The fact that you can’t buy the cable needed to unbrick a Chromebook, and have to solder it together yourself from Google’s schematics is ridiculous.
MacBooks, Chromebooks lead losers in laptop repairability analysis
Submitted 9 months ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
BetaDoggo_@lemmy.world 9 months ago
crusa187@lemmy.ml 9 months ago
Chromebooks are straight up hostile towards attempts at repairs, maintenance, or upgrades. It’s wild, they really went the extra mile towards rampant consumerism.
sexy_peach@feddit.de 9 months ago
It’s not ridiculous it’s designed that way
Shalakushka@kbin.social 9 months ago
It can be designed ridiculously
LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I bet you can get it on Etsy.
Thorny_Insight@lemm.ee 9 months ago
I’m using external keyboard on my macbook because the letter i is not working and replacing the keyboard means completely gutting the thing and ripping the old one out by force as it’s locked in place with plastic rivets.
sebinspace@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Having worked in a repair shop, I can give you instructions, but that would be assuming you have the resources and the tools to follow said directions and nothing should designed like that…
Thorny_Insight@lemm.ee 9 months ago
Thanks. There’s plenty of instructions on how to do it but in my case the biggest issue would probably be sourcing a new Finnish keyboard for it
Grass@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
This makes me happy and sad at the same time.
ky56@aussie.zone 9 months ago
Where do I get the keyboard as a part from? I bought a keyboard from a seemingly branded seller on Aliexpress and the keyboard was really shit. The spacebar didn’t balance at the edges and all the key felt mushy.
I also bought a battery from iFixit and got two warranty replacements and not a single one lasted more than a few hours before bricking itself. As in the battery still measured a voltage and it could keep the ram contents in sleep but the controller/battery info no longer showed up in macOS.
I can do these repairs as difficult as they are but where do I actually get the parts from?
Dehydrated@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Buy Framework laptops, these have amazing repairability and upgradability, as well as good Linux compatibility. They even offer ChromeOS options, if you ever need a Chromebook.
papertowels@lemmy.one 9 months ago
If you upgrade the motherboard, you can actually 3d print or buy a $60 case and use it as a desktop.
Dehydrated@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Yeah it’s really cool. Also works very well with an external Gpu.
Gingernate@programming.dev 9 months ago
I mean can’t you just plug it into a monitor and then use it as a desktop?
MeanEYE@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I think I could justify Chromebooks to a degree when it comes to hardware. The goal is clearly to produce cheapest hardware possible, which inevitably means soldered components and mass production with features disabled in software. I can’t excuse software locking and bad practices, though. However what Apple is doing is just sinister.
Uvine_Umbra@discuss.tchncs.de 9 months ago
Ohh yeah, I literally work as a field technician fixing computers for some of the big companies. Literally the only computers that make me & my competitors go insane are Chromebooks. Hardware is ok at best. Software is absolutely HELL though.
sexy_peach@feddit.de 9 months ago
They’re the non rechargeable ecigs of the laptop world
YarHarSuperstar@lemmy.world 9 months ago
You mean the “disposables”, even though that’s a misnomer. Many of them require a charge one or more times throughout their shitty little lives.
MisterNeon@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I used to be a field technician doing that and repairing printers. May the roads you drive be safe and your lunch choices to your tastes.
Spotlight7573@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I’m curious what about the software is hell as a technician? I was under the impression that the ChromeOS part being normally unmodifiable by the user would lead to fewer problems. Is there something about it that makes it worse than a comparable Windows or Mac computer?
stsquad@lemmy.ml 9 months ago
What’s wrong with the software? They are client web devices and with crostini you can develop at a pinch. But they aren’t meant to be laptop/desktop replacement.
femboy_bird@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 months ago
Oh boy i sure do love you have to hack into the bios just to install a usable os on the only truly mass market linux laptops
OrderedChaos@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Mrchromebox is doing the Lord’s work.
dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
I don’t think anyone is surprised by this outcome one iota.
octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 9 months ago
shockedpikachu.jpg
terminhell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
I can only go by people like Luis Rossman on Mac stuff, but I’ve done my fair amount of Chromebook repairs. Granted it’s been a few years, and most were dell and splash of HP/Lenovo. Hardware wise there’s not much to them, physically. Pretty easy with simple tools. However, the shimming/reloading the OS is a whole different monster. Dell was the easiest, but was still involved.
boywar3@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I worked on mostly Chromebook repairs for 6 months last year, and I found it to be pretty straightforward as well from a hardware standpoint…especially when there was no point in doing most repairs because it would cost more than just getting a new one.
For any OS issues, we’d simply take a flash drive and reinstall it from scratch. It’s definitely gotten easier, but holy crap could it be slow as hell lol
terminhell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
From what I remember, even the dell process was a testament to following instructions to the T. Having to do some steps with the battery connected, then more with it disconnected, then connected again. HP used some special screw for board locking. Lol what a wild time.
MonkderZweite@feddit.ch 9 months ago
that they have to replace each member of their family’s $1,000 phone every other year because it’s not designed to las
What do they do? I’m on my third phone since they came to be and the one inbetween only because it became infeasible to repair a broken screen. While my Galaxy S3 just retired from being an alarm clock, because replacement batteries were bad as new in 2016 already.
Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 9 months ago
Maybe don’t buy $1000 phones then.
You can get much more reliable and sturdy phones for like $300-$400 and they last longer than the flimsy fancy flagship phones. They just don’t have the best features.
MonkderZweite@feddit.ch 9 months ago
Yes? That’s what i do. High end doesn’t have the features i like and cpu and camera are outdated 3 or4 years later anyway.
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 9 months ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Apple and Google have long been criticized for selling devices that are deemed harder to repair than others.
Worse, PIRG believes that the two companies are failing to make laptops easier to take apart and fix.
The “Failing the Fix (2024)” report released this week [PDF] is largely based on the repairability index scores required of laptops and some other electronics sold in France.
For laptops, that criteria includes providing updates and the ability to reset software and firmware.
PIRG also docked companies for participating in trade groups that fight against right-to-repair legislation and if OEMs failed to “easily provide full information on how they calculated their products."
PIRG’s report doesn’t factor in software support timelines, but even if it did, Chromebooks’ repairability score wouldn’t increase notably since the move only brought them to “industry norms,” Lucas Gutterman, Designed to Last campaign director for the US PIRG Education Fund, told me.
The original article contains 468 words, the summary contains 151 words. Saved 68%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Badeendje@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Make the vendor responsible for actual recycling and this issue goes away over night
dohpaz42@lemmy.world 9 months ago
www.apple.com/shop/open/free_recycling
It’s not really free, but it’s there as an option.
Ottomateeverything@lemmy.world 9 months ago
It’s not at all free - you pay for it when you buy their new product. This is just sale incentives.
ares35@kbin.social 9 months ago
amazon's local showrooms.. err, i mean bestbuy locations across the u.s., accepts many things for recycling--at no charge. including desktops, laptops, all-in-ones, and printers. details here
Retrograde@lemmy.world 9 months ago
It’s true, they make a good profit by recycling those things too from what I’ve heard