What can go wrong buying a super cheap aliexpress kit like this? I’m not fixiting computers everyday and I just want to have all of the tools in my house. is it a bad idea? I can get 4.5 of this for the price of the real Ifixit kit
What can go wrong buying a super cheap aliexpress kit like this? I’m not fixiting computers everyday and I just want to have all of the tools in my house. is it a bad idea? I can get 4.5 of this for the price of the real Ifixit kit
37 Comments
If it’s cheap enough might be worth just trying it out.
These are useful to throw in a drawer. If you use tools to make a living, well, you’d already know the answer to that.
you likely to get it after 2/3 months or the heads are weak lead and probably breaks after use.
Depends what the tool tips are made of. They may be shite potmetal that melts like gallium under a hot lamp.
I like these:
[ilabPRO Precision Screwdriver Set – Toolkit with Magnetic Screwdriver bits and Hand Tools for Phone, Tablet, Laptop, PC, Watch and Glasses Repair – Includes Torx, Hex, Tri and Pentalobe (60 Piece) : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools](https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09BR8BDQ1/)
I’ve just used them in the home lab and have held up well. Not sure if they’re available in your region
I got a cheap multi kit on Amazon and it’s been fine for doing most things on my computers, the bits are quite soft though so anything that needs more torque I grab another screwdriver
I find the driver is too slippy, get one with a plastic handle they are all pretty much identical
I’d rather not
Have the same kit as well. Bought it a couple years back. Works fine.
FYI, replace the SIM ejector tool with something stronger. The one in the kit is really soft & breaks easily.
They work fine. They are all the same just different colors and a “brand name” slapped on. I prefer the one from tekton though. Actual name brand and has a warranty. not really precision but has a mini kit inside along with the normal kit.
It’s the tekton 2841 set pretty cheap.
I’ve been using cheap kit from my local store for like 6 years and it’s still pretty much usable daily.
5 euros well spent
Get them. The things that those “Brands” are selling mostly came from China anyway. For example Linus makes his legendary screwdrivers for $1 each and they sell for what, $50 each?
Have a similar one bought it years ago. The bits are ok, not had any bother with them.
Drivers a bag of crap though, and its night and day between that the ifixit one the wife got me. So if you can get a better driver do so.
The screwdriver part looks like you won’t have fun with it. Better buy something with a decent handle and a magnetic head.
If you are only working on PCs and ‘normal’ Laptops you usually need 2 sizes of Philips head screwdrivers.
I got a cheap set with ten normal screwdrivers for 15-20€ from my local hardware store which are over 10 years old and still ok. They wouldn’t last a month in a professional garage but are decent for lightweight working tasks like PC building or screwing some furniture to the wall.
We got cheap sets at work and some of the components broke super quickly. The driver itself is intact to this day but we lost multiple heads to premature wear and breakage, at that point you have an incomplete set.
Conversely I bought an iFixit Kit about 7 years ago (if memory serves me) and I’ve had the head on the pliers snap twice. Under warranty for life they just ship me new parts.
Everything works as it did on day 1. For me the peace of mind is worth the extra but I appreciate others have different views and budgets to spend.
Over the last 8 or so years I’ve bought a huge amount of electronics components and technical equipment from Aliexpress and 99% of them have been fine.
I really like my ifixt tool kit which has very similar part selection.
I cant say anything to the quality of the chinese version but im not sure they differ too much.
Its all chinese made stuff with a brand name on it afterall.
I’ve had a few of the extending ones where the driver breaks and spins in the handle, so I’d recommend one of the non-extending ones
Bought one that looks exactly like this but in red about 4 years ago, works perfectly fine!
I think as a general rule they’re fine. Expect a few bits to break, expect to have minor issues with the handle after a few uses. It’s not going to be an amazing experience, but it’ll be fine enough for basic maintenance.
When one screw is dull because of cheapness, then you will learn never to go cheap again. There are many manufactures with great kits to buy from. The bits need to be good quality so they dont break or break the screw.
Nothing they’re fine, most phone repair stuff I’ve bought over the years was cheap stuff on aliexpress, it rarely broke, and it if did, it’s much cheaper to buy a new one than ifixit.. I mean if you need it for work and you use it 10 times a day then maybe having 1 single kit that doesn’t break and leaves customers waiting another week then yea, a more expensive kit like ifixit is good, otherwise such expensive kits are very much unnecessary
iFixit or nah
I have this and used it only once, the bits are way to soft and shitty quality. But you don’t have to spend much more on a better quality one, now I have a Jakemy set also from Ali and I’m super happy with it, it’s my daily driver!
I’ve got the exact same set, has lasted me years and a hell of alot of torture (used the damn driver as a crowbar once and it stood up to it lmao) can’t be 100% sure as these cheap things change all the time but I say go for it
Cheap kits damage screws. Get ifixit kit.
I like the solid feeling of quality tools, it makes me happy just by looking at them. The same way that a sexy pc makes you happy just for sitting there doing nothing. If you want to be happy, buy quality stuff.
I have the same kind of it but black, my main screwdriver (first from left) broke its input nozzle and I didn’t know it contained a small magnet inside it (it lost). Now I get frustrated whenever I insert a driver for it because it always falls.
To workaround to it, I remove the magnet of the red one and sticks beside the tip of the tool.
It’s a good kit, honestly. Have similar for several years – works just fine for repairing phones/mouses/consoles
I bought the same one a year ago, I’ve been using it a lot and it works fine, no complaints. The only thing that I did was getting an extra electric screwdriver.
Get [the big iFixit](https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/manta-driver-kit-112-bit-driver-kit?variant=3095781146634) kit and feel the heft. You’ll understand
The main issue is that it’s so cheap you end up using the tools for like clearing your weed pipe and lose some of them without caring or feeling bad, cos it was like 20 cents.
Buy an ifixit kit instead
nope, those bits are very bad and imho will just ruin screw heads or break. I would get something slightly better
It’s made of chinesium.. you bend the bits with any and all resistance.
Why not just get the screwdriver size you need? i reckon it’d be even cheaper
Is iFixIt not having a Black Friday sale?
It may be more expensive, but the quality and service is unmatched and the money goes towards not just a good company, but an advocate for Right to Repair (regardless of how
It might not be a 1:1 comparison but most of those drivers are not for just computers, you might find a better deal for more quality tools at HarborFrieght. Most of my tools are not “computer” focused but just tools I got from hardware stores and they tend to be higher quality.