iFixFast storefront may appear as one of many run-of-the-mill technology repair shops that have mushroomed over the years as smartphones and other technology gadgets have become integral parts of our life. However, there is much more to iFixFast than what meets the eye! We are part of a growing global movement called the Right to Repair Movement that uplifts democracy, consumer rights, and saving the environment!
In a recent article for BBC, Chris Stokel-Walker details how technology companies exploit consumers through built-in obsolescence in new technology devices – or “self destruct” features that break down the device after a certain period. Furthermore, corporations add barriers to repair technology devices. Similarly, Maddie Stone in TheVerge.com documents the enormous environmental cost because of the relatively short life span of technology devices. Stone quotes a European Union report that estimates that discarded technology products lead to a staggering “35 million metric tons of waste and 261 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year” in Europe alone.
Technology companies justify making technology repairs harder by claiming that it will save the consumer’s privacy and protect the corporations’ intellectual property rights. Critics have challenged these talking points as smoke screens for making immense profits from the almost infinite sale of devices. People throughout the world have organized against exploitation by technology companies and many courts in the USA and Europe have ruled in favor of the “right to repair”. However, there is still a long way to go until the balance of power is shifted to people over corporations.
At iFixFast, a technology repair shop franchise in North Carolina and Wisconsin, we have helped hundreds of customers who were told to dump their smartphones and other technology devices since no repair was possible. In almost all cases, we were able to fix the device at a fraction of the cost of buying a new device. Many of our customers have left us Google reviews detailing this experience. We have educated our customers on how the “right to repair” movement not only advances consumer rights but protects the environment. We join a community of technology repair professionals who navigate the journey of the “right to repair” movement by rendering “self-destruct” “hard-to-repair” technology devices into repairable devices that save money and protect the environment!