How do I get started with device repair?

Hi

I learned by doing 2 things

1) finding something that I would like (like a iPod for example )and start working on it for a while

My first hands on repair was a 6th gen iPod touch and it has thought me a lot through hands in repair,soldering and much more

I recommend the iPod touch (5th,6th,7th gen) as they aren’t the easiest thing to work on but not the hardest ether

2)the second way I learned was through buying job lots of fault devices and trying to make a couple good ones out if it

(Bonus tip)

(Ask lots of questions!)

If you want to repair laptops I recommend getting a pre 2013 MacBook Pro as they have a lot of things to learn from

For example

The screens are repaired in a similar way to iPads

They have lots of interchangeable components

They are inexpensive compared to the newer ones when faulty and have a nice resale value

It’s entirely up to you where to start but before you buy anything I recommend look at ifixit guide to see the difficulty of the device first and if it looks to be within your skill bracket

If you have any questions or need helping starting at all please ask

Hopefully this helps

Any questions please ask

Thanks:-)

Very good information here from a couple of our best contributors, so I'll toss in my $0.02 worth.

You'll want to understand the basics of electric circuits, so taking a beginning basic electric theory course would be useful. You'll learn about resistors, capacitors, Ohm's Law, current, power, resistance, inductance and all sorts of mean, nasty, ugly things. No, actually, that's just a quote from 'Alice's Restaurant'; that stuff is all pretty amazing in how it works and all fits together, but you'll definitely want to learn it in order to know what's going on with the devices you're working on; as @oldturkey03 stated,

This is not about being able to microsolder a 0201 capacitor, it's about why it is on there and what it does.

For instance, you've got a phone that's not charging. With a basic understanding of electricity and circuits, you can use a voltmeter to check to see if you're getting power to the charging port, then follow the circuit to the motherboard and verify it has power and figure out exactly where the fault is rather than just taking a shotgun approach to randomly replacing related parts like the lightning port and hoping that's the problem.

A local community college would be an excellent place to start, but there are a huge number of options open to you for learning. Online academies, self-taught tutorials, books and videos can all help your understanding.

With that knowledge, you'll have a much better grasp not only on what to fix, but also why that fix works. All of the parts are interrelated, so once you get to know one part it helps fill in the overall picture.

Anyway, I'd like to say welcome aboard! One thing about being able to fix things - you'll never run out of things to do! And if you enjoy it and can earn a living at it; well, that's my definition of success, right there!

Hey there!

My little answer here is follow what literally everyone has said to this point, but never hesitate to do teardowns. If you do not know how to tear it down, I think that is the beauty of it. For example, I repair older retro consoles and I normally research the device by model and then make a little diagram of what each chip is and its function. If a teardown does not exist and you can verify this on ifixit here, I say there is no shame in starting your own, the community is awesome here and if there is a missed word, or grammar issues (along with other doo dads) then they will help contribute to your article to make it even better! This is a fantastic hobby for me and it can be for you also. Another thing of note is to never get discouraged, there is a lot of electronics out there, and boy can some of them get intense to fix (talking to you SNES) but if you have a question, someone I am sure has ran into it on here and would be happy to answer! Happy fixing and welcome to ifixit!

What you can do is buy earlier phones and fix them, you can then sell them on eBay, at the very least you are not throwing them away, and you might make some money off of it! This is what I did. I’m building up to the later models after I get comfortable enough with repair, confidence that if I open a phone, I won’t break any components. Of course you will break components, cause we all make mistakes at first, but keep practicing!

Skip the eBay gamble! Start low-risk by offering simple repairs you can learn online – screen protectors, phone cases, basic cleaning. Network with local stores – offer free checkups or discounted repairs at first. As confidence grows, graduate to broken devices from friends/family (with clear expectations), focusing on older, cheaper models (iPhones 5/6, basic Androids). Practice on these, resell working ones, recycle the rest responsibly. This builds skills, avoids expensive risks, and helps you find your niche before investing in pricier brands and complex repairs. Good luck!