it the next day).
I used to repair phones, tablets, computers, consoles, controllers, drones, even got into TVs there at the end (ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE) at my shop, ended up closing it in 2018. The part where you said "You do everything perfectly just to have the part malfunction" hit the hardest with me
I'm a freelance network engineer. One company offered me a contract (years ago) to repair flat screens in residential environments. They sent me a big box of parts and said to replace things one at a time till the problem went away. It took hours, if it worked and didn't pay squat. That was the one and only time I took that kinda contract.
Howd you learn all that
same here the only difference is i made it to 2021
suuuuure blame it on the part maybe it was just you ?
@@Bewefau since you can’t (or at least couldn’t then) buy legit apple screens they were all after market and the defect rate was pretty high on them. Like 10-20% defect rate
Shut my business down march 2023. Everything you are saying now resonates so well it’s bringing me ptsd. Don’t do what i did and keep it open 2 years longer than I should have. Since COVID parts availability quality and difficulty to change without an annoying error (apple) Too many hoops. Juice no longer worth the squeeze. 2020-21 I had next to no phone repairs. Everyone got all that unemployment bonus and went and bought all new devices. Now they can’t get those repaired due to everything you state in your video. They just joined the subscription based everything economy. 2000$ every 3-5 years to get a new pc or 4-600 per year or 35-50 per month. They think this “capitalism” is going to succeed by socializing products and services that long should have imploded from lack of innovation. Thank you for shedding light on the issues.
Honestly, I believe the consumer is just as much to blame as the companies. The average person just does not give a flying fuck about right to repair, until they are on the receiving end of this diabolical mess and suddenly they wonder how it could have ever gotten so bad.
@@leviathan5207kinda why the average person is poor or not very wealthy. Low IQ people making even worse low IQ decisions. People who buy an iPhone and barely make 40k are a joke.
Capitalism without quotes. Call it technofeudalism if you want, but there's nothing socialized in this.
@@leviathan5207 The average consumer wants their thing working, they don't want to wait, and they've been told over the last two decades or so by either politicians or corporations that repairing the things you "own" is "dangerous". It's hella frustrating.
@@leviathan5207 - Banality of Evil. The bad stuff will linger more if good people does nothing.
I used to do repair, many years ago. The boss didn't like working or paying for parts, though, so people were always pissed at me, I burned out, and the shop went out of business. Now I'm trying to get SSDI and a home. What pisses me off the most about the straight-to-landfill devices is that somebody built that for shit pay, and now they have to build another one, slightly newer, but much more expensive. Everybody on that entire production chain, from mineral extraction to point of sale, is exploited, made to work to be allowed to have some tiny piece of the fruits of society, to draw breath, to be allowed food, water, when there is so much to go around that nobody needs to do anything for, so much food thrown away, so much housing left unoccupied, just to protect profits. That's what planned obsolescence is for. Creating artificial scarcity, creating dependence on a manufacturer.
Cry it to your congressman, crybaby. Nobody here will wipe your tears for you.
I feel ya, I worked IT at a company where anything IT related was a complete after thought (this was back in the early to mid 2000's.) I loved cracking open Desktops and Laptops. Cobbling hardware together to make it work, and shopping online to find replacement parts. I was really proud of doing all the pc repairs in house. I really miss trouble shooting and working on hardware.
In EU it's quite easy to find spare parts but there are so many low quality ones, and customers look up for parts and choose the cheapest ones. For example, a couple months back, I told a customer his iphone 14 would cost 300€ to replace his display for a genuine one, and he told me he found a 20€ display. I had to explain about about that display and he wouldn't listen. I refused the job.
I've run into that as a end user. It's easy to find replacement batteries (etc) that claim to be compatible. When I replaced a faulty switch on my Logitech G900 (left mouse button doing the double click) the soldering wasn't a problem, but the end result was utter shit because the replacement switch turned out to be mushy garbage despite claiming to be genuine.
$20 😂 don’t worry he found out eventually
@@SalemTechsperts Can I also find out how to get my mom's toothbrush back
It's funny how people want to have an expensive phone, but will cheap out on repair.
@@Steamrick One problem is getting too much flux on the board/switch, and it creeps into it. Result: mushy click. I've had it happen to me.
I'm a consumer lawyer in brazil, and tech nerd. Our contry is a shit place, and our laws and politicians are pretty trash. Buuuut, at least the consumer laws are really good. Every tech product here must have the parts available for its average life. For instance, 5 years for laptops and smartphones, 6 years for TVs, etc. Its not a fixed number, but thats the average. If my phone runs out of battery with 5 years, and the company doesnt have the battery to replace it (being paid, ofc), I can sue them and have all my money back.
How much does it cost to sue tho?
Should be nothing because due to consumer laws most cases are settled out of court.@DefaultProphet
the more you buy products of blood thirsty and money suckers company like apple the more your right to repair gets smashed
That's the nice thing about not having companies headquartered in your country. A bit pricier, but they don't try to lobby it to hell.
@@DefaultProphet Not much if nothing. We have specialized courts here in Brazil for these issues, they are quicker and sometimes cost nothing. We also have some government entities that do some of the work for the consumer depending on the situation.
Even if the big companies launced Self-Repair Programme for the consumer, it's not to show that their products are repairable, but to show that it's not worth to repair their product and better to buy new product (sometimes with the worst build quality than the previous gen product).
Exactly my point regarding “meaningful” right to repair laws. If they have to make parts available, they’ll simply price them so outrageously that it doesn’t make sense to buy. THIS is the most important part of the law. CAP THEIR PROFIT on replacement parts!
@@SalemTechsperts Or at least limit them to like 20% more then original price. They arent making them themselves anyway, and having an extra batch or two from china isnt that expensive as parts are priced.
@@SalemTechsperts they should make it so the sum of all replacement parts to completely construct one from scratch can’t cost more than 1.1x that of the purchase price.
You don't want to buy a $120 battery + shipping fees for a 4 years old tablet? How entitled! /s
@@alexturnbackthearmy1907 - Make it so that people have a right to buy literally every single component that makes up the device, and assemble a "new one" themselves at no more than a 20% markup over the original device, and shipping services must be offered "at cost." No charging the customer more than the USPS charges them.
Do a video ranking brands best to worst in terms of repair-ability. It might just start something
Fr
You are spot on. I've experienced the same plight, same vendors, same journey. We are still allowing customers to drop off repairs for phones with expensive and proprietary nonsense, and laptops with no genuine parts, but we make the customer sign-off on the caveats, as we unfortunately can't recommend that they complete certain repairs on certain devices. So. Sad. The best way to send the message, as a consumer, is to stop buying devices from companies who play these greedy games with replacement parts and repairs.
I stopped doing electronic repairs like satellite receivers, VCRs, etc. back in '96 because I saw the writing on the wall. I moved to computer repair and then quit that five years later for the same reason. I tried getting into mods as a service (MaaS...I guess) and that only lasted a few months. Everything is now designed with a limited lifetime in mind and it's all for profit.
Sorry to hear that. Seems the inevitable route for people like us is to serve businesses only instead of consumers.
similar timeline for me, I saw the writing for repairs and builds on the wall when the white goods shops started to sell them alongside freezers and tv's with 'extended warranty's'
While they sell you sustainability and carbon neutral BS in the same breath.
Part of the problem with repairing electronics today is that every advancement in technology makes repairing them harder. Components get smaller, moved closer together, and more specific to an application. A manufacturing company can't be expected to produce some special display that someone contracted them to mass produce for a short period of time, and the companies that do want to offer repairability of the product after just have to over-order them and hang on to the inventory which will diminish in value over time.
Should be banned. Europe demanded C type standard power cords. it can be done. our government does nothing.
I really love these videos. Hope the greatest technician can survive the next ten years or so
This story hits me in the heart Andy. I'm a recent industrial designer graduate and ffs this is exactly what I'll sink my teeth into. Designing consumer goods with a proper lifespan comes first, but then also allow consumers to disassemble and repair without too much hassle. You know... pretty much design consumer goods like they did up to the 90s.
I wish you and all other repair shops the best. Give me some time and I'll make your liife easier.
You're the future!
Unless you run your own company, you will not be allowed to do any of those things. And if you do run your own company, you'll find that doing those things costs you time and money you don't have. Then there are the competitors who will undercut you by not doing those things, and will eventually force you to abandon your principles in order to stay in business.
@@anthonyobryan3485 - Nah, it's "planned obsolescence" and it's entirely deliberate. Make the customer blame the repair shops for being shit instead of the manufacturer, and then they go out and buy a new device they shouldn't need because the "awful repair man" can't fix the old one. Brand loyalty ensures that people don't jump ship once their old device no longer works. They just buy a new one from the same company.
I remember the first time I made friends with a bunch of engineering students. They were prototyping something for a project, and while they were actively designing it and showing me things for feedback, I asked "what will you do if you have to change something?" They looked confused and said "what do you mean?" I said "what if you have to take this all apart to change or fix something? you haven't built it for that."
Other commenters are, unfortunately, 100% correct. You will be receiving instructions from some fuckass "product manager" who gets to sit at home all day every day firing off 3 e-mails a week asking "how's the product doing?" who makes twice as much in a year as you do. These are the people who will tell you that no, you in fact can't make the battery replaceable as per the customer's request.
Actually its all worse then what same have already said. Since the companies that make the original will sue into the dirt for violating their patent/copyright/trademark to prevent you from making replacements for THIER products.
Dying? I thought it was dead. I closed my formerly highly successful ($1mil+/yr revenue) shop after 22 years in 2017. The world switched from desktop, to laptops, to phones. Once it got to phones it no longer made sense to continue. Too little profit to be made and people are too neurotic about their phones and can't leave them more then 20minutes for a repair. Maybe if I worked in a shack or my house, but it no longer made sense to have a 3,000 sq ft store/shop and 5 employees.
Ive been running my IT business from my house for over 10 years. No brick and mortor overhead cost, no employees. I can come to you or you come to me. I do phones, laptops, desktops, servers, whatever. I then got 2 lifts put into my garage and now offer Car Repair. Im also the cheapest mechanic in our county, because i dont have an overhead of owning a shop. As long as I do good work, customers keep talking and word of mouth has done well for free advertising. When i talked to shop owners 15 years ago, their main complaint was the lease cost of their shop, which is why I never invested into a shop, but instead, my home.
Cool, too bad this is illegal in the US and Canada.
@hermitgreenn only illegal in Canada buddy, move to freedom land and stop complaining
Just watching stuff like you and Louis rossmann for years has been so frustrating and tiring, i couldn't imagine actually dealing with it day to day. Good repair men truly are saints
It gets to you man. Either you yell at a cloud for 30 years with no changes or you accept everything is fucked and move on.
It's crazy, you'd expect this skillset to be wildly lucrative but you'd be so, so wrong.
@@JeredtheShy Not trying to throw shade but I'm honestly surprised Salem's business is even profitable to begin with.
Like, he doesn't really "repair" parts, he just replaces entire parts from what I can see. For instance, him complaining about USB-C parts not being modular and having to replace the entire board. Like, it's not exactly hard to replace a USB-C port on a board, man. Like no wonder your repair shop is struggling. Just not exactly flexible when you're putting stock on everything being super easy and modular. I imagine you're missing out on some extra cash on easy to do jobs because you don't want to solder.
@@EvilWifflesI believe he’s said before the reason he doesn’t is the lack of available first party schematics, no reliable part supply for some components, the increased liability, and the low profit margin relative to the time it takes means it’s not feasible.
@@stthomas_ USB-C ports are readily available parts. Quick and easy fix. No schematics needed. Terms of repair should take care of liability.
Specs:
- **Processor**: Intel Core i7-8565U (1.8 GHz base frequency, up to 4.6 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 4 cores, 8 MB L3 cache)
- **Graphics**: NVIDIA Quadro M620 (2GB GDDR5)
- **Display**: 13.3-inch, 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) touchscreen
- **Memory**: 16GB DDR4 RAM
- **Storage**: 1TB NVMe SSD
- **Operating System**: Windows 11 Pro
- **Battery**: Up to 12 hours (probably like 3 with an aftermarket battery now)
- **Weight**: Approximately 1.65 kg (3.6 lbs)
- **Ports**: 2 USB Type-C, USB Type-A, HDMI, microSD card reader, headphone/microphone combo jack
specs
Hey Andy.
I was also planning on becoming a future repair technician for computers, consoles and phones in New Zealand. What do u think about the situation there?
SPEEEEEEECS, fuck yeah
see, we care
@@simpletrailers1161 ikr
I buy broken laptops and flip them as a side hustle and I've simply stopped bidding on any touchscreen laptop with a broken screen because I know the cost of the screen is going to be more than I can sell the laptop for. Mostly I stick to older thinkpads because I know I can fix them.
Yup! It’s depressing when they part alone costs more than the laptop is even selling for
Well could still be worth it if they're cheap, a few people like myself will gladly buy busted screen laptops as long as I know they boot, but random unknown/untested, is usually a nope from me.
Why don't you replace broken touchscreens by non-touch screens? Are there no compatible screens, or does that cause issues?
@@rocket2739 Depends on the laptop. If it's something like a Lenovo yoga the only compatible screen available is the touch screen.
Used to do that a lot in 2005-10, parts were available and laptops were easy to upgrade (New cpu? Not a problem mate!) Now if I do it I buy ones with faulty motherboard that I think I can fix and don't touch screens.
I have a small security alarm company, been doing this for 31 yrs. I stopped doing alarm systems, equipment is crap! A lot of companies went to Mexico and all I do is make free service calls going back fixing the same thing over and over because the stuff doesn't work right. Customers get frustrated and it makes me look bad, as if I don't know what I'm doing. But you can't fix what is programmed in a chip! All the time on the road and gas is making it hard to profit. Glad I'm old enough (66) to bail out while I still can.
So, in Australia they have this consumer protection law. It applies to reasonable life expectancy of the device and it cannot be negated because the brand might have a warranty period. That becomes irrelevant. If it's broken, but not completely busted, the company has the choice of fixing or replacement at no cost to the consumer. If it is bad, they are required to replace the whole item, free of charge. This will get back to the manufacturer, I would think, apart from insurance? At least, that's something?
IT-Technician by myself. In Europe we are lucky that we got Greencell. A polish aftermarket battery fabricator which does for most common Batteries. I have good experience with them. Aroung 95% to 100% of the standard battery real capacity and they hold the usual 5 years. But yeah other parts are becomming unoptanium. Worst part are modern Laptop Keyboards.
Even worse then Screens imo. A falling waterbottle can destroy 2-3 keys, don't ask how i know, my old Laptop get it 3times replaced, each time 20-30€.
When my new one... i need a complete new top and thats a 150€ part, if i get some, my top has the 3D Fingerprint Scanner which works great, i can get used for 110€ without... I love the Laptop but my next will be a framework. I prefer a 1500€ Laptop were i can repair things, insead a 1000€ Laptop which is one accident away of beeing useless.
GreenCell is just branding Chinesene products with European name. Some compare them to Manta or Kruger&Mantz. Maybe it's better than typical no-name one-time brand but quality also varies. I had rechargable baterries from GreenPower (GP) which is sub brand of GreenCell and they couldn't compare to eneloop. Good luck with Framework because in case of issues their Indian support is virtually non-existent and they don't have good representation in EU but that's the dilemma we have to live with these days: buying chinese one-time electronics for a reasonable price or paying clever Indian CEO for very overpriced modular laptop with right to repair.
If mobility is not a must, I recommend desktop PC
@@ssthh desktop pc is dying too. it is even harder when you need to repair psu, mobo, GPU, etc. when manufacturer refused to honor warranty and or ask crazy price for replacements. at least unlick laptop, PC last way longer due to having a literal case to disapate spicy 90C hot chips.
We need more people like Lina Khan in office that will actually sue companies for anti-consumer and monopolistic practices. The economics are screwed. We shouldn't have to be forced to buy something every time when a simple repair should suffice. Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle.
Theres a concept in economic meaning reductionism in consumerism. I think we need more people that do this. I know i have been keeping my phone and my old laptop for more than 8 years each.
Lina Khan is absolutely based, but I fear her time in the FTC chair is limited. The thing is, she wasn't actually Biden's pick for FTC chairperson. But the far right was blocking all of Biden's appointments. Biden got the FTC chair filled by throwing a bone to people angry about Trump getting banned off Jack Dorsey's Twitter.
Big Tech has learned their lesson: buy more politicians. Elon and Zuck are embracing Trump, Tim Cook is begging Trump to stop the EU from opening up iOS app distribution, and crypto scammers are pouring money into Kamala Harris's coffers (to get her to fire the SEC chair for trying to stop their scams). So it's likely that *no matter who wins*, we're going to either see Lina gone day one, or a manufactured controversy to justify removing her shortly thereafter.
The thing is, curbing the power of Big Tech is actually extremely popular, despite the bipartisan opposition. And all of Lina's lawsuits were joined by various state AGs, all of whom can continue the lawsuit no matter what stupid things a future compromised FTC tries to do.
Well, you can kiss Lina Khan goodbye, and everything she's done along with her.
She just got voted out. I give her a month before she's fired for another Ajit Pai.
Of course our returning orange "savior" has to put his buddies back in office to put in effect our corporate overlords will and save their profit margins. Its only right of course us normal people dont deserve anything of the sort (/j if you cant tell)@@YakBat
Careful saying you have tiny raccoon like fingers they may take you next.
My favorite comment so far
@@SalemTechsperts Looks like Ma was right, you do read comments.
@@IttarraOda wait how does your Ma knows? @_@
@@shirsendumaiti5682 he does more than one type of business in the bedroom
the same ppl defending the acorn guy
Not just computers. I bought the last new passenger side windshield wiper molding (plastic panels below the windshield wipers) for a 2004 Honda Accord in America (possibly the world). So far, here's what's also something you can't buy new on it: the lens, meter (clear plastic cover over your driver gauges), the plastic strip that keeps dust out of your shifter, all air bag covers (they're just covers, not the actual airbags, but they're probably out of stock too). And the list goes on. The car does 350k easily. Mine is currently at 77k. A new car that's closest to mine (they no longer make V6) is over $40k.
I manage an automotive repair place and I just ran into the problem of having to order refurbished parts for a customer because the new parts are no longer made and it's nearly a thousand dollars my cost for the parts that are still left on a car thats from the last ten years. It's absolutely wild how companies can make something that's designed to fail yet not even offer the replacement parts easily.
I have a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan that is a paperweight because the computer and wiring harness are toast. But the body and engine are just fine. Not ok :-(
HVAC Service Technician here, and couldnt agree more between motors that are DOA right out of the box, or faulty control boards that die within the first week its difficult, annoying, and defeating having to come back multiple times to your customer because of a defective part. Not only does it hurt the "look" of what we do its a huge labor sink.
Keep up the great work!
At some point, the only option is to just get the parts from Alibaba. Sameish quality, without the Ebay or Amazon markup. Sometimes, you might get lucky and buy the part from the same company that was originally contracted to make the motor.
After the 10th service call to my HVAC tech for my brand new 5 ton Trane unit, I gave up and installed a window unit. I am also an HVAC but im not licensed so I can't work on my own unit. It's very simple for me, if you can't fix the problem, you are the problem. I have replaced entire AC systems in cars, ships, etc and haven't had a problem doing it by myself. Yet an entire team of local morons can't trouble shoot a brand new system. It seems they just let everyone pass tests for competency in the trades these days. I work on everything myself because you can't find competent and honest people anymore. The entire industry is cheap labor; I saw it when I was a machinist in Federal ship yards, and I saw it overseas. Corporations have monopolies and they need to be broken up.
@@GamerGrease In Australia they call them "Dynamic workforce"........only dynamic is the accent.
I grew up bothering the dudes at Radio Shack as a kid in the 1980's. It's shocking to see how things are now. It makes me sick to see good technology go in the trash but that's all you can do now. I still tinker with SBC's, Pico Pi's, and mini PC's which are fun but laptops and phones literally end up in the garbage. I wish Framework would partner with repair shops instead of running all orders through their website. Literally the only repairable and upgrade-able laptop could make repair shops distributors but nobody ever learns and they are only looking out for themselves in the end.
It's probably better that they make the sales through their website until they get enough volume to sell to the shops.
I don't think Framework has the sales volume to justify that.
A large problem with this idea is that Framework laptops are too expensive for the type of customer who buys a laptop from a repair shop. I say this from experience: our customers generally never spent over $600 on any computer we sold that wasn't a custom desktop.
I've accepted we're already living in the "dystopian world" we heard of as kids back in the 90s and in movies. The government is bought/ran by massive corporations/investment firms to ensure policies are kept or enacted to keep profits rising. Cost of living is out of control that people making $100k/year are struggling. Noting is changing, it's only getting worse daily.
If our government is bought and ran by massive corporations and investment firms, then it is a null government and needs to be abolishe.
We have always lived in a dystopia, you just never bothered to study history.
Yeah but the theme becomes more mainstream. Heck even the incogni ad felt like straight out of some (slightly satirical) sci fi.
People making 100k a year aren’t struggling lmao. This is straight up propaganda.
The only place in the country where $100k/year isn’t enough is Silicone Valley where your neighbors are tech million/billionaires.
@@Aliens1337 I live in Canada. Our cost of living is a lot higher.
here in fiji from my experience as a computer repair technician the main issue is that there are just too many computer repair shops trying to to business at the same time
My business partner and I closed our store of 8 years in 2022 because even with having the group power and a Fortune 500 company behind us it was still a slog and a struggle. We were able to get Apple OEM parts, access to OEM software tools. Apple still kept a stranglehold over the whole process and wouldn’t even warranty their parts. You had to price the repairs to try and compensate for their failure rate. I have a peaceful life now as in house IT, but I gained so much experience in those 8 years that just has to be experienced. You have to be well capitalized to do anything big, but it’s not hard to be small time if you focus just on Windows computers & Servers and services.
I explained to my 23 year old co-worker that it was stupid to rent your music from Spotify. He looked at me like I was crazy for suggesting that he buy albums instead of blowing $200 a year on a service. Everything is like that now, software, tv shows - hell BMW tried to make heated seats a subscription! It's insane, everything is designed to be rented out and disposable and people just accept it as the new normal.
@@FreakTimmah I use Spotify for the convenience, which I don’t mind paying for. But I still buy CD’s due to the shitty quality of streamed music. I recently bought the Dio collection and the CD’s are amazing quality compared to the blown out loudness of the same songs on Spotify
@@SalemTechsperts 🤘🤘
Because people don't care how it works only that it works that's it simple
@@SalemTechsperts good idea to still buy the music... spotify cut to publisher is already bad, and then said publisher have even worse contract to their artist that receives even less cash... so yeah wanna support your maker, buy cds vinyls and go to concerts.
Yes, I found out that I was “renting” the songs from Spotify and that when I ended my subscription.
I closed up my PC repair business in 2020 after quite a few years of trying to turn livable profit. Everything you said in the video was true then and I can only imagine is 100x more true now.
Sorry to hear that man, hope you found something better!
Lack of business is a real killer... if you can find something to charge a monthly rate on, be it, reselling anti-virus, or general tech services... that can really help the business survive.
As a hobbyist that has always built my own PCs for decades, I finally stopped a few years ago.
@@Dvance you are literally worse than the big companies if you sell anti-virus, no one in good conscience should be selling that crap.
I have the space, tools and equipment to build and repair PC's and I just do it as an occasional side hustle. I have a few friends, people from church, things like that that have had me build their PC's , and occasionally fix and stuff like that and as an occasional and sporadic extra income of a hundred or two every so often but I won't make it a full time business or anything like that, I just don't see the sustainability in it, the only other advantage I have is living in an extremely rural area and there only being one PC shop within an hour an a half of here
As much as Right to Repair (RtR) needs to be implemented, a perfect example of the obstacles facing RtR is Apple "adopting" USB-C.
It took an entire continent's supranational political and economic union's efforts to force Apple to put USB-C on all devices. Imagine all the political bs that would occur in the US without having such a entity like the EU to back RtR.
I used to work at a company that was the only HP Authorized Service Provider in ~100 miles and MAN the amount of e-waste was crazy considering they like bragging about being "green". It'd take 5 shipments to get a replacement screen for a laptop that wasn't cracked because they REFUSED to bubble wrap it despite me begging them, and we'd have to constantly send them back parts because we received the wrong ones. We also got stripped of our ASP privileges last year because we didn't sell $20,000 worth of their warranties... seemed like an excuse and counter intuitive to their company mission
I'm with you, bro. These companies need to be held accountable, and they need to make their products accessible, at least in a way that allows for general repair. They should be investing more in the proprietary software side of things, not on blocking people from repairing their legally owned devices. It's like buying a car and not being allowed to change the tires, windshield, washer fluid, or the battery
Yep, I feel your stories. I worked for Louis Rossmann for 5 years in NYC. I didn't move to TX with him so I opened my own shop in NJ. Especially working on MacBooks, parts have always been a mild struggle but now it's getting crazy. For what Louis and I do we need more than just parts, we also need the information (Schematics and board views). A lot of what we do is going beyond upgrading. With all these machines having everything soldered directly to the logic board we need to get the machine working if you ever want to see your data again. Apple has been making it very difficult in the last few years with software pairing chips to the board and making it so chips are not available in any way to anyone. I don't know why they feel their battery charging chip is so revolutionary of a design that nobody else in the world can have it. Like it's the way their battery charges is why their machines are so successful. Same with their USB-C port controllers.
Are there any brands that are opposite in philosophy to apple that you recommend to family and friends when they need computers and devices?
@@breakingthemasks
Apart from Framework and Fairphone, maybe the enterprise division of HP or Dell. Angry corporate customers are not what businesses want, and a good way to piss them off is if the IT department gets pissed at being unable to service the laptops they have. Employees break stuff, so laptops get replaced from stock while IT tries to fix them.
I dont know how apple gets off calling itself environmentally friendly
@@Demopans5990 ... Solid point, thanks for sharing. I can definitely see myself targeting company laptops etc from a few generations back. 👍
@@breakingthemasks same thoughts as demopans, I've always suggested follow what corporations issue their employees, back in the day it was Fujitsu and panasonic, I've always liked Dell myself. But stick to the lines that corporate uses not the slim glued together consumer ones. But straight to your question, framework is the anti apple.
Here in Iran we have a repair shop and the struggle here is apparent because of sanctions. It's reached a point where repairs people like us end up having to spend a fortune buying broken laptops in hopes of one of them having some spare parts, and ofcourse because we need to make a living we need to also charge a fortune for repairs.
It's messed up what America did to y'all. America's biggest weapon is sanctions. Cuba still feels it to this day, they could be doing so well.
Brother
Not going to lie, speaking as a Systems Engineer who does repairs on the side for beer money, your videos keeping it real are such a mental reprieve. Like, I appreciate hearing the same stresses other people have; it's incredibly grounding even if we're all just suffering together. Keep your head up, my dude, you're doing great work and educating so many more!
I NEVER.... EVER sit and watch creator advertisements for 3rd party companies.. you know sponsors.. But i actually found your sponsor ad to be very entertaining and pretty great.. so smile for being a first. Thanks for what you do..
Much appreciated, I always spend extra effort making the ad entertaining!
I own and operate a repair shop out of St Louis, and yeah you're pretty spot on. I at least knew from the beginning that this was going to be temporary, that I would have to find a another job, and I just feel bad for everyone who didn't know that and are now panicking
Currently where i live it's mandated that companies provide spare parts (or fitting alternatives) 7 to 10 years after they stop producing the product itself.
I have an old e-bike from 2007, they stopped production of it in 2008 and i can STILL get a new motor, battery, controller etc.
Why? Because the company knows it's one of the most sold electric bicycles ever produced (75.000 in just 2008)
They aren't making a profit on these parts anymore because of the out-dated machinery they have to keep running but they know that people still use a lot of these and need them.
They stopped production of these parts 3 times so far but the demand is just so high they keep restarting production.
Now they are set to halt production permanently in 2028 (10 years AFTER the law mandated limit)
Companies should be more like this, allowing people to get the parts they need to keep something expensive going for decades, not several years.
WHERE do you live?
I had to reseat my ram a few weeks ago in my pre build because it kept bluescreening every couple days (and this it fixed it as far as I know) and it was my first time messing with my PC components. RUclips picked up that I was interested in pc maintenance because I watched a ram reseating tutorial and started recommending this channel and I've been binging all the videos and shorts since. So funny and informative, I've learned so much. All this learning will help me keep my rig clean and maybe upgrade/repair it myself in the future depending on the scenario. You guys are really doing a service with these videos and I hope you can stay a float in the industry and keep doing awesome things! Cheering for you from Canada
I love how your shorts don't show how stressed and miserable you can be. I find all your content interesting. Keep up the great work!!!
Shorts give you the dopamine rush that they’re meant to give, the long form is the come-down to reality afterwards.
@@SalemTechspertslmao yup well said
I own a repair shop, and also discontinued services on phones. Way too many headaches.
I saw this happening like 20 years ago, which is why I got out of the tech industry and into a more stable career as an automotive technician. There's truthfully only 3 reasons that computer repair stores are becoming a thing of the past;
1. "Brand" computer's chassis are designed around the parts they're shipped with.*
2. Everyone has a nephew who can repair computers and order parts online.
3. Those who are smart enough to have a custom computer know how to fix it.
*Brands like Dell have been doing this for over 30 years now...
Now, on to the Auto Industry. I wouldn't really call the car industry an industry that's preventing your typical backyard mechanic from doing repairs. What I will say about it is that the actual cost for a backyard mechanic to do repairs is skyrocketing to the point where they might not see much profit. Most vehicles are now more computerized than ever, some having up to 60 little computers in them. In order to scan most vehicles (beyond a basic surface scan) you need extremely expensive scanning equipment with subscriptions to the specific brand vehicles you're working on. This equipment can even be required for things that used to be considered basic repairs, such as transmission fluid checking and brake bleeding. So it's not that your typical backyard mechanic is being denied the ability to do repairs, in most cases it's just too expensive for them to do so. Most wearable components like shocks, struts, brakes, tires and the like can still easily be done by most backyard mechanics. The most profitable way to be a backyard mechanic, these days, is to also have your foot inside a dealership. Working a dealership during the day and doing your backyard stuff during the evenings/weekends gives you access to parts and information that just your regular backyard mechanic wouldn't have. This is how a vast majority of backyard mechanics operate these days. As for 3rd party shops, much like the stand-alone backyard mechanic, they're very limited on what they can actually repair due to costs.
After 10 years, I finally had to close shop. I’m trying to still offer business consulting but Google, and a corporate takeover of the office that I rented, have put me out of business.
Corporate tech here for the last 10 odd years. We've seen it too. The push to stop servicing devices and just replace the whole unit has gone full torque across nearly all sectors.
We've been asked to say that devices "just don't break down like they used to anymore", but most of us know better.
Anyone who talks to the elders will hear the same cycles of "everything is working, what are you doing here?" into "everything isn't working, what are you doing here?" over the decades.
Yes, it's frustrating for everyone involved.....
I own a repair shop in California and even though right to repair laws passed here it’s still miserably difficult to find customers because everyone either has something out of my skill range that I have to pass on to somebody else or any decent replacement parts cost an arm and a leg and nobody wants to pay that.
I'm California too, still a few repair shops in the area, but don't know how well their doing.
This is also true of most (if not all) modern sink faucets. It used to be if a part (in most cases the washers) was worn out you just went to the local hardware store & got a replacement part & it was a simple fix. Faucets now however seem to have washers that you can't replace. There's no hardware store that carry's the type of washer you would need for a proper replacement. It's really frustrating (not to mention the extra cost) of having to buy a whole new faucet just because you couldn't get that one tiny washer.
I recently ordered several cordless paint sprayers from my supplier in China to test out. When I asked whether the batteries were proprietary (eg Dewalt), he said most manufacturers across different sectors just used the de facto form factor because it was easier for the customer. Mind blown.
Former phone tech here. Can confirm. 99.999% of the parts we get are aftermarket, and have a whole host of issues, and it's been going on since the iPhone 6 or before.
Very true about phone repairs.
The other problem. Not only do all the reputable repair stores go out of business. The space gets filled with skeevy, scammy operators. People who've having taken a basic soldering course. No customer service skills. Stores packed full of knock-off merchandise (cases, stands, screen protectors.)
I remember last Christmas trying to get a micro USB charging port repaired. Something which I presume as a fairly basic, tech repair 101 process! Took two attempts. (Charged both times) before it failed a third time. I just decided fuck it, and replace the tablet.
Was the actual soldering fkd?
(I've heard of some destroying the actual port or not even connecting it)
I repair household appliances in the US and the industry has remained generally the same in the last 20 years. However, just recently I have been noticing a significant shift away from repairs. Parts are becoming much more proprietary and appliances aren't being made for accessibility anymore. Especially in imported appliances such as Samsung's LG's Hisense everything for these things are being sold in kits. Oftentimes are able to purchase individual parts. Won't even get a part number for the individual Parts you need requiring you to buy the entire assembly. The only good thing is that in appliance repair in the United States, these manufacturers are required by law to support their Appliance for some years with replacement parts. I suppose that's the only silver lining to be had from here.
That will disappear along with Medicaid pretty quickly now.
It is intriguing that the United States advocates for environmental sustainability while simultaneously neglecting the fact that individuals dispose of computers that may require simple repairs but lack access to the necessary parts. This situation arises from the absence of a legal mandate compelling companies to facilitate such repairs.
Agree with all your points. Will just like to add that sometimes even getting a part shipped to my caribbean region presents a next level of hoops. Sometimes there is no shipping of the replacement parts to the region. When it is shipped, the cost of clearing it from customs is soo huge that it must be passed onto the customer just so the shop could survive. Thus the repair price for the simplest of issues is huge and results in disgruntled customers and negative reviews.
I can’t even imagine how shops in places like yours exist due to shipping alone. God speed 🫡
Yeah I'd just tell em if they can find it cheaper anywhere else you're free to go there.
@@SalemTechsperts That's the funny part some don't. Not making enough to cover employee salaries,shop rent and to restock brand new inventory. Trying to sell outdated stuff and telling customer that "we don't do such repairs, we don't sell that, we don't sell graphics cards,we don't have in stock but store down the road has it"doesn't help. Said place i worked at earlier this year closed down.
I feel your pain. Being in he Caribbean is really bad on ordering parts. If the part itself isn't already expensive, substandard quality and sometimes inaccessible for shipping then if you do get it, the governments in act ridiculous measures to charge you for customs and clearance. This makes the entire process madness. Cheaper to jus buy something new, which defeats the whole purpose of repairing and caring for your existing electronics.
@ManBearGote 100% true. I forgot about that. Here in my country computers have no additional charges on them to clear from customs. The parts though are another story.
Hp eliminated the problem by removing the hinge, that's genius
The funny thing is since they used a unibody back lid, the kickstand hinge is insanely strong. They KNOW what they’re doing, they just don’t give a shit cause 💸
They took the H out of the P
@@xXDeiviDXx
And left us with P without the H
The greatest technician that ever lived
Thank you!
13:50 data recovery. Data recovery....
I opted out of advertising iphone screens in a real way around 2015.
What makes it fun to do what we do is that we do a better job than others.
Thank you. I'll keep it short for now. I agree with so many of your points. I’d love to share my supporting thoughts and experiences with each of those points, but that would take too long. Liked and followed. lmk if you testify again because I would love to change regulations.
My BP went sky high after 14 years of small business tech support and I was essentially forced to retire. Once you leave that world, your body and mind start to heal and the realization slowly dawns that all of that struggle really was not worth it. You and Rossman are correct. The politicians really do not care, so it will never happen. Too many sheep, time to sleep.
I subsidized a lot of my living costs during college working on PCs, building them and fixing most any electronic brought to me on the cheap for the fellow college kids I was at school with. In just 8 years since I couldn't do 1/8 of what I was able to do out of my apartment's kitchen. The two examples you used of batteries and screens being something I could reasonably source were parts I couldn't even pay someone to find for me when my friend asked me to replace his broken laptop screen and I couldn't find anything to replace the screen on my phone when it went out. When I went to root and flash a new rom onto an old tablet a friend gave me it was so locked down that I was astounded that it was natively an Android device to begin with because I'd never had those kinds of issues in the past when putting a new OS on a device.
RIP Peanut 😢
Much appreciated topic. I have searched for parts to repair my devices and 3rd party parts or none were available. I got my phone repaired by a shop and it's replacement battery went bad in about a year. I had a transmission repaired and got a 1 year warranty spending thousands. It went bad a couple weeks after a year and only after weeks of arguing I got them to honor the warranty. I got a transmission fixed on another car and agreed to the repair only if I got a 2 year warranty which I am still covered under. My air conditioning on my Toyota Rav4 stopped working. The put the refrigerant in and in 2 weeks it leaked out. The get behind to dashboard to replace the Heater Cooler I was quoted $2850, F that! Sickening the cost of repairs. I want someone to design a car that's inexpensively repairable or can easily be repaired by the owner who has mechanical skills.
If I want my IPad battery to be replaced I would get a my own battery idk why apple would just replace it when the time is right with a good fee but no they make it complicated and say “Oh so you bought this from somewhere else besides apple we can’t repair it.” I was like what the heck man if your not going to replace my battery then I’ll take my business elsewhere where.
Or you could just strap a thin powerpack to the back of your iPad, and keep it connected. Would work until the internal battery is completely dead.
Our shop just does services for business networks and dropped all repairs for this very reason. We suggest you always keep an extended warranty or just plan on replacing every three years when the warranty runs out. The big deal is not all HP business class equipment has a three year warranty anymore. I used to be that was the clear distinction between consumer grade and business grade is the business always came with 3 year.
11:01 and the reason they don’t sell it is Razer consider the entire screen assembly a trade secret. Yes. A trade secret. That’s why they don’t sell it to third party. It’s absolutely should be illegal explanation but unfortunately they are legally allowed to use that as excuse to not sell the parts to third party.
I foresaw this like 10 years ago when I was a phone repairman. I loved what I was doing yet the money wasn't there and the ratio of cost of repair to actually getting a new device gradually killed it. It was becoming worse and right now is at its' peak. I hate the industry that is producing these devices that I once loved.
My last two phones, Galaxy S5 and XCover Pro. User swappable batteries. Pop the cover, take out old, replace with new, and boot. Takes about 20 seconds if you are moving slow. Spare in the backpack or glove box. (But this is really not what the industry wants.)
I can't imagine how difficult it is to be in the tech repair industry...manufacturers that won't release repair specs, parts that you can't buy so you have to hope you have a working part from a donor board. And, as with any customer facing job...an endless ocean of customer entitlement.
Not a shop owner, but a bus mechanic for MAN. I’ve noticed over the years now that the quality of our original parts has been declining. Last week we had a case where a brand new caliper was mounted, and less than a month later, the bus stopped getting a signal from the potentiometer for the brake pad wear sensor. We’ve replaced so many calipers recently because of the potentiometer, and we can’t get a hold of that part on its own. It’s tragic, man.
I've been doing this for 25 years and the industry has steadily become worse and worse and worse and I'm having to turn away 3 out of every 4 jobs because of parts availability or the sheer cost of repair. Sucks. Good video. keep up the good work.
thegreatdeconstruction
For me it's way more easy than years ago.
I just need time to find parts, donor models.
What kind of jobs? We do general tech stuff, physical repairs, as well as just new computer setups with data (cloned over if we can). We've been steady, and we haven't turned away business unless we're FULL, but it's been about 6 months since we've been totally flooded for a couple weeks.
I have an Acer Nitro 5 (an515-5X for those who want more specifics) and it came from Acer defective. The screen was glitching, and the bottom of the screen just turned into unrecognizable nonsense. I went to college for IT and learned a lot about how to fix laptops and computers and thought this is a perfect opportunity. It was incredibly hard to find a matching screen from AliExpress, and it was impossible to find a legit, from Acer original screen. Hours, days, and weeks looking for authentic Acer parts for nothing. I have it replaced now with a knockoff (oddly enough, it looks better than the original in quality and sharpness) and works flawlessly. Despite it being a bit too plasticy for my liking, the Nitro 5's for now (mine is 7 going on 8 yo) are pretty damn tough and relatively repairable.
Anyways, thought I'd share the story and join in on the misery. Great video as always!
Non-fused laptop displays are one of the only parts left where you CAN still buy the original part. Only a few companies actually make display panels, and you can grab the exact part number off the back of the panel. It’s one of the only exceptions.
@SalemTechsperts Once I got the number off the back of the panel, it made the search much more refined. My model number (laptop wise) is one of the less common models. Asked Acer, and they more or less said, "Sucks to suck, bro." The right to repair is so crucial to businesses like yours and consumers. They have to realize that repairing a device can also make them more money in the long run. Computers 10 years old need major replacements usually, and if they still sell the parts, then they can gain the initial revenue from a new computer with long-term revenue from replacement parts.
@@a.billinski9614What good is right to repair if you can't find the parts to repair it with? Is right to repair going to force manufacturers to hold a stock of parts inventory? Will that apply to me, a small time builder?
Although I support right to repair as an IT repair shop, I don't want the government making specific laws controlling my sources.
I don't mind the government saying that you can't build something with the express purpose of keeping a repair difficult or impossible.
When the government gets involved in business, repair costs are going to rise, no question.
Added to that, manufacturers are making so many variations of a particular product which is obsoleted in about 6 months, when they've moved on a whole different model.
It's like herding cats. Difficult, if not impossible.
I had a shop back in the early 00s, We were doing great until office depot moved in. We could no longer compete with those computer prices and were forced to close a year later as we were in a small town and new builds were over half the income. We did make the business work for another couple years working out of my business partners garage with service calls and repairs, but it wasnt enough sadly and Infinity Computers closed Permanently in 2004.
I still do some freelance stuff from time to time. Never let my skills stagnate either but Im at the age now where a shop will always pick the fresh college kid over the mid 40s nerd.
When I was younger, I thought of opening my own store, but there were a ton of similar stores around me. For whatever reason, they didn't grow; they just stayed small and eventually disappeared. In my head, I was like, "Well, ok, clearly it wouldn't be smart to start a business because no one needs computers that much." Also, my reasoning was flawed-it was abundantly clear that it wouldn’t be the smartest thing I’d ever done, as they were everywhere but kept closing. Then, another one would pop up in its place, like it was clearly not sustainable for them to keep appearing everywhere.
I think people need to be educated on the facts. It would be nice if companies could provide people with the parts they need, but these are multimillion-dollar companies-why would they waste a penny on parts people may or may not need? That's like a whole penny they can keep, and if they can cut corners, they will.
But at least to me, there seriously needs to be some education in the IT field when it comes to starting your own little store. Stop letting your buddies hype you up to go out there, start a business, and open a location, only to shut it down in a few years. It's sad to see, and I wonder who’s lying to these people.
I am sorry for that. PC builders put so much effort yet their profit margin is so less. Also, the fact that there's a tutorial for almost every problem doesn't help. My brother started a PC building repair shop back in the 2000s. It was a huge success but since the late 2010s, it started declining. He had to close it down earlier this year.
Yeah I mean I have a shop but it's not just repair it's IT support and in home support for Networking and all things tech. You need to branch out to stay alive.
@jtkachlmeier agreed. I started repairing computerized assemblies in 1975 and have had an on-call IT repair business since 1991. I'm not closing for sure, but as you said, you have to be flexible and branch out.
Computer builds started becoming slow more than a decade ago, so I work out pre-built packages with customization, installation and network troubleshooting. Things I don't do, programming apps, make websites, SEO work, or hosting email. Also I stay away from Apple repairs, phone repairs and anything that might be internally glued. Gotta pick your poison and be the best at it.
when i graduated last year i couldn't find a job and started to try and do tech repair with my limited knowledge patience and you tube ended up loosing all my savings on either faulty parts or reimbursing my customers, i really love tech repair i genuinely find it fun to fiddle with all day regardless of the monotony but it just isn't viable under most conditions.
sounds like you didn't do it right lol
@Bewefau probably not but it's not like I'm actually that smart. I just like trying to do things I enjoy
I used to rebuild computers for parochial schools. I would pick up discarded equipment, salvage good parts and reuse them on other systems. One day I called the corporation where I was getting computers from, they decide to stop and went with something else instead and couldn't donate computers, I had schools lined up for refurbished computers and had to tell them I no longer couldn't because the corporation when with another supplier.
My dad was a TV repair tech. He bought the shop he worked at in the early '90s and continued until 1999. His biggest gripe was the cost of repair vs new replacement. In hindsight, repairability was also an issue. I've been in the auto repair industry for almost 30 years, which has been relatively safe, but I'm seeing some disturbing trends. Chrysler and Nissan now require a subscription to a security gateway to scan, and Ford now requires the scan tool to be online so they can monitor repairs. Manufacturers are discontinuing parts right after they are mandated to keep them in production and adtermarket options take longer to develop. If you add cheap Chinese auto imports, the auto repair industry will fall as well.
As someone who wanted to start a shop at some point, he really points out the reality of the repair problems we face in the industry. I make sad technician noises, as I most likely will never get to start my own shop.
People I know: can’t you repair this?!?!?!
Me: nope for the cost of the repair, you can get new unit at the same price
People: but I don’t want this in the garbage
Me: nothing I can do
It’s like people don’t bother researching the cost of things and want things fixed not realizing it doesn’t exists or is too expensive just buy new and take care of it
Learned how to disassemble and troubleshoot PC and PC components in 2008. Moved onto learn how to disassemble and reassemble laptops. Did that for a couple of years, then tablets really began taking off. More phones and tablets that couldn't easily be disassembled (by design) kept coming in and ultimately became easier to tell people that they may as well buy a new replacement. Even if replacement screens and parts could be obtained, the labor cost would end up more expensive than just outright buying a new device. I really wanted to keep repairing PCs and laptops but ultimately had to face that the industry was making that kind of work unsustainable. I wasn't even repairing PCs by the time the pandemic hit so I can't even imagine how much harder it got with supply chain issues and cost.
I am sorry about your business and hope you thrive at your next endeavor! I hope to still keep up the content posting since I'd miss seeing those raccoon like fingers and I'm sure some peoples' mothers would suffer without you.
this is the reason why motherboards especially Laptop motherboards are flooded on the market. because why? customer laptop cannot get repaired because of LACK OF LCD SCREEN AND BATTERY SPARE PARTS.
its been a months since i commented here venting about repair jobs. but i really hate about these..
heck even you buy aftermarket parts. you have to wait for them.
and when they come. IT DOESN'T EVEN FIT OR CORRECT WITH YOUR LAPTOP THAT YOU REPAIR.
these are costing you and your customer time, money, and patience.
i have no idea why, the right to repair here in asia are nonexistent, everything is aftermarket from china. but I REALLY WISH I CAN BUY GENUINE SPARE PARTS FOR ELECTRONICS, NOT ONLY LAPTOPS BUT EVERY ELECTRONICS.
thanks for the video Andy. wishing you the best with the right to repair so us as a repairman can feed our family.
I'm personally not too bothered simply because I enjoy picking up the occasional bad laptop and using it as a server, I have so many I could make a mini rack and cluster system if I wanted lol
@@vgamesx1 its ok for a few motherboards. But not when you have loads of them. And you cannot sell them because of the supply didn’t even meet the demands.
I wonder if it would be possible to manufacture "universal" LCD screens as a small business, or if it's a difficult process that requires large scale assembly lines.
If it were possible, I'd definitely do it, so that repair shops can buy from me when they can't find official parts.
had the same issue, would receive parts that didn't match the listings. no way to return unless i wanted to buy expensive shipping back on $20 parts that were the wrong parts. from what i seeing is its getting worse, no batteries or screens. no way to repair something that should be repairable. you have to pick and choose your repairs. and most of the time reject the repair. glad im out of the business as it just got worse and worse 2008 to 2014 ( I was so happy to be self employed when i started )
i think a way to fix this problem of parts is to make a company that buys broken laptops phones and anything that can be repaired using parts and buy them from people for the parts and partner with tech shops to put out what specific parts they need and be able to find someone thats willing to find those parts for them or have them around and they make some cash selling them and tech shops will always have parts.
Ifeel your pain dude!I've experienced pretty much the same crap as in car repair. Big Biz's attitude of "just buy a new one and CONSUME!"makes us dinosaurs (Shoutout to Uncle Tony's Garage)!
We need something like the Magnuson Moss act that the auto industry has. I own a repair shop but also provide IT support. I do new machine sales and in home tech support as well including networking and security cameras. Many of those things people don't like to do or aren't qualified for. You need to branch out to stay alive.
We need a meaningful Right to Repair law. Branching out is the only solution, but if you’re in a high cost of living area, it’s not feasible as a one man retail shop.
@SalemTechsperts My fiance is a paralegal. Hopefully in the future I can get her to start biting back with us.
I pirate music as I hate ads
@@SalemTechspertsIt can be if you run it from a home basement. If no basement, set aside a repair room and do pickups and drop offs if you must. You have to think outside the box, as the Box walls slowly squeeze in on you. 😊
Part of the problem is that in order to keep costs low every single part is outsourced to someone which outsurces it as well. Margins on suppliers are also very low so spair parts are kept to a minimum. Its becoming so ridiculous. Pretty soon you have to buy a second item to guarantee parts. If the right to repair isnt a law a warranty of 5 years should regardless of the part. But i guess corporates specially in US love that 1 warranty policy. In EU it is now 3 years bit dont get too excited because normally the extra 2 are in most cases given by the local supplier or the shop. I've heard of cases where the shops eventually get all the loss. This is also valid on cars, manufacteurs in most cases they dont care about after sales and they dont want that risk in their balance sheets.
That’s already been the norm for a while. In phone repair, every experienced shop buys 3 parts just to get 1 functional one. It’s a joke.
I was gonna rant about how everything is outsourced to other companies, but you hit the nail on the head. I don’t think most manufacturers could get the parts if they wanted too. They ordered a run out of China, or Taiwan or whomever and getting another run isn’t feasible. We live in the world of just in time inventory so most businesses are not going to double a run just to have parts available for an item. Even if it were in stock the vast majority of consumers would rather just buy the latest thing than to try and repair it. I know most of my friends won’t buy a frameworks laptop just because of the higher upfront costs. It’s easier and cheaper to buy a disposable computer at Walmart. Repairs and parts are just tomorrow’s me problem and nobody cares about that guy. Good luck getting any politician to care about this when their donors pay them not to care and the citizens don’t care.
Honestly, repairing your own stuff just feels so good. My laptop hinge broke off, the speaker diaphragm rot away (ik it sounds weird, rotting away) and the battery literally won't hold a charge. I'd hate to put this laptop in some land fill because this laptop helped me out during trying times back in 2020 to at least get some food on the table. I'd want technology that's repairable and not irreparable and use it for years to come.
You could turn it into a clock on your wall. 😅
If the hinge "broke" by just ripping the brass nut out of the plastic it was sealed into, then I usually fix that by drilling a hole straight through the case, where the hinge nut/bolt went, and running a new (longer) nut through the case, and up into the hinge. Then put a small bolt on the nut to hold the hinge in place, and maybe a spot of glue on the nut, or two nuts, to lock it in place. This is the only reliable repair...plastic glues, epoxies, crazy glue with baking soda, etc., don't hold. If you actually broke the metal hinge itself, so the metal snapped, then you have to get the part from another similar laptop.
@@PracticaProphetica since it's a combination of brass, metal and plastic, I did try JB Weld, which did work on one Job. Tried it on another couple jobs and it couldn't adhere. Then I took a chance on another brand of epoxy and it worked beautifully where the JB Weld failed. I can now permanently and reliably epoxy the metal plate to the plastic. As for the screw and the brass nut, I just throw them away now.
@@SpaceCadet4Jesus It still won't be as strong as running a bolt right through the case. And also, if you ever need to take it apart again, you'll be chiseling away at epoxy.
I was an electronics maintenance warrant officer in the army for 25 years, when I joined back in the 90s we could actually repair equipment, replaced subcomponents like resistors, etc., then in the 2000s after 9/11 we switched to replacing components like a whole circuit card, after 2015 we now just replace the whole item. Got a radio with a broken knob, the customer is given a whole new radio, and the broken radio is shipped back to the manufacture for repair.
I saw how you put that thermal pad on. Long live your yt career, as repairs is clearly not your thing
Amen to that
“Right to Repair is Communist” is what companies tell the government when lobbying I assume
The HVAC industry has laws making some repairs illegal. Have to replace.
Related to ozone depleting refrigerants? Or refrigerants with a high GWP in the thousands? Yeah it's better to replace them
@@imeakdo7 - I'm pretty sure that's the case. Still, why does a lot of stuff hasn't any sort of redundancy whatsoever?
@@imeakdo7 he meant asbestos
@lucasrem New York City, all gas appliances that break have to be replaced with none gas.... unless they change the rules again!
@@gallowaylights NYC is one of the more backwards places from what I know about it, such as forgetting re-use is still better for the environment than tossing or recycling perfectly functional devices.
I ran a repair shop in Alaska for a decade, eventually had to just quit and find a new profession due to the issues you described. It was extremely frustrating with trying to get parts that were reliable and economical. Back then we also parted out abandoned systems where possible just for the screens. I remember the first time I ran into a glued and potted phone, that was when I saw the writing on the wall.
You know, you have a pretty good radio voice. It's not audiobook good, but you could easily do radio.
Rather ironic, I'm currently viewing a kiddy movie, Robots (2005) on YT, where the maker of robots does not make replacement parts. Maximizing profits by having robots scraped rather than fixed.