Skip to main content

Broken smartphone? This handy $20 toolkit could help put it right

iFixit's Essential Electronics Toolkit!
When one of your gadgets suffers damage or stops working, do you trash it, take it to the repair shop, or try to mend it yourself?

With so many resources out there for DIY fixers – from YouTube to a slew of specialist websites – many gadget repairs can be carried out these days without too much effort or experience. Complete the task by yourself and you’ll not only save yourself a few bucks, but also be left with a warm feeling of satisfaction at having sorted the issue unaided.

Recommended Videos

So if you’ve a steady hand, an inquisitive mind, and the confidence to take apart your faulty gadget, then you might want to consider this useful-looking toolkit from iFixit.

ifixit-toolkit
iFixit
iFixit

The Essential Electronics Toolkit, launched by the gadget repair and teardown specialist this week, features everything you need to get inside your tech. And it only costs $20.

“Fix your iPhone. Upgrade your laptop. Swap out a dead battery. Repair your drone. Tighten your door handle. Take apart your blender. Adjust your eyeglasses,” iFixit says on its website, adding, “Seriously. You can tackle just about every precision job on your to-do list with this kit.”

In the box you’ll find a magnetized driver handle with 16 driver bits for the vast majority of today’s common electronics. There’s also a useful suction handle for lifting off smartphone and tablet displays, and a jimmy that’ll “easily slip between the tightest gaps in the toughest devices.” It also includes an opening tool, picks for scraping and prying open housings, angled precision tweezers, a spudger for disconnecting cables, and a lid with a built-in sorting tray to help you stay organized.

iFixit also offers the Pro Tech Toolkit at the more expensive price of $65. As you’d expect, it comes with a few additional tools, though it seems like its handy Essential kit will have you covered for most of the fiddly jobs you take on, saving you from spending out more on the pricier alternative.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
I record interviews for work. These are my favorite free recorder apps
The iPhone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7 Pro's voice recording apps running together.

The Voice Recorder app on a phone (left) and the Voice Memos on another phone Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Before you head to the app store on your phone to buy a voice-recording app, take a moment to consider the apps that may already be installed on your phone. Why? In my experience, they're likely all you really need. I’ve recorded interviews and voice-overs for work for years, and I’ve found the two best examples come preinstalled on your phone already, so they’re entirely free to use.

Read more
The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases: 10 best ones so far
Two Galaxy Z Fold 5 phones next to each other -- one is open and one is closed.

Samsung’s next-generation foldable is here with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. This iteration has some notable improvements, including a new hinge design that eliminates the gap from previous generations when the device was folded. You also get a 6.2-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the outside while having a 6.7-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the inside, with both screens having a 120Hz refresh rate. In other words, they're about as nice as you could ask for.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is made with premium materials, and the triple-lens camera system packs in a 50MP main shooter, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. There’s a 10MP selfie camera on the front cover, and a 4MP camera on the inner display. You also get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip inside for the best performance and power efficiency.

Read more
Google Pixel Tablet just got its first big discount and it’s worth a look
Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

Tablets are a dime-a-dozen these days, with offerings from all the great brands including Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, and more. So, if you really want to stand out in a sea of similar tech, you need to do things a little differently. That's what Google's Pixel Tablet offers. How? It comes with a unique speaker dock that can be used to both charge the device and offer room-filling sound -- almost like a smart speaker add-on. Better yet, when your Pixel Tablet is docked it benefits from the Hub Mode, turning the device into a smart display, with digital photo frame support, smart home controls, and hands-free Google functionality. Of course, it could set you back at full price, normally $499 unless you find it included in a roundup of the best Google Pixel deals. Well, guess what? Thanks to a Best Buy Google Pixel Tablet deal, you can get it today for $439 and save $60. Hurry, though, it's part of Best Buy's recent 48-hour sale so it won't stick around for long.

Why you should buy the Google Pixel Tablet
Okay, okay, so in our Google Pixel Tablet review, Joe Maring did give it less than stellar remarks, but he called out its reliable fingerprint sensor, comfortability during use and excellent speaker dock. Honestly, how many tablets come with a matching speaker dock that transforms the entire experience? This tablet also marks a "lot of firsts" for Google, as it's the first tablet from the company in nearly five years, the first Android tablet in eight years, and can be converted into a smart home display with the speaker dock. All of which are notable milestones.

Read more