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The push to stuff more and more technology into a smartphone chassis has resulted in repairability taking a backseat. While there have been some efforts to make smartphones more repairable in recent years, the situation hasn’t meaningfully improved. So, if you’re someone who likes to spend their money on sustainable technology, it can be tricky to find a smartphone with a good repairability score, as some of the biggest players in this industry have a poor track record. According to the “Failing the Fix 2026” study published by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund, Samsung, which is the biggest Android phone brand in the U.S., scores pretty low in repairability.
The U.S. PIRG is a non-profit consumer advocacy organization, which is helped by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund with research and public education. While Samsung isn’t the worst among all major smartphone brands, as that title goes to Apple, it ranks the lowest among Android smartphone makers. So, if you want a reasonably repairable smartphone, it’s best to avoid Samsung, which will certainly be hard, as the company offers some of the most popular and well-rated Android phones and is considered the best major Android phone brand in terms of customer satisfaction.
Samsung gets the worst repairability grade, Motorola the best
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The “Failing the Fix 2026” study grades a total of four smartphone brands in the U.S., three of which make Android devices. Although Samsung got the worst grade of “D” among Android phone manufacturers, Google and Motorola performed better with “C-” and “B+” grades, respectively. Motorola’s grading, while not amazing, is still pretty good and indicates that the brand’s phones have much better repairability than Samsung phones, making it a more enticing choice for anyone seeking better repairability.Â
The study based its findings on the repairability scores provided by the manufacturers as part of the EU’s European Product Registry for Energy Labeling (EU EPREL). Keep in mind that it’s not comparable to the repairability grades offered by the same study in previous years, as they used repairability scores provided by companies in France on slightly different parameters. The EU repairability scores are based on a phone’s repair documentation, ease of disassembly, spare parts availability, use of standard fasteners, use of standard tools, and length of software updates, which better take into account a device’s overall repairability. Besides the EU repairability scores, the grades also saw deductions based on a manufacturer’s association with anti-Right to Repair associations, and all phone manufacturers lost points on this front, except for Motorola.
Notably, it’s not just the “Failing the Fix 2026” study where Samsung’s phones have scored low in terms of repairability. The company’s phones also haven’t performed well in iFixit’s repairability scores. None of the last six Samsung phones rated by iFixit scored more than 5 out of 10. That said, there has been a marginal improvement in the repairability of its newer phones over the previous generations.
