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.

Other new app features

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.