iFixit launches FixBot, an AI repair assistant trained on 125,000 guides to fix anything

iFixit Put a Chatbot Repair Expert in an App

The app, now available for both iOS and Android, can help users check on the health of their phone's battery, find tools and instructions to repair things around their home, and fix their way out of all manner of device problems. It offers mobile access to repair manuals and guides for the more than 125,000 devices iFixit has cataloged in its long running repair library. The new chatbot, called FixBot, just makes finding what you need all that much easier. Need to replace the screen on your iPhone? Change the tire on your 1986 Volvo station wagon? FixBot can help if you just type or speak your request by describing the problem you're having. You can even use your phone's camera to get started. Snap a pic of that Volvo's flat tire, your non-working iPod, or your broken espresso machine, and FixBot's computer vision engine will probably be able to recognize what model it is and walk you through the process of fixing it. FixBot is a fusion of a dozen different AI models from just about every player in the generative AI space. The bot is intended to focus solely on repair, pulling from iFixit's ever growing pool of repair guides and giving you links to find where to get the spare parts or special tools needed to do the fixing. (Most of those links go back to the iFixit shop, naturally.)

I repaired my car and home appliance with iFixIt's new AI app - try it while it's still free

iFixIt has launched a new app with an AI repair chatbot.FixBot can walk you through repairing thousands of devices.The app is currently free, but this offer won't last forever. The next time you need to repair something, you have a free AI chatbot that can talk you through things step by step. But you need to act quickly, because it won't be free forever. Online repair resource iFixIt has announced a new app that makes finding and using repair guides on your phone a lot easier, something that's noteworthy on its own because the site hasn't had an app for a decade now. More significantly, the app features FixBot, an AI-powered chatbot that can guide you through fixing almost anything -- clothes dryers, lawn mowers, vacuums, mobile phones, cars, and more. Also: Gemini vs. Copilot: I tested the AI tools on 7 everyday tasks, and it wasn't even close As IFixIt explains, it's like having access to a patient repair expert at any time. You can describe your problem by voice or text, and the chatbot will ask questions, narrow down the options, and then walk you through diagnosing and repairing the issue. Since it's likely that your hands are occupied while working on your device, the chatbot has its own voice that reads instructions aloud, and you can respond with your voice as well. One of the biggest advantages, iFixIt says, is that FixBot is trained on iFixit community repairs (it has more than 125,000 repair guides), so you know you're getting reliable information with less chance of AI hallucination. According to the company, FixBot has access to millions of pages of documentation, including data sheets, service manuals, and specification tables for thousands of devices; it even cross-references part numbers against your specific model. To test FixBot, I provided it with a couple of current problems I have. First, my car has a headlight that's out. This is a relatively simple fix, one I've performed numerous times on my own, but I wanted to see what the chatbot had to say. When I provided FixBot with my make and model number, it identified the specific bulb number I needed and provided a guide on how to replace it. The bulb it recommended was correct, and the steps did look pretty true to the process I've done before. Also: How to learn ChatGPT in under an hour using my favorite guides and videos - for free Second, my vacuum cleaner picked up a Lego brick from my son's room at some point, and it now makes a wildly loud noise every time I run the vacuum. I poked around the hoses and brushes, but couldn't see where anything was stuck. I gave FixBot the details and problem, and it recommended a few places where something might be stuck. The first option turned up nothing, but after removing a few plates and detaching a hose connection, I found the offending brick, and my vacuum is back to normal. iFixIt does admit that FixBot can't do everything. It is possible the AI might get something wrong, and the site doesn't have guides for everything, especially older appliances or niche products. But the chatbot does try to find similar models where the fix would be the same. Also: You can buy refurbished tech from Back Market in person now - here's where iFixIt says it's launching FixBot free for everyone for a limited time. A free version with access limits is on the way, though, plus a paid tier that includes voice and document upload.

iFixit's FixBot helps with repairs 'the way a master technician would'

DIY repair site iFixit has launched its own app for iOS and Android, featuring its extensive library of repair guides and resources, a battery health monitor, and a new AI "FixBot" tool that's been trained on those same guides to help with repairs. The heart of the new app is the company's existing library of repair guides, optimized for your mobile device. You can save the devices you own, giving you quick access to the relevant resources, and buy both tools and replacement parts from within the app. What's entirely new is FixBot, an AI helper designed to talk you through repairs and troubleshooting. "You tell it what's happening: your phone dies at 30 percent, your washing machine won't drain, your mower sputters and stalls," CEO Kyle Wiens says in a blog post. "It asks follow-up questions. It eliminates possibilities. It thinks out loud with you, the way a master technician would, until the diagnosis clicks into place. Then it finds the parts and walks you through step by step." iFixit says the bot pulls its answers from its repair guides, cache of PDF manuals, and user forums. For devices without a dedicated iFixit guide already, the bot "will do its best with manufacturer docs, targeted web searches and information from similar models," according to Wiens. Right now FixBot is entirely free to use, but eventually its voice controls and document uploads will be limited to a $4.99/month paid plan, with access limits applied to the free version too. There are other app-specific features that take advantage of being installed on your phone or tablet. If you have an issue with the hardware it's installed on, it will automatically detect the model, saving you from searching. It also taps into your phone's battery information to report on your battery health. Most modern phones now include built-in battery health scores anyway, but iFixit's unique touch is to predict future battery degradation, helping you plan a replacement ahead of time. "We want to demystify batteries for people," Wiens told my colleague Sean Hollister. "It should be like an oil change, you know when you'll need to replace it and plan on regular maintenance." The iFixit app is available now on both iOS and Android. It isn't actually iFixit's first app, but it's been a while -- the company first launched an iPhone app in 2011, but a few years later was banned from the App Store for tearing down an Apple TV developer unit. Apparently it's taken until now to get App Store access again (and Wiens' personal developer account is still on the naughty list) but hopefully it'll stick this time -- he says iFixit has made sure Apple knows it still intends to teach people how to open up their devices.

iFixit's new app uses AI to help you repair your stuff

We've all been there: You can't (or won't) get help when something breaks, but the YouTube clip doesn't cover your specific issue. It's what repair gurus at iFixit want to solve with FixBot, an AI-enabled app that talks you through whatever repair you're doing. The chatbot will help you diagnose the problem and then walk you step-by-step through the fix. Plus, it's voice-enabled so you won't have to get your phone all smeary when you're elbows-deep in a job. After all, iFixit's guides don't just cover fixing your electronics, but everything you might fancy doing yourself, from appliances through to cars and trucks. Unlike traditional AIs, FixBot has been trained on iFixit's library of 125,000 guides, its forum and database of repair manuals. The company says there's less risk of hallucination as it pulls from and shows you the schematics it's referencing to ensure you don't order the wrong gear. Users can even upload images from their phone, so the app can point out which bit is which. The company is open about its limitations: It's an AI, so it's not bulletproof, and its knowledge only runs as far as its library. It can hunt elsewhere for manufacturer data and on other repair forums but you'll be warned about the information it pulls from it. In addition, FixBot will keep an eye on your phone's battery health in real time to tell you when it's time to get a replacement. The tool is, for now, in beta, thanks to the fuzzy way some companies track their battery health, but iFixit is promising greater detail than what you currently get. Plus, when it is time to swap out your battery, you can order the parts and kit all within the app. FixBot is launching for free on both the App Store and Google Play but it won't remain that way forever. At some point, free users will switch to a version with access limits, and will be prompted to upgrade to the paid tier for $4.99 a month or $50 a year.

iFixit Made an AI Assistant to Help You Fix Your Gadgets (and It's Free, for Now)

iFixit, the internet’s go-to for repair guides and spare parts, just launched a new mobile app with what sounds like a genuinely useful AI chatbot. Starting today, iOS and Android users can download the iFixit app and chat directly with the new FixBot to get curated expert advice on how to fix everything from a cracked phone screen to a faulty dishwasher. The team at iFixit says it spent two years building the chatbot, which utilizes a combination of AI models for its language, voice, and vision capabilities. What makes FixBot stand out from a general chatbot like ChatGPT or Gemini is its laser focus on repairs. FixBot won’t answer questions that are not about fixing things, and it’s trained on iFixit’s 125,000 repair guides, community forums, and a huge repository of PDF manuals. To use the bot, users can type or vocally explain their issue to the bot, or they can even just snap a photo of whatever needs fixing. FixBot will try to identify the device and model, then ask follow-up questions until it figures out the problem. The bot will then walk users through a step-by-step repair, pulling answers from the iFixIt library, even if that means surfacing something buried on page 500 of a PDF manual. It will also provide links to buy the spare parts you need. Along the way, users can ask FixBot questions. Its voice command features are also designed to help anyone who’s elbow-deep in a repair and can’t reach their phone. iFixit acknowledges there are limitations. Sometimes, like any AI chatbot, FixBot can get things wrong. And iFixit doesn’t have a guide for every device, appliance, or car on Earth. In those cases, FixBot will do what it can with manufacturer docs, targeted web searches, and guides from similar models. It's probably best to think of the app as a guy you know who is particularly handy around the house, rather than a full-blown expert. The app also comes loaded with other new tools, including iFixIt’s entire library of guides optimized for mobile, a workbench to track your repair projects, and a toolkit to help users maintain their smartphones. This smartphone toolkit is equipped with a battery lifespan predictor that alerts users when they should change their phone's battery. This isn’t iFixIt’s first mobile app. It originally launched an app in 2011, but Apple pulled it in 2015 after iFixit disassembled an Apple TV and Siri Remote, apparently violating Apple’s developer rules. The new app and all its features are currently available for free for a limited time, but a paid tier is in the works.

iFixit's new app is ready to take the lead on repairs with its FixBot AI assistant

FixBot can look at pictures of your problem hardware and guide you through repairs of supported devices. For as satisfying as it can be to repair your own gear, going the DIY route can absolutely be an anxiety-inducing experience. How many times have you wanted to undertake a project but just lacked the confidence to get started, not even knowing where to start? If you've come to appreciate the utility of AI systems in helping bootstrap solutions to problems like that, you're definitely going to want to check out iFixit's new app, introducing its AI-powered FixBot helper.

Dropped it? Smashed it? iFixit's new AI-powered app can help you repair it

Everything is free, though the AI will eventually charge a fee. iFixit, which has become known for its teardown videos and repair solutions, is launching a mobile app with a twist: AI assistance to complete repair jobs you normally wouldn't be able to do. While the iFixit app for both Android and iOS will be free, the new FixBot may not be. The company's plan is to make it free for now, then split it off into a free tier with access limits and then a paid Enthusiast tier with voice and document upload, according to the company. That tier will cost $4.99 per month or $50 per year, the company said. If you've heard of iFixit, it's probably in the context of the detailed teardowns of popular devices like Apple iPhones and other consumer gadgets. What iFixit learns in those teardowns, however, contributes to both thousands of repair guides on the site for you to review and download. The iFixit site also maintains a database of parts and tools, all of which will be in the app as well. But the iFixit app also includes two neat additions: the FixBot application as well as a battery health intelligence application. The whole point of iFixit, however, is do-it-yourself repairs. The iFixit site has existed as sort of a text-based alternative (aside from the teardown videos) to how-to videos on YouTube. The site shines when the number of devices is small and/or popular. You'll find detailed guides to repairing an Apple Mac Studio or a Microsoft Xbox Series X; however, the laptop repair section simply gets bogged down by the incredible variety of offerings from, say, HP. The same goes for the site's section on car repair. Fixbot: the chatbot mechanic What the Fixbot app promises to do is essentially replace ChatGPT. LLMs, or "generative AI," are trained on a vast corpus of knowledge, so Copilot or ChatGPT can try to answer questions about the causes of the French Revolution, the lifecycle of a starfish, or how best to code an application. The FixBot app is essentially AI trained on the iFixit site itself, so that any questions you might have will hopefully be a more efficient manner of searching the site itself. According to iFixit, the Fixbot application will help you identify what you're fixing and what needs to be fixed, based upon information you provide and questions it might ask. Obviously, FixBot will try and point you to an existing guide if one exists. "We spent over a year building a custom retrieval system that searches our entire library in seconds," Kyle Wiens, the CEO of iFixit, said in a blog post. "And an evaluation harness that tests FixBot against thousands of real repair questions, so we catch the bad answers before you do. We created a database with millions of pages of documentation; the data sheets and service manuals and specification tables that the rest of us only look at when we're desperate. FixBot will find the right PDF manuals, look deep inside, and surface the answer on page 576. It'll even cross-reference part numbers against your specific model." The app allows you to describe your problem via text or even voice -- the latter's the most useful when your hands are full or you're leaning over a malfunctioning appliance. You can also upload a photo of the interior of your malfunctioning gadget, and let FixBot help diagnose what you're looking at. The other interesting thing that the iFixit app can do is to give you an estimate of your phone's battery capacity, in real time. Like any battery, your phone's battery degrades, so that the total capacity at "100 percent" becomes less and less over time. shrinks In a laptop, that's relatively simple: you can use the Windows' battery report tool. In a phone, it's a bit more complicated. The iFixit's app tracks the first time that your phone was first used, and the current capacity versus the total rated capacity. Divide one by the other, and you can get a measure of your phone's battery health -- and an indication on when you might consider replacing it. The challenge is accuracy. iFixit says that Apple doesn't make its data available via an API that the company can access; Samsung's software is reserved for its own service and repair centers. Still, the company promises that you'll at least get a basic explanation of your phone's health. iFixit might not have the answer you're looking for, because of all the varied appliances, cars, and gadgets available. But it's a free app that benefits you immediately with the phone battery monitor. I'll be downloading it onto my phone.

iFixit launches FixBot AI repair helper, with free and paid versions - 9to5Mac

iFixit has launched a new AI repair assistant known as FixBot. The company says Fixbot will make it faster and easier than ever before to figure out what's wrong and how to fix it. There are both free and paid options, although the feature list suggests that the free option is very limited. The subscription tier is free for a limited time ... iFixit is of course well-known for its teardowns of new devices, as well as providing both tools and instructions for carrying out a very wide range of DIY repairs. The company says that it supports more than 72,000 products ranging from iPhones to motorcycles, and that it has helped its customers make more than 100 million successful repairs. FixBot is intended to help you carry out repairs in record time. Figure out what's wrong, and how to fix it, in record time. Hands-free guidance, visual analysis, and instant access to the world's repair knowledge. Speak or write the problem, and FixBot will take it from there. Get instant guidance with visual schematics, professional guides, and expert troubleshooting tips. Our experts have spent 20+ years building the internet's largest collection of repair solutions. FixBot harnesses AI to help you navigate those resources fast, with the same level of quality you've come to expect from iFixit. You'll need the paid tier to access step-by-step voice guides alongside both visual and voice diagnostics. Pricing hasn't yet been announced, but you can use it for free at present. With this, you are able to explain the problem you are experiencing, take photos, and then ask FixBot to diagnose the cause and talk you through how to fix it.

iFixit Launches Free iOS Repair App With AI-Powered FixBot

iFixit today announced the launch of a new iFixit app that's available to download from Apple's App Store (and the Play Store on Android devices). It includes all of the iFixit repair guides in a format that's ideal for mobile devices, along with a workbench that keeps track of repairs, a battery lifespan predictor, and an AI repair buddy called FixBot. The iFixit repair app is able to monitor an iPhone's battery in real time, providing graphs of how a battery deteriorates over time. The graphs provide users with advanced notice of when a battery might need to be replaced. FixBot is able to provide AI assistance to solve issues with smartphones, laptops, tablets, and more. Users can describe a problem with text or voice, and FixBot will provide help with diagnosis and repair. FixBot can respond to questions verbally for hands-free use, and there's also an option to share images with the AI. The app includes all of iFixit's repair guides, but it is aware of what smartphone the user has and will default to showing repair information for that device for quick information on fixes. There are options for purchasing repair parts directly from iFixit, with the app able to check for device compatibility before a purchase is made. iFixit did have an app that was available up until 2015, but Apple pulled it from the App Store after iFixit tore down an Apple TV developer kit. Apple said that iFixit violated the Apple terms of service with the teardown, and banned the iFixit developer account. Ten years later, iFixit was allowed to return to the App Store. The iFixit app can be downloaded from the App Store for free, and more information on the app is available on iFixit's website. Access to FixBot is free for now, and later, there will be both a free version and a $4.99 per month Enthusiast plan with document uploads.

iFixit's new AI helper makes it easy for you to tackle DIY repairs

FixBot can identify your device, diagnose the issue, and offer step-by-step repair instructions. Repair-resource giant iFixit has launched a new mobile app that brings the company's massive library of step-by-step repair guides covering smartphones, laptops, and more to your phone. The app also lets you shop for replacement parts and tools and track battery health. Most notably, it brings a new AI helper named FixBot that's designed to help guide you through DIY repairs. With FixBot, you no longer have to wade through long repair guides or follow complicated teardown videos to make repairs at home. Instead, you can simply describe your issue, and FixBot will help you identify what's wrong and offer instructions on how to fix it. It acts like a virtual repair assistant that can identify your device from an image, diagnose issues, pull up relevant guides, and even offer detailed schematics, parts lists, and tools needed for the repair. FixBot is not limited to smartphones and can help you repair a wide range of consumer electronics, including laptops, home appliances, and game consoles. The assistant is free to use, though iFixit also has a paid Enthusiast tier that's currently available for free for a limited time. The paid tier will be offered as a subscription and will give you access to step-by-step voice guides, advanced diagnostics, and support document uploads. Recommended Videos In addition to AI-powered repair guidance, the iFixit app can help track your device's battery health and give you an advanced warning when a replacement might be needed. If you're not sold on the AI helper, you can just use the app to access iFixit's library of detailed repair manuals and guides on your phone and order replacement parts and tools. The app is available on both Android and iOS, and it's worth checking out if you've ever hesitated to open a device because you weren't sure where to start.

iFixit's New AI Assistant Can Help You Fix Almost Anything

David Nield is a technology journalist from Manchester in the U.K. who has been writing about gadgets and apps for more than 20 years. Generative AI has advanced to the stage where you can ask bots such as ChatGPT or Gemini questions about almost anything, and get reasonable-sounding responses -- and now renowned gadget repair site iFixit has joined the party with an AI assistant of its own, ready and willing to solve any of your hardware problems. While you can already ask general-purpose chatbots for advice on how to repair a phone screen or diagnose a problem with a car engine, there's always the question of how accurate the AI replies will be. With FixBot, iFixit is trying to minimize mistakes by drawing on its vast library of verified repair guides, written by experts and users. That's certainly reassuring: I don't want to waste time and money replacing a broken phone screen with a new display that's the wrong size or shape. And using a conversational AI bot to fix gadget problems is often going to feel like a more natural and intuitive experience than a Google search. As iFixit puts it, the bot "does what a good expert does" in guiding you to the right solutions. The iFixit website has been around since 2003 -- practically ancient times, considering the rapid evolution of modern technology. The iFixit team has always prided itself on detailed, thorough, tested guides to repairing devices, and all of that information can now be tapped into by the FixBot tool. iFixit says the bot is trained on more than 125,000 repair guides written by humans who have worked through the steps involved, as well as the question and answer forums attached to the site, and the "huge cache" of PDF manuals that iFixit has accumulated over the years that it's been business. That gives me a lot more confidence that FixBot will get its answers right, compared to whatever ChatGPT or Gemini might tell me. iFixit hasn't said what AI models are powering the bot -- only that they've been "hand-picked" -- and there's also a custom-built search engine included to select data sources from the repair archives on the site. "Every answer starts with a search for guides, parts, and repairs that worked," according to the iFixit team, and that conversational approach you'll recognize from other AI bots is here too: If you need clarification on something, then you can ask a follow-up question. In the same way, if the AI bot needs more information or specifics, it will ask you. It's designed to be fast -- responses should be returned in seconds -- and the iFixit team also talks about an "evaluation harness" that tests the FixBot responses against thousands of real repair questions posed and answered by humans. That extra level of fact-checking should reduce the number of false answers you get. However, it's not perfect, as iFixit admits: "FixBot is an AI, and AI sometimes gets things wrong." Whether or not those mistakes will be easy to spot remains to be seen, but users of the chatbot are being encouraged to upload their own documents and repair solutions to fix gaps in the knowledge that FixBot is drawing on. iFixit says the FixBot is going to be free for everyone to use, for a limited time. At some point, there will be a free version with limitations, and paid tiers with the full set of features -- including support for voice input and document uploads. You can give it a try for yourself now on the iFixit website. I was reluctant to deliberately break one of my devices just so FixBot could help me repair it, but I did test it with a few issues I've had (and sorted out) in the past. One was a completely dead SSD drive stopping my Windows PC from booting: I started off with a vague description about the computer not starting up properly, and the bot did a good job at narrowing down what the problem was, and suggesting fixes. It went through everything I had already tried when the problem happened, including trying System Repair and troubleshooting the issue via the Command Prompt. Eventually, via a few links to repair guides on the iFixit website, it did conclude that my SSD drive had been corrupted by a power cut -- which I knew was what had indeed happened. I also tested the bot with a more general question about a phone restarting at random times -- something one of my old handsets used to do. Again, the responses were accurate, and the troubleshooting steps I was asked to try made a lot of sense. I was also directed to the iFixit guide for the phone model. The bot is as enthusiastic as a lot of the others available now (I was regularly praised for the "excellent information" I was providing), and does appear to know what it's talking about. This is one of the scenarios where generative AI shows its worth, in distilling a large amount of information based on natural language prompts. There's definitely potential here: Compare this approach to having to sift through dozens of forum posts, web articles, and documents manually. However, there's always that nagging sense that AI makes mistakes, as the on-screen FixBot disclaimer says. I'd recommend checking other sources before doing anything drastic with your hardware troubleshooting.

iFixit Launches A Dedicated Smartphone Repair App, Replete With An AI-Powered Assistant

iFixit has just released a dedicated iOS and Android app, replete with an AI-powered assistant, making the self-repair of a smartphone a relative breeze. iFixit has now launched a dedicated app on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. The app includes: Critically, iFixit's new app can monitor an Apple iPhone's battery capacity in real time. It then condenses this information in a graph chart, showing the battery's deterioration and the ideal time for replacing it. As for the FixBot, iFixit says that it has been trained on millions of successful iFixit community repairs. The AI chatbot can help diagnose a problem and suggest possible remedies once prompted via a text or voice command. You can also share images with the chatbot for a speedy diagnosis of the problem. Finally, the app also includes the option to order repair supplies and spare parts, with the app capable of checking for device compatibility before a purchase is made. Do note that iFixit did offer a dedicated app on the Apple App Store until 2015, when Apple summarily pulled it for violating its terms. Apple had also banned iFixit's developer account at the time. Now, however, with Apple facing a myriad of antitrust concerns and probes around the world, it has allowed iFixit's app to return to the App Store. Meanwhile, as we noted previously, iFixit has pegged a 5/10 provisional repairability score to the new Apple M5 iPad Pro, noting: Similarly, the Apple M5 MacBook Pro has secured a preliminary iFixit repairability score of 4 out of 10. For comparison, the M4 MacBook Air had secured a score of 5 out of 10.