Currently, you can only repair a handful of devices from the more expensive Galaxy S series in Belgium and the Netherlands.

After a pilot project in the US, Samsung is expanding its self-repair program to Europe. In Belgium and the Netherlands, among others, you can now carry out repairs yourself. Samsung supplies repair kits, genuine parts and the necessary tools to replace everything correctly.

The program currently supports only Galaxy S20, S21 and S22 series devices. There is currently no talk of the latest S23 series. In the UK, Germany, Italy and Sweden, Galaxy Book Pro (15.6″) and Galaxy Book Pro 360 (15.6″) owners can also repair their laptops themselves. It is currently unclear whether we can repair Samsung laptops ourselves in Belgium or the Netherlands in the long term.

Samsung is currently limiting the number of parts you can replace yourself. Smartphones are all about the screen, back glass and charging port. The laptops give you access to seven genuine parts: the front case, the back case, the display, the battery, the touchpad, the power button with fingerprint reader, and the rubber feet.

After the repair you can keep the tools, they remain your property. At some point, Samsung wants to help more devices repair themselves.

Last week Microsoft also announced that you can order original spare parts for Surface devices directly. It is currently a pilot project in France, Canada and the USA. It is not yet clear when Microsoft will expand this service to other European countries.

European plans

Samsung’s plans align with those of the European Commission, which has drafted legislation to make the “right to repair” a reality.

The Right to Repair plans are in line with the Circular Economy Action Plan prepared by the Commission in 2020. The goal is to reduce the mountain of e-waste as much as possible. The introduction of USB-C as the universal standard for chargers also fits into this action plan.

Yesterday the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of new rules for the sale and processing of batteries in the EU. For example, in the future, large batteries will have to be provided with a label that indicates how much CO2 was emitted during their manufacture. There will also be minimum recycling targets. By 2027, fifty percent of the lithium in used batteries must be recycled.