Right to Repair

The European Commission has waved through new 'right to repair' legislation that aims to make it easier for consumers to get their broken devices fixed, even if products are out of warranty. The EU already requires companies to offer a two-year minimum warranty on common household appliances and electronics, such as smartphones, TVs, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners, but the new rules...

Popular repair site iFixit today sent a petition to the United States Federal Trade Commission calling for new Right to Repair rules that would protect consumer interests. iFixit's petition calls attention to some of the "blocks" that manufacturers have put in place that prevent customers and independent repair shops from repairing their electronics, such as proprietary screws or repairs...

California this week officially adopted new right to repair legislation, with California Governor Gavin Newsom this week signing SB 244 into law. The Right to Repair law requires companies to provide customers with the tools to diagnose and repair consumer electronics and appliances. Apple in August sent a letter urging California to adopt the bill, despite the fact that Apple has lobbied...

Engineering and robotics student Ken Pillonel has sought to address some of AirPods' repairability issues with a 3D-printed replacement casing and switching the Lightning charging port for a USB-C port. In his latest video, Pillonel highlighted that AirPods are not designed to be serviced or repaired since no hardware components can be accessed without damage to the device, effectively...

Apple's new Self Service Repair program leaves iPhone owners with too many hoops to jump through to successfully fix their own devices, right to repair advocate Nathan Proctor said in a statement today. Proctor leads the U.S. PIRG's right to repair campaign, working to pass legislation that would allow consumers to repair their own electronics. Proctor said that the program is encouraging...

Last week, Apple announced a new self-service repair program that will provide customers with access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals for completing their own repairs of select devices, starting with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups and later Macs with M1 chips. Apple said the program will be available starting early next year in the United States and expand to additional countries...

Apple this morning surprised the world with an unexpected "Self Service Repair" program, which is designed to allow customers access to genuine Apple parts, tools, and manuals for making their own device repairs. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Giving customers this kind of unprecedented access to repair guidelines and hardware is a major win for Right to Repair...

Apple today announced the "Self Service Repair" program, allowing users to complete their own repairs via a new online store dedicated to parts and tools. The ‌Self Service Repair‌ program will give customers who are comfortable with the idea of completing their own repairs access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals, starting with the iPhone 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineups. The scheme will ...

Smartphone makers like Apple and Google should be required to provide security updates and spare parts for their mobile devices for at least seven years, according to new environmental responsibility proposals from the German government to the European Union (via Heise Online). The European Commission recently proposed that mobile device manufacturers should provide software updates and...

The United States Federal Trade Commission today announced that it is committed to devoting more of its resources to fight against unlawful repair restrictions in a move that has the potential to impact Apple in the future. Earlier this month, U.S. President Joe Biden called on the FTC to create new right to repair rules that will prevent manufacturers from limiting consumers and businesses...

United States President Joe Biden plans to direct the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to create new right to repair rules that would affect tech companies like Apple, reports Bloomberg. The rules would prevent manufacturers from limiting consumers' options for repairing products at independent repair shops or on their own, and the presidential directive is expected to mention mobile phone...

There have been a number of reports about Right to Repair legislation across the United States, and an equal number of reports about the lengths that Apple has gone to in order to block new repair bills from becoming law. Bloomberg today shared a new Right to Repair piece that highlights how Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google have worked to put a stop to laws that would require the tech...

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has published an in-depth report looking at how the product repair restrictions that manufacturers put in place negatively impact consumers and small businesses in various ways. Titled "Nixing the Fix," the report covers a litany of methods that companies use to limit the ability for customers and independent business to repair their products. Focusing...

Apple, HP, and Honeywell are lobbying against a bill in the Nevada statehouse that would require electronic hardware manufacturers to provide device schematics, device parts, and instructions to third-party repair shops for device repairs, according to the Associated Press. The bill being contemplated in Nevada is one of many bills that states across the US are considering to put into law....

Apple has begun adding repairability scores to its website and Apple Store app in France to meet the demands of new Right to Repair laws (via MacGeneration). The scores, displayed on purchase pages for a range of Apple products, give devices a rating out of ten for how easy it is to repair, much like iFixit repairability ratings. The scores are intended to inform customers about "whether...

The European Parliament has this week voted to support the recommendations of the EU Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection on the "Right to Repair," including a system of mandatory labelling on consumer electronics to provide explicit information on the repairability and lifespan of products (via iFixit). The motion will compel the EU Commission to "develop and introduce ...

Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday testified in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee where he was questioned on Apple's App Store policies, but Congress also released a series of emails that Apple had submitted as part of the ongoing antitrust investigation. Image via iFixit Those emails revealed Apple's thoughts on App Store fees and provided insight into its efforts to negotiat...

Apple last summer announced a new Independent Repair Provider Program that provides independent repair businesses with the genuine Apple parts, tools, repair manuals, and training provided to Apple Authorized Service Providers. The change came amid Right to Repair laws being proposed in multiple states, which Apple has lobbied hard against. Right to Repair laws would require Apple to provide...

Last week, iPhone repair site iFixit highlighted a new iPhone feature described as a "dormant software lock" designed to prevent customers who get unauthorized battery repairs from seeing the battery health of their devices. On an ‌iPhone‌ XS, XS Max, or ‌iPhone‌ XR, getting a repair from a non-Apple authorized source results in a message that says "Unable to verify this ‌iPhone‌ has a genuine ...

Right to Repair advocates continue to lobby the U.S. government, arguing that large tech companies like Apple are monopolizing repairs of consumer electronics in order to preserve profits, reports Axios. Image: iFixit.com In testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law last month, Nathan Proctor of the non-profit U.S. Public Interest...