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The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) examined 21 different mainstream tech devices subject to New York’s recently passed electronics Right to Repair law, and found mixed results:
- 9 devices earned A’s or B’s (including all smartphones)
- 3 products received D’s
- 6 popular mainstream devices earned F’s
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The devices that fared poorly, like the HP Spectre Fold laptop, Canon EOS r100 camera, and Apple Vision Pro/Meta Quest 3 VR headsets, usually lacked spare parts or useful repair manuals.
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While New York’s law requires manufacturers to provide tools, manuals, and parts for affordable, easy repair, PIRG says the law has been watered down with loopholes, and there has been no enforcement action taken despite numerous companies failing to comply.
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The cellphone sector has made significant strides in repairability, but other sectors like VR headsets and cameras still have major issues.
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30 states are considering “right to repair” legislation in 2024, but these bills are at risk of being weakened by industry lobbyists.
No no no. Don’t you see, Right To Repair means that it is a legal requirement for every single company to provide a button that will fix and do anything you want at zero cost to you!
You know, as opposed to minimizing unnecessarily coupled parts and part signing to prevent third party companies who do have the fancy oven to desolder a chip from charging you to do it. And… some of that is definitely people like Rossman who will gladly switch between talking to consumers and other repair companies as it suits his argument.
Also: While I firmly do not expect a switch to last anywhere near long enough to make it worth doing, it is also totally worth doing a soldering project or two. It is a good skill to have and gives you a lot more insight into what is being talked about when these topics come up.