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Welcome to the Restart Wiki!

This is a place where those of us in the Restart community with experience and skills in mending appliances and gadgets can share them with those who are starting out, or whose own knowledge lies in different areas.

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What it isn't: It isn't going to show you how to fix a particular make and model of device, which we leave to the various fix-it sites and many disassembly videos. You can also get help with a device on social media using #SOSRestart. Here, we concentrate on basic and widely applicable principles.

Who it's for: It's aimed at anyone with a curiosity about how things work and how to fix them. No prior knowledge is assumed. In the spirit of sharing knowledge as widely as possible, everyone is welcome to read it. To contribute, just become a volunteer Restarter in your community and contact us.

Like any wiki, this one is work-in-progress. Pages referenced below in red don't yet exist but are projected.

If you wish to reuse anything here, you are welcome do so under the terms of the Creative Commons ShareAlike Licence 3.0.

To find out more about the work we do, and our vision of changing the world's relationship with electronics, please visit us at The Restart Project homepage.

General Topics

Glossary of Terms

  • Glossary - explanations of all the technical terms used in this wiki (and some more).

Repairing with others

Techniques, Skills and Tools

Some really basic skills

Soldering skills

  • A Guide to Soldering from Kitronic is a complete guide to the art, including video demonstrations.
  • How to solder is a more light-hearted and amusing but nevertheless informative resource from Technology Will Save Us. (You don't need an expensive soldering iron though - it just makes it a little bit easier.)
  • Surface mount soldering - What you can do and how to do it by supplementing the tools you probably already have with a few inexpensive extras.

Fixing skills

Staying safe

Understanding how stuff works (or doesn't)

A Restarters' Training Session makes an easy introduction to the following sections down to and including Electronic Components. It consists of a presentation with audio commentary, lasting around 50 minutes.

  • Electric circuits, volts amps watts and ohms - what every Restarter should know.
  • AC and DC - what's the deal?
  • Electronic components - recognition, failure modes and testing:
  • Batteries - different types, shapes and sizes, what they're good for, how to buy them, use them and dispose of them.
  • Electric motors - different types, how to recognise them, test them and maybe fix them.
  • Power supplies - how they work, what can go wrong, and how to test and fix them.
  • How radios work - basic theory to help you understand what might be wrong when you can't see it with your own eyes.
  • All about SSDs - everything you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask.

Learn About Electronics is an excellent site if you'd like a different view of the basics, or if you'd like to go deeper.

Computers and home office

Software

Computer Hardware

Peripherals

Electronic gadgets

Feature phones

Smartphones (except Apple)

iPods, iPhones, iPads

Headphones

Cameras

Satnavs

Home entertainment

Household and Kitchen items

Wanted Pages

The following are pages we'd like to have. Could you write such a page, or contribute your knowledge and experience for someone else to make into a page?

  • Using a lightweight browser to extend the life of a device mainly used for web and email.
  • Alternatives to iOS for older Apple devices.
  • Satnavs.
  • Flat screen TVs and Monitors.

(You can add to this list if you like!)