You don’t have to pay anyone to fix your Pixel if it breaks.

It doesn’t matter how much you care for your phone, sometimes it will just break. No matter if you have a screen protector, a case or not, one bad fall will doom your Pixel. In the past, it was common to bring a damaged phone to the manufacturer or a repair shop. Google, like many other companies, now encourages you to repair your phone.

Google lets you repair your Pixel now

Google announced in April that it would offer customers genuine Pixel parts so they could fix their phones themselves. Google made a wise choice in choosing iFixit to be its partner for this Pixel self repair program. iFixit specializes both in the sale of parts and detailed walkthroughs to fix your own tech. They’re a great all-in one package for a partner like Google. iFixit has a good reputation, even though Google doesn’t approve the walkthroughs.

Repairing your own things has many benefits. One of the benefits is that you are in control. You don’t have to hand over your phone and hope they won’t misuse it. The risk is minimal, so you’ll see the immediate benefits in the price. When you pay only for parts and not labor for something in life, you can save a lot of money.

The Right to Repair movement was born out of this issue. The tech companies would prefer that you did not fix your own devices and would not want you to bring them into a third party repair shop. Instead, they’d prefer you bring your device back to them so they can repair it for whatever they want to charge, or they’ll tell you that the repair isn’t worthwhile and you should buy a brand new device. Apple has even punished users who use non-genuine components by forcing them to visit first-party repair shops to complete the repair.

Apple, like Google, also gave in last year, and offered customers a way to repair their own stuff. Apple’s program is more complicated, costly, and not worth the effort. Apple’s repair program is often inferior to iFixit.

Google Repair Program: How to repair your Pixel

Back to the repair of your Pixel: I believe that soon we will see parts for new Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold. iFixit has older Google devices like the OG Pixel screen or Pixel XL charger assembly. However, they are not officially covered by the program.

Start by visiting the official iFixit Pixel Repair page. Then, choose between buying individual parts or repair kits. Repair kits come with everything you need for a specific fix such as a battery swap, screen replacement or camera fix. Say you want to repair a Pixel 7 Pro screen. You can purchase the part here as well as the guide for repairing your display. The guide will show you how to use the necessary tools to finish the repair. It also shows the time and difficulty of the repair. It will take between 30 and 40 minutes to complete this repair.

Some of us prefer to hire someone to do the repairs for us, rather than try to fix our devices ourselves. It’s especially important to do this when replacing batteries. However, even screen repairs can be intimidating. Google partners with uBreakiFix for the supply of genuine parts and to train repair technicians. It’s well worth checking out one of these stores. Don’t forget to get a second opinion when it comes to tech repairs.