U.S. President Joe Biden to Direct FTC to Draft Right to Repair Rules

[DEMinSoCAL]

If manufacturers would repair their devices at a comparable cost to 3rd party repair companies, problem solved.

People go to kiosks and mall shops to get repairs done because the cost to repair by the manufacturer A) takes too damn long, and B) costs too damn much.

If companies repair facilities were given the same attention as their sales departments we wouldn't have this problem!

 

[centauratlas]

Then why is new legislation needed?

Thing is, this is NOT about legislation. This is (per the article) about an executive order.

There is no democratic process here, just executive action.

 

[IllinoisCorn]

Pander pander pander.

Unconstitutional unconstitutional unconstitutional

 

[Johnny907]

Right to repair should be defaulted, but I agree it opens a can of worms for scammers regarding repairs of devices and non-OEM parts.

Tough. Buyer beware. If you want “authorized repairs,” go to Apple. If you want freedom, choice and lower prices with the possibility of lower quality parts well that’s on you. Car owners have been dealing with this for the better part of a century but somehow we get along just fine, and I am sick of this monopoly-defending BS strawman argument against right to repair.

 

[Jambalaya]

Long over due. Apple rips customers off via excessive repair bills and refusing to make OEM parts available.

 

[subi257]

It’s a minimum of $50,000 to become “certified.” Why you may ask? Apple requires a store front. That means you need a minimum of $50,000 just to keep your doors open for six months. Apple’s requirement of a storefront is a massive barrier to entry.

Technology has and will continue to change our world. Some will call it for the better and some will call it for the worse. My brother has an independent auto shop for decades now, was a dealer tech for decades before that. He was saying that there issei's so much that he can't do on the newest cars...including alignment on the latest cars with self braking (collision avoidance) because you need a whole laser system that costs 30K and you need 30'x30' clear space. if done wrong the car will not self stop in time and hit the car in front. sos, weight that will the lives the technology is saving. I had a loaner Subaru Crosstrek and even in cruise control, if you get too close to a car in front, it will slow you down and match traffic.

As far as smart phones, I think the critical parts are battery (fire hazard) and security (touch ID) button. There has to be some way to split the difference and let small shops do repairs. When you get into some electronic/electronic devices, I can see why you would not be sold parts (liability) I ordered a new magnetron tube and HV capacitor for my old microwave. order got cancelled because they can't sell me the parts. Doesn't matter that I know how to do it safely, there will be people that can't, they will get electrocuted or install the tube wrong and have stray microwave radiation outside the unit. There will be lawsuits...etc.

 

[diego.caraballo]

What if their products are not able to be repaired though because everything is glued together? Would that mean Apple has to rethink how they are building things?

Apple shouldn’t Push being „green“ so much anyway. It’s ridiculous that you basically have to replace the whole bottom of a laptop, including the keyboard and housing, to replace a battery or that iPads are mostly just being replaced instead of repaired

And don’t forget about the Macbook Air. A thin machine that until 2017 came with a battery holded by SCREWS and worked perfectly, was safe and lightweight…

Is insane to glue a battery to a topcase. Is wasteful as well. A laptop should come with a user replaceable battery.
iPhone and iPad, due construction and IP rating not so sure.

 

[subi257]

Tough. Buyer beware. If you want “authorized repairs,” go to Apple. If you want freedom, choice and lower prices with the possibility of lower quality parts well that’s on you. Car owners have been dealing with this for the better part of a century but somehow we get along just fine, and I am sick of this monopoly-defending BS strawman argument against right to repair.

Won't matter, I get hurt, I sue all of the parties involved...needless to say there will be a settlement, but it will still be very bad press for the manufacturer and enough of them could put the company out of business...if it's a small company that does not have trailers of cash. It's sad, but that is what this country has become. Always somebody else's fault.

 

[poematik13]

As opposed to getting scammed by “Geniuses” who insist on replacing whole components or devices because they have limited to no actual repair skills. If the current situation wasn’t also bad, we wouldn’t need these laws.

As soon a you crack open an idevice, the weather sealing is compromised and it'll never be the same again. Devices should be recycled and you should get a new or refurb one directly from Apple. It should be a constant cycle.

 

[fncd]

As soon a you crack open an idevice, the weather sealing is compromised and it'll never be the same again. Devices should be recycled and you should get a new or refurb one directly from Apple. It should be a constant cycle.

Or you could just replace the seal when replacing whatever component needs to be changed.

 

[Macaholic868]

To me a basic right to repair bill should be a bi-partisan no-brainer. Rules are nice but unless we pass laws those rules can be rewritten in many cases by future administrations that want to fight the fight or they can be tossed out in court. Anybody who spends money on anything should be able to repair it using generic parts under almost all circumstances as long as they are not breaking intellectual property laws, weapons laws, etc in the process. The same is true of reverse engineering or breaking a product down to see how it works.

 

[One2Grift]

As I said, if this is true then I'm less bothered. If this leads to "batteries and RAM must be replaceable by the user" or "adhesives can't be used to seal the housing" requirements then we have lawyers making technical decisions which never turns out well.

Exactly. If this is about '(many many companies) must engineer device with removable ____'?
Dufus politicians and used car salesman lawyers deciding best practice engineering and design? That's a epic joke (and it won't happen. I don't think the reg is meant for that, and if it is that's a court slap down 100% certainty)

 

[Villarrealadrian]

Finally its about time!

 

[farewelwilliams]

Pick your poison. If Apple loses money from “right to repair,” they’ll just raise prices. I’d rather pay an extra $30 and get an extra year of warranty than pay an extra $30 for the right to have any random person fix my gadget.

No, more like they'll just stop supporting iPhones with 1 less year than they do now. Rather have that since I don't usually keep my phone after 3 years. Also my costco credit card adds warranty anyways.

That's if it happens too. Maybe nothing will happen at all.

 

[bousozoku]

Having seen some really horrible free repairs that have to be un-done before a good repair can happen, I hope that a lot of justifiable rules will be set in place.

Companies need to have access to original or compatible parts and need to state this when you're having a repair done. I don't mind fudged/custom parts where parts are not otherwise available but this should be clearly stated.

I had someone replace the backlight for my 2004 PowerBook G4, rather than the whole assembly, which would have been a small fortune and taken weeks. Instead, it took about 10 minutes.

If someone wants the free repair from a friend, that's fine, but I want my equipment to work just as it always did.

I hope the government can put together sensible guidelines and that the manufacturers and repair shops can follow them to give consumers reliable choices.

 

[jeffg819]

If you want to purchase apps from more than one place, and/or be able to fix your own phone/tablet/computer, don’t buy an Apple product.

it’s really that simple.

 

[sw1tcher]

We have far bigger problems in the US, but this is something Biden wants to do? Neat.

You know that Biden isn't personally doing everything himself, right? He has many people working within his administration he can delegate the task to.

 

[ouimetnick]

As soon a you crack open an idevice, the weather sealing is compromised and it'll never be the same again. Devices should be recycled and you should get a new or refurb one directly from Apple. It should be a constant cycle.

You are aware that the adhesive water resistant seal is replaced when the device is opened by an Apple authorized repair center, right? They have fixtures that align the new adhesive in place. I remember back when the iPhone 4S was around and even the 5S (I stopped working as an ACMT shortly after) they had a special fixture for evenly applying pressure to the battery so the adhesive would be evenly applied.

There’s no valid reason why those fixtures (also known as SST or Special Service Tools) can’t be publicly purchased should the law force them to do so. I know all the special fixture and tool part numbers for my car. I can order up a rotary engine compression tester from a Mazda dealer if I wanted to.

 

[bobtem]

Thank gawd that MR is considerate enough to point out Joe Biden’s title. Cause us readers are just a bunch of mouth-breathers.

 

[sw1tcher]

I will postulate that "repairable" design was products made in the 1950's where anything and everything was "analog" and vacuum tubes and there was no technology in anything.

Many things are still repairable that should also be covered by these Right-To-Repair rules. Take a John Deere tractor as an example. John Deere makes them nearly impossible for owners to repair.

Farmers Are Having to Hack Their Own Tractors Just to Make Repairs

Owners are turning to hacked software from Eastern Europe as farm equipment companies won't license it to them directly.

www.thedrive.com

Farmers Fight John Deere Over Who Gets to Fix an $800,000 Tractor

The right-to-repair movement has come to the heartland, where some farmers are demanding access to the software that runs their equipment.

www.bloomberg.com

Even when they said they'd make them easier to repair

John Deere Fails to Uphold Right to Repair Agreement Signed in 2018 - ExtremeTech

Back in 2018, John Deere struck a voluntary agreement in which it would provide manuals, training, and diagnostic software for tractors available to purchase by January 1, 2021. The company does not appear to have done so, or to have plans to do so in the near future.

www.extremetech.com

 

[spotlight07]

Apple has created this problem for themselves. 80% of repairs are probably battery related. Just make the phone a few millimeters thicker and have a pop out battery.

 

[Mac_tech]

Waiting to see what Louis Rossmann says about this.

He's happy where it is currently, see

 

[Mac_tech]

Apple has created this problem for themselves. 80% of repairs are probably battery related. Just make the phone a few millimeters thicker and have a pop out battery.

Agreed, the pull tabs are the pain in the ass.

 

[Mac_tech]

One of the problems with Apples official program is many parts like logic boards can't be back ordered. The repair shop cannot order 8 x MacBook Pro logic boards and keep them in stock for when they need them.

Apple requires them to request the item only when a customer wants that repair performed and Apple then requires them to send the defective part to Apple in order to receive the new part.

So if you walk into an independent repair store and need a repair that needs a replacement part beyond just a screw or a cable. Something like a display, logic board etc you have a 7+ day wait, maybe even half a month. This makes these stores less competitive compared to official Apple stores.

In addition if you decide to acquire these parts yourself as an independent purchaser outside of Apple you lose your certification. Apple is allowed as part of the certification program to spot check your repair operation at any time they please and look through your inventory.

This is Apple providing a service with extremely onerous terms to almost guarantee no independent repair shops will adhere to the terms.

Contrast this with Samsung who just has an online store listing all the parts for all their devices and you can just order any of the parts you want and they come in the mail.

Not true, Louis from Rossmann group is able to fix the logic boards at component level as they are able to stock the chips or components needed. They can't do everything. For example the chip ISL9040 Apple told intercel the manufacture of the chip to not sell it to anyone but us. That's asinine but hope this will change if Right to Repair passes.

 

[sw1tcher]

And that is EXACTLY where non certified manufacturer trained people need to stay out of. Farm machinery is some of the most deadly equipment. 1 mistake can kill somebody.....followed by lawsuits. It is also the same on cars that have a system that stops the car from hitting the car in front....ie Subaru Eyesite....if the windshield needs to be replaced, the entire laser system needs to be recalibrated. done incorrectly, once again, you will kill somebody.

You don't need to go to a dealer to have your cracked windshield replaced and forward collision camera calibrated. There are many outside companies who are capable of doing this such as Safelite.

ADAS Recalibration | Windshield Camera Calibration | Safelite

Does your vehicle have a windshield camera? After a windshield replacement at Safelite, the camera may need recalibration. Contact us to schedule an appointment for ADAS recalibration today!

www.safelite.com

And do I need to point out the fact that if you are personally uncomfortable with having someone who isn't the dealer perform the repair, you can go to the dealer? No one will be forced to use an outside party for repairs.