Many people believe that phones are simply too thin and complex for a normal person to fix. That is a myth. The truth is that companies choose to glue parts down or use software to block repairs. Some brands prove every year that you can make a powerful, slim device that is still easy to open and fix. Design is a choice, not a wall.
Diving right into it, the numbers are pretty clear and quite shocking. A group called US PIRG just released their “Failing the Fix” report, and it shows a huge gap between brands. Motorola is leading the pack with a solid B+ grade for their phones.
On the other side of the fence, Apple hit rock bottom with a D-minus.
This score makes the iPhone the hardest phone to fix on the entire market.
Samsung is right there in the basement too, earning a D grade.
The data shows that the most popular phones are often the ones that break the most easily and stay broken.
For the big picture, we have to look at how we get this information. We only know these true scores because of a law in France that forced companies to put repair labels on their boxes. Before this, companies could say their phones were “repair-friendly” without any proof.
Now, that openness is spreading.
This report is the first major look at which companies are actually getting better and which ones are just talking.
While some brands are sharing tools and manuals, their actual design scores are dropping because they still use tricks to keep independent shops out. Labels are finally forcing these giants to show their hand to the public.
I bet you never realized how much your choice of brand changes your future costs. Here is what the data suggests for the coming years:
- You might save hundreds of dollars by picking a brand like Motorola that designs for durability.
- Buying a laptop from Asus might be a better investment than a MacBook because Asus earned a B+ while Apple got a C-minus.
- Local repair shops may soon refuse to work on certain brands because the software locks make the job impossible.
- Second-hand prices for phones with high repair scores will likely go up as people look for devices that last longer.
Looking at the broader tech world, laptops are actually doing much better than phones. Most laptop makers are passing their tests with decent grades. For example, Asus sits at the top of the laptop list with a B+ grade.
Even the lowest-ranked laptop maker, Apple, still managed a C-minus for its MacBooks.
This shows a weird divide in the tech world.
Companies seem to think it is okay for you to fix your computer, but they want your phone to be a black box that stays shut forever.
The gap between these two types of gadgets is growing every year.
In the spring of 2026, the landscape of repair is shifting due to new legal pressure. Following the lead of states like California and Minnesota, Oregon recently enacted a law that specifically targets the “parts pairing” software tricks mentioned earlier.
This law requires manufacturers to make all parts and tools available on fair terms for any device sold after mid-2025.
Because of this, we are starting to see the first wave of hardware that cannot be legally locked by software.
These laws are forcing a massive redesign of internal components that we haven’t seen in decades.
The “D-minus” era might be the wake-up call that finally ends the age of disposable tech. Your phone belongs to you, not the person who sold it to you.
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