What is the Samsung Self-Repair Program and how does it work?

Samsung has revealed that its self-repair program, which first launched in the US in 2022, is set to come to the UK and Europe, allowing Samsung customers to take repairs into their own hands. 

The program follows similar efforts from the likes of Apple to enable consumers to repair their existing smartphones rather than buy replacements. It’s a solid idea – it not only is a cheaper option than buying a new phone but also helps save perfectly good tech from landfill – but there are plenty of questions about Samsung’s self-repair program.

Here, we explain all you need to know about Samsung’s self-repair program, including the core concept, associated costs and the devices currently supported by the initiative. 

What is the Samsung Self-Repair Program?

The core concept of Samsung’s self-repair program is a simple one; the company provides not only the instructions on how to replace your smartphone’s display, battery, back panel or USB port, but also provides the tools you’ll need to undergo the process from the comfort of your home and, of course, the replacement parts themselves. 

That said, replacing a smartphone’s core components can be a tricky task depending on the interior design and not everyone will have experience with electronics and disassembling in particular.

That’s where the second pillar of Samsung’s program comes into play; partnerships. The company famously partnered with beloved DIY repair site iFixit to provide step-by-step documentation and helpful photography, taking you through every single step of the repair process for every supported smartphone in the program.

Samsung has also revealed that it’ll be working with German brand ASWO to provide Samsung-approved parts for repairs in mainland Europe. 

Which smartphones can I repair myself?

Before you get too excited about the idea of digging out old Samsung phones and giving them a hardware refresh, it’s worth noting that Samsung’s self-repair offering is fairly limited compared to the huge expanse of products the company manufactures.

In fact, at the time of writing, Samsung is only offering self-repair support for the Samsung Galaxy S20, S21 and S22 series of smartphones with this year’s S23 range not officially supported – for repairs of the S23, S23 Plus or S23 Ultra, you’ll still have to head into a Samsung store and get it professionally repaired.

It’s a similar story in other departments with no support for any Samsung tablet at any price point, and only two laptops in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Book Pro 360. 

It’s a solid starting point at least, and one that we hope Samsung expands upon soon, but for now, here’s a list of all the products currently supported by Samsung’s self-repair program:

• Samsung Galaxy S20
• Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus
• Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy S21
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy S22
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy Book Pro
• Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360

When will Samsung’s self-repair program be available in the UK?

As confirmed by Samsung, the self-repair program is set to kick off in the UK at the end of June 2023 – though no exact date has been given.

This follows the release of the self-repair program in the US back in 2022 and in Korea earlier in 2023, with hopes that it’ll come to more regions in the near future.