Category: Hacks

Sometimes you’ll resort to unusual means when it comes to repairing! Discover tips and tricks, creative DIY ideas and very involved transformation projects.

Hacks

Zen and the Art of Never Giving Up

Repair is a process of guessing, testing, tinkering, and hoping. And sometimes you come across a job so vexing that by the end of it, you realize your skills—and, more…

November 2, 2024

by Charlie Sorrel - iFixit

Hacks

Ask iFixit: Does Blowing Into Gaming Cartridges Actually Fix Them?

As someone born right at the tail end of the cartridge era, when I think of video games, I think less of the blocky gray cartridges and more of disks…

July 23, 2024

by Manuel Haeussermann - iFixit

Hacks

Our Readers’ Best Tips for Organizing Screws During a Repair

We sell what we consider an almost perfect tool for holding little screws and metal parts during a repair: the FixMat, complete with an erasable pen to label each little…

September 30, 2020

by Kevin Purdy

Hacks

It’s a Good Time to Sugru Your Tiny Home Headaches

I love nearly everything about my 6-cup Chemex Coffeemaker, minus one inherent flaw. I have two framed copies of the illustrations from Peter Schlumbohm’s original 1941 patent hanging in my…

July 16, 2020

by Kevin Purdy

Hacks

The First Step to Becoming a Fixer: Read The Frickin’ User Manual

A lot of DIYers have—or develop over time—a holier-than-thou attitude towards owners’ manuals. Tossing them aside becomes an odd bragging right. But your owner’s manual has some choice bits of…

May 2, 2019

by Craig Lloyd - iFixit

Hacks

How to Get the Best Deal at the Genius Bar

We think the “Genius Bar” moniker does a disservice to everyday Apple users, scaring them away from fixing their own devices and implying only a “genius” can troubleshoot them. But…

February 21, 2019

by Whitson Gordon

Fixers

Your Smartphone Battery, Explained

When it’s your job to take devices apart and figure out how they work, you start to think about them differently. I like to think about the complex circuitry of…

September 3, 2018

by Arthur Shi - iFixit

Hacks

Don’t Ditch Your iPhone Over a Bad Battery

It doesn’t matter how much you baby your iPhone. Eventually, your battery will wear down. But a bad battery doesn’t mean you have to buy a whole new phone.

April 20, 2017

by Julia Bluff

Hacks

Tips for Buying a Repairable Phone

Fewer upgrades means less waste. That’s why we like phones that we can easily fix and use for as long as possible. But spotting a repairable phone in the wild…

April 18, 2017

by Kelsea Weber

Hacks

Don’t Let Pet Hair Destroy Your Vacuum

Our dogs have inadvertently demolished multiple vacuums. Not even the top-of-the-line vacuum stood up to these (adorable) beasts and their constant, insidious shedding. Here are a few things I’ve learned…

October 26, 2016

by Kelsea Weber