Josh Hendrickson
If you can repair your gadgets, it will, in theory, save you money and prevent electronics from going to a landfill. But without the original parts, repair efforts can be dicey. If you own a Vive VR headset, iFixit and HTC have good news for you—official parts for all your DIY repairs.
For a lot of electronics, third-party parts are often the only solutions. Those parts could be used and stripped from a broken unit or knock-offs intended to reproduce functionality. And while something is better than nothing, original source parts are a better guarantee that your repair will go well. And that’s why HTC providing the parts to iFixit is a big win.
“We hear from many customers who love their original HTC Vive headsets after years of use, but occasionally still need a specific part,” said Daniel O’Brien, General Manager, HTC America. “By partnering with iFixit, we’re taking an unprecedented approach to meeting the demands of our long-time customers who want to repair and continue to use their beloved headsets that may be out of warranty or no longer available through us.”
It’s the first time a VR company has offered parts and support like this, and the initial options look plentiful enough to keep a headset going. You’ll find everything from replacement headphones to tracker dongles to foam padding for Vive Headsets. While you can probably find a third-party power adapter, getting an original comes with a better promise for quality.
“This is groundbreaking. HTC is the first VR manufacturer to support their customers with the parts they need to keep their headsets functional,” said Kyle Weins, CEO and Co-founder, iFixit. “iFixit is thrilled to help gamers fix their meatspace hardware so they can get back to their important cyberspace business.”
In addition to the parts, which you can find at iFixit’s shop today, iFixit hosts repair guides for multiple HTC Vive headsets.
Source: HTC
