5 Electronics Worth Repairing Instead Of Replacing

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2026 proved to be a year of soaring tech prices, and there are many gadgets in danger of getting more expensive in 2027. It's just not practical to upgrade your electronics every year anymore. If an expensive device breaks, are you sure you'll be able to justify replacing it? Even just for the sake of being pragmatic, it's always worthwhile to try repairing your items before you throw them away. And certain electronics are particularly conducive to repairing instead of replacing.

In fact, there's a DIY trend that could replace repair shops in a big way. For each category in this list, we explain why it might be easy to repair these electronics yourself. We also discuss how accessible and affordable it could be to entrust these electronics to a professional repair service. We based our advice on self-repair scores from the experts at iFixit, professional service availability, and common recommendations from the tech enthusiast community. In each case, repairing these five types of electronics should cost you half as much or less than replacing them outright.

Every iPhone released since 2023, including last year's iPhone 17 Pro, has a respectable iFixit score. In the case of the iPhone 17 Pro, the iFixit team noted that Apple did a good job of enabling users to replace the display and battery themselves. The battery assembly is held in place by removable Torx screws, and all the parts and instructions you need are available directly from Apple. Purchasing a replacement battery for the iPhone 17 Pro from Apple costs $119.

If you'd rather leave the fixing to a professional, Apple Service and Repair is at your disposal. AppleCare+ increased in price back in July 2026, but if you're willing to pay for it, you get unlimited accident repairs for your phone for $110 per year. You can also take your iPhone to a third-party repair shop for cheaper, but reviewers recommend official Apple service for the guarantee of quality and preserving your device's resale value.

Think about the last time you replaced an old pair of headphones. Was it because the headphones were truly broken, or was it just because an earpad came off? Torn cushions, faulty wires, and dead batteries are all fixable in many headphone models. Consumer Reports explains that headphone repair services typically charge $30 to $70, which is a small price to pay compared to a new set of high-end cans.

There are even certain headphones that are designed to be DIY fixable. Namely, the Fairphone Fairbuds XL are the only wireless headphones with a perfect iFixit repairability score. Every component of the Fairbuds XL is replaceable, including internal connector cables, and many replacements can be performed without tools. As another consideration, the Sony WH-1000XM6 is one of the best headphones to buy on Amazon and is also quite repairable at home thanks to its modular internal design and use of screws rather than adhesives.

Some people believe there's simply no need to build your own computer anymore, but if you do assemble your PC from scratch, you'll have the benefit of knowing how to repair it yourself, too. You can even keep your custom-built rig running for many years to come by following a few essential tips for cleaning and maintaining your PC. And if any of your carefully chosen components break down, replacing that specific part will be a familiar process since you're the one who installed the original in the first place. Building your own PC can easily cost $1,000 or more, but replacing a single internal SSD can cost less than $200 and take just a few minutes of time.

But is it worth trying to repair a prebuilt PC? It depends entirely on the brand. Some PC-building services use standard parts that you can easily swap out or upgrade just like you would on your own custom-built PC. But some brands, like Dell and HP, often use proprietary parts that you cannot repair and that are not compatible with aftermarket upgrades. If you're looking for a reliable and repairable PC for your workstation, consider the Beelink Mini S13. It received praise as an affordable computer for light workloads, and iFixit reports that you can disassemble it for repairs with just a Phillips screwdriver.

Television dealers advise that as many as 30% of "broken" TVs may actually be worth repairing instead of replacing. In the case of a failed power supply or capacitor, you can get replacement parts for as little as $150 and perform a simple DIY fix at home. If the panel doesn't seem to be connecting to other devices, like a game console or streaming stick, then the problem might be the HDMI port. You can fix a broken HDMI port on your TV, but it might require professional attention and up to $250 in labor costs — which is still worth it compared to the cost of a new TV or computer monitor.

However, screen replacement is almost never worth it. If the screen is cracked or has dead pixels, you might find yourself paying nearly the original cost of the whole panel just to get a new screen. And there's not much that can be done for a TV that's simply outlived its lifespan, either. Due to factors like burn-in and possible backlighting failure, the lifespan of an OLED TV will almost never exceed 100,000 hours of overall use.

Smartwatches are increasing in popularity, so much so that some enthusiasts are forced to face the question of how many smartwatches are too many. But if you want just one that will last you a long time, take a look at the Google Pixel Watch series. The latest iterations — including 2026's Google Pixel Watch 5 — received a repairability score of 9 out of 10 from iFixit. That's something that the competition from the likes of Apple and Samsung can't claim, and it's because the newest Pixel watches make it easy to perform screen, battery, and band replacements.

Official parts and instructions are available directly from Google. A replacement screen for a Google Pixel Watch 4 or newer starts at $93, which is less than a fourth of what you'd pay for a brand-new watch. You also have the option of getting a mail-in or walk-in repair from Google, and you can request an estimate by submitting your device's serial number and describing its damage.