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A legislator in Canada has proposed a bill to ensure that individuals and indpendent shops can repair brand-name devices. If on the off chance that the bill becomes law, major hardware vendors will have to change how they sell their products.
[...] On Thursday, Coteau introduced a private member's bill in provincial parliament that, if passed, would be the first "right to repair" law for electronic devices in North America. More than a dozen US states are currently considering similar bills, but nothing is on the books yet in the US or in Canada.
The legislation proposes that tech companies make diagnostic tools, repair manuals, and official parts available to consumers at their request. The legislation would also require that any new products ship with a repair manual. Documents provided to consumers must be free unless they request paper copies, and parts, tools, and software must be provided at a fair price.
Earlier on SN:
Apple's T2 Security Chip Can Prevent Unauthorized Third-Party Repair of Devices
Yes, Americans, You Can Break Anti-Piracy DRM If You Want to Repair Some of Your Kit – US Govt
45 Out of 50 Electronics Companies Illegally Void Warranties After Independent Repair, Sting Reveals
The Right to Repair Battle Has Come to California
(Score: 5, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Saturday February 23 2019, @01:35PM (7 children)
Right to repair should be a thing, everywhere, but even more important is some incentive to not sell time-bombs to the public. Like early '70s US made automobiles, or recent consumer electronics.
Non-replaceable batteries with short overall lifetimes.
Lead free solder which cracks with age and/or grows tin whiskers.
Handheld devices with unnecessarily fragile components that break when dropped.
Could we incentivize manufacturers to make more durable goods if they came with an expected lifetime pro-rated rebate, sort of like some tires and auto batteries? Say your cell phone is expected to last 5 years, you pay $300 for it. At any time after purchase, the owner of the cellphone can return it to the manufacturer for a pro-rated rebate. If, for instance, it boot-loops at 30 months, that's a $150 rebate.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 23 2019, @02:06PM (2 children)
Having the right to repair means little when the manufacturer makes use of parts not available on the market and fabrication methods that can't be replicated by hand. And it's not some theoretical concern: The SMT components on smartphones boards take a microscope and a lot of special equipment to replace and some EMMC chips aren't available a year or two following production. Then there's the vacuum seal and separation and adhesion of the digitizer from and to the screen that take special solvents and UV glue and rarely produces good results...
Now they're making SMT batteries and those folding smartphone screens come with folding boards that can't be worked at with soldering irons, only heat guns...
When the "right to repair" gets passed, the phones would have 1 IC, a couple of fuses and an smt battery. Good luck fixing that Bob.
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Sunday February 24 2019, @07:08PM
sudo mod me up
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 25 2019, @08:52AM
Yes, but....
Right to repair does two things. It creates more opportunity for people to go to someone with the ability to make the repair, an independent that doesn't want you to buy the latest and greatest...
And in doing so, it creates a market for cheap, consumer grade tools to make those repairs at home. For example, I've got some hex-screw drivers that I can bend if I use too strenuously, yet they're fine for a fix per-year at home.. while they'd be destroyed in a full time shop.
Last thing?
Right to repair needs to extend to automobiles. My specific beef right now is Tesla, which is so closed off it isn't even funny. I want them to succeed, but not at the cost were I can't buy spare parts, I can't get them fixed anywhere... because Tesla won't *let* you buy spare parts, won't supply repair manuals for garages, won't supply parts to garages, and basically say "You MUST get your car fixed at our authorized repair centre".
Eh? Wtf?!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 23 2019, @02:35PM
It's 12 months compulsory warranty down under. Even then they try to dodge out of it.
(Score: 2) by Hyper on Saturday February 23 2019, @02:42PM (1 child)
They will argue that the battery is replaceable. It just requires a trained technician 15 to 25 minutes and a set of special tools and a specific set of instructions to do so without harming the device.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Saturday February 23 2019, @07:03PM
When I cracked the screen on my 2 year old Nexus 5, the cost to replace the screen on my phone ($70) was more than the cost to buy a used Nexus 5 on the open market ($60)...
Along with all this regulation, let's also make a regulation that the parts required to assemble a finished consumer device be available for sale at a total price less than the cost of the device at retail, not MSRP, but actual sale price.
Next, let's also get rid of "loss leader" give away the razor at a loss and make millions on the blades business models - but that one has to be done delicately, the economy of the western world might collapse if that business model were suddenly illegal.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Snotnose on Saturday February 23 2019, @05:38PM
This is actually a European requirement, RHOSE or something. I was working at Qualcomm when it happened, manufacturing was having a hell of a time getting the new process figured out.
Me? I'd settle for easily replaceable batteries. That would probably cover 90% of the repairs needed.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.