Samsung Electronics added a swathe of new European countries to its official smartphone self-repair scheme, alongside widening the list of supported devices to include its latest generation of foldables.

Among the 30 fresh countries covered are Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Norway and Switzerland. These join several existing European markets, South Korea, Mexico, Brazil and the US in supporting user device repair through sale of kits and tools to conduct the work.

Samsung plans to extend the scheme to cover a range of devices which were previously not supported over the next month including its fifth generation flip and fold devices. This marks the first time users will be able to repair its foldables.

The move comes a week after rival Apple extended its own version to include a greater number of devices and countries.

Self-repair is also supported by a range of other brands including Google for its Pixel devices, HMD Global for some models in its Nokia range and sustainable handset pioneers Fairphone.

Manufacturers’ drive to aid user repair of devices in recent years followed pressure from regulators to improve the sustainability credentials of the consumer devices sector and cut eWaste.