Right to Repair

cross-posted from: https://lemy.lol/post/68742960

Built-in batteries put a timebomb inside devices, with especially the calendar aging feature of Li-ion chemistries setting a hard limit on when you’ll have to toss the device or figure out a way to replace the battery somehow. Here the EU’s Battery Regulation policy with the 2027 implementation of the user-serviceable battery requirement provided a lot of hope. Now six new categories of exemptions are diminishing what could have been a bonanza of easy repairability.

Following a complaint filed by association HOP – Stop Planned Obsolescence, Steering Group member of the Right to Repair Europe Coalition in September 2017, the printer manufacturer Epson has been summoned before the criminal court on charges of planned obsolescence and misleading commercial practices.

#PlannedObsolescence #RightToRepair #France

"There is consumer pressure to back away from technology that is unnecessary to perform everyday tasks."

PC revival?

This was the issue:

@Endof10 Good morning everyone,
I am following for work a project of reuse of hardware dated by the Italian public administration (office PC between 2010 and 2015 as the start of use year).
as a distribution I focused on zorin OS for the ease of migration from windows, general stability of the system, look and feel very nice and pleasant.
my biggest obstacle is the finding of cheap SSD disks also used to put in place of the current mechanical disks, otherwise the machines are too slow, and I fear the boomerang effect.
the machines will be donated to voluntary associations that request it, but I fear that with a mechanical disk that makes the machine too slow for modern use in 2026, the average user perceives linux as a slow operating system, without understanding that the problem is the hardware. I am also a volunteer of one of the main Italian environmental associations, legambiente, so I gladly offer myself for installation parties, individual support to those who request it. I saw this page on your site but I did not understand how I should move, I ask if you can help me and guide me thanks.

https://endof10.org/it/contribute/

@zorinlynx @distrowatch.com @RepairCafeInternational @right2repair @righttorepair @eu_os @efoundation @gnome @restarterstorino

A bill in Colorado is a glimpse into the future of how corporations are working to limit the freedom people have to make their own fixes and upgrades.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20260402211432/https://www.wired.com/story/tech-companies-are-trying-to-neuter-colorados-landmark-right-to-repair-law/

Say goodbye to expensive battery replacement?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/43790601

alternate title I saw on YouTube - “Invent and resolve”: How Cuba's survived six decades of US blockade

Feb. 25, 2026

In US-blockaded Cuba, ingenious mechanics and inventors revive old machines in order to survive during a time of scarcity.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Cuba was plunged into crisis. Fuel, food and spare parts vanished almost overnight. This character-led documentary shows how common Cubans refused to give up – and instead built a new culture of radical repair. From Havana’s Malecon to small-town back yards, it follows mechanics, street vendors and a teacher-turned-inventor who live by one rule: “invent and resolve”.

A pristine US Plymouth Fury convertible of the 1950s hides a Soviet engine, Japanese gearbox and handmade parts; washing machines become coconut graters, solar dryers and tools for urban farms. Cuban historians and designer Ernesto Oroza reveal the philosophy behind this “technical disobedience”, treating every object as raw material to hack and extend. Far from nostalgia, the film offers a stark snapshot of a future in which resources are scarce and the power to repair may be our most important tool.

#news #politics

Shout-out @iFixit for their wonderful #pixel6a battery replacement kit and instructions.

My wife's phone was one of those that google throttled down because of problematic batteries.

I bought the kit from #ifixit, and, following their step by step instructions, I was able to open the phone, remove the battery, stick in the new battery, and put everything together (the shaped glue tape is fantastic). It took 2-3 hours, not easy, I have to say.

And it works, which I doubted until the end (because of low trust in my abilities, not quality of stuff)

My phone instead is a Fairphone 4... Battery replacement is... 1 minute. I can probably do it with 1 hand, blindfolded 😁

@right2repair #righttorepair

Can anyone confirm or deny whether a washing machine brand other than Beko puts kill switches in their machines? This seems to be relevant to anti-competition law. If they all do it, then it can perhaps be regarded as cartel behavior. If not all do it, then those who do can be regarded as making the competition unfair.

To be clear, I do not mean remote kill switches. I mean algorithmic. E.g. a fault occurs, the machine detects it, quits running, and shows an error code. That much is fair enough (to protect the machine from damage). The abuse comes when the maker refuses to share the reset procedure, ultimately blocking repair.