Kobo and iFixit partner for OEM parts and repair guides

E-readers might be relatively cheap when compared to your typical smartphone, but it’s still a bummer when they break, given how hard it is to find parts for them. Now, iFixit has announced that it’s offering OEM replacement parts for certain Kobo e-readers, along with detailed guides on how to install them, starting today. The first e-readers being supported are Kobo’s latest: Kobo Clara Colour, the Clara BW, and the Libra Colour.

Kobo owners can buy OEM batteries, motherboards, front and back covers, and screen assemblies for those devices on iFixit’s new Kobo Repair Hub page. iFixit has a detailed guide for installing each part.

The parts and guides don’t mean these will be easy repairs. All three of these e-readers got a 6 / 10 repairability score from iFixit, and perusing a couple of the guides, it looks like that comes down to DIY electronics’ greatest enemies: glue, waterproof films, and clips. I haven’t done a huge amount of repairs myself, but having taken apart and fixed — while also breaking in a new way — a Samsung TV held together by clips, I can tell you these repairs require patience and a delicate touch. Hopefully, if this deal extends to future Kobo e-readers, the company will make them a little easier to fix.

We’ve asked iFixit for more details about its future plans for the partnership and will update if it responds. All of the parts are available now, ranging from $29.99 for the front and back covers to $89.99–$129.99 for the screen assembly, depending on the model.