Fight, For Your Right.
That sickening sound of your phone hitting the concrete. Most of us have been there, experienced the horrible moment when you reach down to turn over your device to see if you’ve been lucky enough to avoid a cracked screen this time. You should have bought a case. You should have bought a screen protector. How much will the repair cost this time? Well things are about to get a whole lot easier for those of us cursed with fists of ham.
Right to Repair is forthcoming legislation for electronics which actually already exists for industries such as motor vehicles. It basically dictates that manufacturers of products must take reasonable steps to enable owners to make repairs themselves, and not block them from doing so through software locks or specialized tooling. It means that parts and documentation to change those parts must be available to the average person wishing to carry out repairs on a device, either for themselves or on behalf of someone else. Using cellphones as an example, obtaining parts has historically been a tricky process due to manufacturers refusing to sell components to consumers or “unauthorized” repair shops. This now stands to change!
Now this sort of thing isn’t exclusive to electronics. John Deere has come under fire on numerous occasions for their walled-garden approach to maintenance and repair for their agricultural equipment. Car manufacturers have been forced to view things like routine servicing at non-dealer garages as no reason to void a vehicle warranty for years now, due to similar advances in legislation. So for industries outside of our slippery, drop-magnet cellphones this has been the norm for some time.
So why would a manufacturer be so keen to keep their customers from replacing bits themselves? Well for one thing, if a cracked screen helps nudge you into purchasing an upgrade with “even stronger glass” then one can surmise that’s a strategy someone in the business of selling cellphones might use. Another however is to do with brand perception. A botched repair, such as that of an ill-fitting or damaged screen isn’t a great advertisement of quality and user experience. Replacing a lithium battery with one of poor construction can result in a device fire, which Samsung will be the first to tell you is terrible PR. Keeping repairs in-house ensures the ecosystem stays free of these problems.
While this new movement is good news for those of us able to wield a screwdriver, it’s great news for those in the business of small device repair. Being able to, in the case of Apple, offer factory original parts is a huge win. The quality of your supply chain is assured, as you’re now sourcing parts identical to the phone, tablet or computer’s originals rather than trying to find a reliable third party manufacturer. Last week’s Tech Space mentioned e-waste; Right to Repair also benefits us here, as if a route to replace that broken screen exists, it results in one less device going to landfill. Really, those third party component manufacturers are the only ones liable to suffer from any of these new rulings.
When then can we start to order the bits we need to extend our iPhone’s life after contact with cement? 2022 looks set to be a good year for this movement. New legislation is slated to come into affect, and manufacturers are already announcing programs in preparation. It seems like the bad press from botched repairs is a lesser evil than being seen as actively spiteful toward your customers and blocking the long term use of their purchases. So if you’re planning on dropping your phone, it might be wise to briefly hold off!
Richard Noble
-Founder
This article originally appeared in The Glasgow Courier.