In this blog I am gonna discuss about “ Right to Repair (RTR)  ” and why it's really important .

 


So basically what’s all the stuff about “Right to Repair” ?

Let me ask you a question first “When you buy a car/any vehicle and you weren’t allowed to replace the punctured tyres , Would you buy it?

  

You guessed it right the answer would be definitely ”NO” . 

So , RTR is a law passed by government body which would allow consumers to repair/modify their own device (even extra customization) without manufacturer involvement.

Then why are we compromising in the electronics gadgets and phones, shouldn’t we demand right to repair in this category also ?

The answer would be YES and NO,

Yes , because :

  • Manufacturers are refusing to provide device repair manuals for people who are tech-geeks which is no less than disappointment for those who want to explore inside of the device.

  • Service centers are overcharging their customers for repairs.

  •  Device spare parts aren't easily available after 2 or 3 year after the product line-up gets discontinued. Customers who want to keep their old devices working , also being a favourite gadget they feel very bad

  • E-waste now being a global issue is a reason ,why right to repair is majorly needed.

 No , because :

  • If you need rear mounted fingerprint sensor and other sensors to be actually intact . This is due to the fact that  phones now come with non-removable batteries and prying the device without proper care would end up you device in damaged/non-working condition.

  • The more the features you want the device becomes more harder to repair.

 

Let’s get into the origins of “Right to Repair” movement and how it started?

  • The RTR was not about tech devices yes you heard it right was based on automobile industry .The movement first started in United States which required  manufacturers to provide the necessary documents and information to allow anyone to repair their vehicles.

  • Massachusetts passed the United States' first Motor Vehicle Owners ' Right to Repair Act in 2012

  • The now RTR on electronics came from European Countries somewhere around 2016.

  • European Parliament voted in favor of a new policy to “develop and introduce mandatory labeling, to provide clear, immediately visible and easy-to-understand information to consumers on the estimated lifetime and repairability of a product at the time of purchase.”

  •  Where 395 votes in favor, 94 votes against, and 207 abstentions (declining to vote) supports the consumers’ Right to Repair.

  • Starting from January 2021 , France  began rolling out repairability tags for smartphones, laptops, and other electronics. Austria also hoped to reduce the repair taxes. The label would have a repairability score out of 10, The label image is given below.

 

 

Why manufacturers don’t want you to repair their devices ?

  • They want to create a repair monopoly (Own control of their device).

  • They don’t want you to fix devices. So that they can push sales of their newly launched products.

  •  They are trying to shut down independent repair shops .To get more profits.


Benefits of Right to repair
  • Firstly in this right an OEM has no right to overcharge in  the repair costs i.e It should not exceed the original cost of the devices.

  • Working devices won’t be allowed to be dumped instead they can be sold as a refurbished devices with a good warranty.
  • You will be able to get the repair manuals from the manufacturer and availability of spare parts will be easier. Because right now many of them aren’t allowing customers to get easier access of  repair manuals .Example Apple is one of them where everything is closed-source .If you want to repair their device you have to join a program and own a apple-authorized store.

  • In used product market will be able to find a good value for your old devices. Presently the used devices cost is way meagre in this category .Even flagship devices suffer in this category.

  •  It would help in the generation of employment because more talented authorized technicians would come into play and your device get’s a good repair.
     
  • Now manufacturers are locking their devices in some models you can’t unlock bootloader easily devices like realme , vivo ,oppo don’t support this. They don’t want you to explore the software part so easily . Right to Repair doesn’t encourage it.

Companies which follow the ideals of RTR :

Fairphone a social enterprise company which aims to develop smartphones that are designed and produced with a lower environmental impact. The company is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands

 The image shown above is a product of fairphone where there are modular replacable spare parts which can be replaced easily by any users without waiting for tech support.

iFixIt is an American e-commerce and how-to website which sells repair parts and publishes free wiki-like online repair guides for consumer electronics and gadgets. It supports the principle  you buy the device you own it.


 iFixit toolkit used for repairing electronic items.


Thank you for reading.

Article References: 

  1. Wikipedia page on right to repair

  2.  France will begin labeling electronics with repairability ratings in January

  3.  iFixIt page on right to repair.