cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/5176306

Google says it can’t fix Pixel Watches, please just buy a new one | With no official repair program and no parts, broken Pixel Watches are just e-waste.::With no official repair program and no parts, broken Pixel Watches are just e-waste.

  • Chozo@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    arrow-down
    9
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:

    There is no point to repairing a smart watch. The cost of a screen repair (including parts and labor) is nearly how much the watch costs. It’s simply not economically wise to repair when a brand new product costs almost the same as the repair does.

    If you’re worried that you’re gonna crack the screen on your smartwatch, buy a protection plan with it. Otherwise, you’re doing yourself a disservice in getting it fixed. Unless you fix it, yourself - in which case, good luck, because those are some tough devices to take apart without causing further damage, even for a skilled technician.

      • Chozo@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        Maybe. But even having the parts does very little in terms of repairing a smartwatch. The parts would only be a tiny fraction of the cost to repair it, the rest would be the likely several hours of work it would take to execute the repair without further damaging it. I say this as somebody who bought a Pixel watch fully aware of the fact that Google doesn’t offer repairs and that I would have to just shell out for a new one if I broke it (which is why I paid a little extra for a protection plan). If only more people did even half as much research before buying things.

        I understand and fully agree with the RTR argument when it comes to phones and other devices. But a smartwatch is a fashion accessory, first and foremost, so the slim and stylish form factor is the point of the device’s existence. And an attractive form factor comes at the cost of repairability, as getting the product to that point requires more advanced build techniques than your average device, which in turn requires more advanced expertise to repair.

        This is really a non-issue that everybody’s latching onto because “fuck google”.

        • lustrum@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          1 year ago

          It seems you’ve missed out on the fact I can try fix it myself with the parts. Yeah it might take me hours but I’m not paying myself, it’s my spare time.

          • Chozo@kbin.social
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            Do you regularly repair these types of devices? If not, and you don’t have a spec sheet available and know where all the easily-overlooked ribbon cables are located and have an array of very niche and specialized tools, there’s a very significant chance that you’ll end up breaking it even more than it already is. Now you’re out a watch, and a replacement screen, and likely also the cost for the unique tools you’d have to have purchased to try opening it up in the first place.

            Even some of the best repair techs avoid working on smartwatches, for this very reason. Maybe you’re just built different and can do what most can’t, but you’d be a lonely outlier if so. So much so that it’d honestly be a statistical anomaly if you managed to repair one of these devices without issue.

            • newIdentity@sh.itjust.works
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              6
              ·
              edit-2
              1 year ago

              Just watch a tutorial of someone who does know what he’s doing

              That way you can at least try.

              Also they shouldn’t have released a watch that is that unrepairable in the first place

            • lustrum@sh.itjust.works
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              edit-2
              1 year ago

              What? There are already teardown guides online, I just need replacement parts.

              No i’ve not repaired one before because it’s not broken, I feel like you’ve got blinkers on mate and missing some key points. Repair techs don’t work on them because of the time, they’re not profitable.

              but i’m not trying to be profitable, i’m just trading free time.

            • qyron@sopuli.xyz
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              This is all very good but when considering the mandated repairability for all consumer goods rising in strenght in some parts of the world, products like this either avoid such markets (difficult to achieve) or will go extinct.

              Companies need to end the mentality of “if I can, I will”.

    • Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      1 year ago

      Sometimes people care more for environmental viability over economical viability. Some people would rather spend $250 to repair the watch than spend $250 to replace it with a new one because they value not creating unnecessary waste. Unfortunately in this case that just means they shouldn’t buy Google watches in the first place.

      • Chozo@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        Sometimes people care more for environmental viability over economical viability.

        Well I’ve got bad news for those people: none of their devices are environmentally viable. Any tech company trying to convince you otherwise is lying through their carbon-rotted teeth.

      • Chozo@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        This isn’t exclusive to Pixel Watches. The repair cost is about the same (~$300) for most comparable devices. Same with Apple’s and Samsung’s watches. The only real difference here is that Google acknowledges (at least, indirectly) that it’s a more economic option to just buy a new one, because that’s just how the math works out.

      • HollandJim@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        By “$799 USD” i believe you mean “$249 USD”, don’t you? Even the cheap ones can be repaired. Google, not so much.

        But of course Apple is “evil”. Right…right??

        • Chozo@kbin.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          7
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          You’re both being a little disingenuous. You linked to the budget watch Apple offers. The person you replied to is referring to their highest-end flagship watch, the Ultra 2, which is $799.

          • HollandJim@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            The person I was replying to made no distinction as to the model - that’s why I brought the base model into the conversation.

            If anything, I’m clarifying his simple yet disingenuous, offhand comment.