A new repairability scorecard published in September 2026 has put two of the biggest names in laptops at the bottom of the class: Apple and Lenovo. For anyone shopping for a business laptop or a machine meant to last several years, the report is a useful reminder that a laptop's warranty period is only part of the ownership story -- how easy the machine is to open up and fix later matters too.
What the 2026 Scorecard Found
The US PIRG Education Fund's "Failing the Fix 2026" report converts a European repairability index into letter grades for major laptop brands. Asus came out on top with a B+, Acer followed with a B, and Dell, HP, Samsung, and Microsoft all landed in B- territory. Lenovo scored a C, and Apple finished last with a C-, dragged down by soldered memory and storage, hard-to-open chassis designs, and tight restrictions on independent repair shops.
A related TechRadar report on the same scorecard singled out MacBooks and Chromebooks as some of the hardest devices to service, largely for the same reasons: components that are glued or soldered directly to the motherboard instead of being swappable. The scorecard also docked points from brands that fund trade groups lobbying against right-to-repair laws, a factor that pulled down almost every brand's score except Acer's.
Why This Matters More When You're Buying Refurbished or Unboxed
A brand-new laptop with a multi-year manufacturer warranty can hide a poor repairability score for a while. A refurbished or unboxed laptop can't -- you're already buying a device partway through its life, so how easily it can be opened, upgraded, or fixed later has a direct effect on how long it stays useful after the warranty period ends. That's part of why we keep refurbished laptops graded Good or Fair with clear 256GB/512GB SSD and 8GB/16GB RAM configurations, and why unboxed laptops carry a full year of brand warranty while refurbished units carry six months -- so you know exactly what protection you're getting and for how long.
It's also one more reason we don't stock Chromebooks or Celeron-based machines: beyond weak everyday performance, budget devices in that class are frequently built with the same non-repairable, sealed designs the scorecard penalizes, which is a bad combination in a device you're buying secondhand.
What It Means If You're Shopping in India
Dell and HP's B- grades are good news if you're comparing options in our Dell or HP collections, particularly for business laptops that tend to get opened up for RAM or storage upgrades more often than consumer models. If long-term serviceability matters to you -- say, for a machine your business will keep running for three or four years -- it's worth weighing a brand's repair grade alongside price and specs, not just at the point of sale but as part of the total cost of keeping the laptop alive.
Buying Smart: What to Check Before You Buy
A few practical habits carry over regardless of which brand you choose. Confirm whether RAM and storage are soldered or socketed before you buy, since that determines whether the laptop can be upgraded later instead of replaced. Keep your unboxing video for any refurbished or unboxed order -- it's required to claim a defect remedy if the laptop arrives with transit damage, since we don't offer change-of-mind returns. And if a laptop stops meeting your needs early, our buyback program will take it back for 80% of the purchase price within 15 days, which is often a simpler outcome than trying to repair a sealed, hard-to-service machine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a low repairability score mean a laptop is unreliable?
No. Repairability measures how easy a device is to open, disassemble, and fix -- things like soldered components and restricted access to spare parts -- not how often it breaks down. A laptop can be reliable and still score poorly if it's difficult to service when something does eventually need attention.
Why does repairability matter more for a refurbished or unboxed laptop than a brand-new one?
Refurbished and unboxed buyers are already getting a device partway through its lifecycle, and typically hold onto it for the value it offers over time. Our refurbished laptops carry a 6-month warranty and unboxed laptops carry a 1-year warranty, so how easily the laptop can be serviced after that period has a real effect on how long it stays useful.
Which brands scored best in the 2026 repairability scorecard, and does GetLikeNew stock them?
Asus scored highest with a B+, followed by Acer with a B, and Dell, HP, Samsung, and Microsoft in B- range. Our Dell and HP collections include both refurbished and unboxed options across business and student configurations.
Is my refurbished laptop covered if something goes wrong after delivery?
We don't offer change-of-mind returns, but any transit damage is covered through our defect remedy process, provided you have an unboxing video of the package being opened. Keeping that video is the key step to protect yourself.
What if I want to sell my laptop back instead of repairing it?
Our buyback program lets you sell the laptop back for 80% of the purchase price within 15 days of buying it, which can be a simpler option than repairing a device with a low repairability score.
