Right to Repair

What do you know about electronics Right to repair? This refers to the concept of allowing end users, both individuals and businesses, to repair electronic devices that they own without any manufacturer or technical restrictions. Basically, if you have the technical knowledge required to fix a piece of technology that you own, the developer of that technology should allow you to do so.

There are four, particularly important requirements that right to repair legislation is attempting to establish:

1. the device should be constructed and designed in a manner that allows repairs to be made easily;
2. End users and independent repair providers should be able to access original spare parts and tools (software as well as physical tools) needed to repair the device at fair market conditions;
3. repairs should be possible by design and not hindered by software programming;
4. the repairability of a device should be clearly communicated by the manufacturer.

Right to repair, as a concept, originates from the automotive industry, where vehicle owners and independent mechanics have been fighting for years to secure their right to the advanced information that car dealerships have. As of the filming of this video, a Massachusetts law enacted in 2012 has secured right to repair throughout much of the nation, thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2014 by these associations (Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, Coalition for Auto Repair Equality, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, and the Association for Global Automakers) that commits auto manufacturers to meet the requirements of the Massachusetts law in all 50 states. This legislation became necessary after all vehicles started to include onboard computer systems, requiring mechanics to have technical knowledge way beyond the mechanical innerworkings of motor vehicles. So, auto manufacturers could withhold vital information about a car’s computer that would make it impossible and even dangerous for mechanics to fix issues in newer vehicles. This gave these manufacturers a practical monopoly on their own vehicle repairs.

Today, this has become a more prevalent issue in the field of electronics. As you can imagine, there are a lot of incentives for electronics manufacturers to prevent right to repair legislation from being passed. Like the car manufacturers before them, these companies want the control that comes from a total monopoly on their repair industry. This way, consumers are forced to only send their electronics back to the manufacturer to have them repaired, giving these companies a massive revenue stream. In addition, these repairs are so prohibitively expensive that many consumers may not want to bother getting it fixed, which plays right into the manufacturer’s hand as well, just in a different way.

Computer hardware has a natural lifecycle. Things get old and outdated and they must eventually be replaced. However, if the lifecycle is shorter, the manufacturer gets to sell another new device sooner. Therefore, companies are incentivized to keep someone from fixing a damaged device. Now this a fine line to walk, as it is unwise to garner a reputation as a company with cheap or easily broken hardware. At the same time, this manufacturer can show the ways in which their product is breakable as a way of advertising their personal warranty program or repair services. Typically, these services are very expensive, but they are much less expensive than the price of having it fixed by the manufacturer or replacing the device.

So, at this point, you may be wondering, if it is so expensive to have the manufacturer repair the device, why can’t I have a third party fix it instead? The short answer is that the manufacturer can and will prevent you from doing so.

Unlike cars, there is no robust after-market part manufacturers for devices like cell phones. This is largely because companies like Apple closely guard the process necessary to replicate the parts inside their devices. They also have the capability of making their devices incompatible with parts that have a different serial code. So, imagine a pair of iPhones: one has a ruined screen, but the battery is practically new; the other has a faulty battery, but the casing and screen are perfectly fine. Apple has the ability to prevent that battery from working in the other phone. This is where Right to Repair legislation comes in.

Apple actually launched a program voluntarily last year to allow customers to start repairing their own devices, but this was most likely just a way to get ahead of actual Right to Repair laws and try and hold on to some of that control. The ideal Right to Repair legislation would not just provide parts and instructions to fix devices as they are now; it would compel companies to make their devices in such a way that they can be easily repaired. Currently, the system solely benefits the manufacturer, not the consumer. Right to Repair laws are designed to put more power back into the hands of consumers, and force companies to make products in a way that lasts longer and creates less electronic waste.

The current cycle of being unable to repair devices, is not just bad for the consumer; it’s terrible for the environment. Instead of having devices that last years with slight repairs once individual components break, we have devices that are replaced and disposed of as soon as they have a problem. This has led to literal tons of electronic waste that could be easily mitigated by extending the lifespan of devices.

Hopefully you now understand the necessity of proper Right to Repair legislation here in the United States. How likely is it that we will have proper Right to Repair legislation? Probably not as likely as any of us would like. Although Right to Repair legislation has been passed in New York, and it is proposed in California, the current makeup of Congress is unlikely to pass any. Most likely is that more companies attempt to do what Apple has done and launch their own “independent” repair program. The problem is that without legislation, nothing prevents these companies from making their parts overpriced, difficult to acquire, and hard to install. If these issues seem pressing to you, consider contacting your representative and making your voice heard.