Hopefully this will benefit other countries indirectly, instead of designing one repairable phone and one not repairable, should be easier to just design one.
this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2026
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"Hold my beer" - Nintendo, releasing an EU centric revision. Meanwhile Apple and Samsung are digging up every legal loophole to prevent the law applying to their devices.
Apple and Samsung be like: "It's not a mobile phone or a tablet, it's a phablet so it does not fall in to any category of the devices that need to be repairable."
The loophole in the directive is smaller phones. Smartphones go from 10.16 cm (4 inches) diagonal to 17. 78cm (7 inches) and everything bigger (up to 44.2 cm) is a tablet.
Samsung and Apple's flagship smartphones are very close to be considered tablets but that wouldn't save them from the requriments.
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The past two phones I bought were not because they broke, but because they stopped being supported on apps that I need to use.
That's also included in the directive. Manufactures will be required to provide OS updates for at least 5 years "from the date of end of placement on the market" (which means the date the brand shipped the last device of a model).
They also have 4 months to release security updates and 6 months for functionality updates see ANNEX II for all device categories.
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So I saw that my car offered up all sorts of useful diagnostic information for self diagnosing stuff. Was very excited and went to look at it for a generic fault without having to get software to tell me what the fault is. I thought "it's stupid it has fully functional computer display yet tells me basically "contact a dealer, but it's safe to drive" instead of what the problem is. Then I find out that because I'm in the USA, the company keeps it to themselves...
So if they see value in treating regions differently, they will absolutely go out of their way to screw over the regions that will let them.
Car manufacturers screwed over consumers the last 10-15 years big time! Cars used to be the big thing many could fix a lot on by themselves and were proud to do so. Then they basically just said incrementally to the DIY'ers "it's all computers now, not your cup of tea", purposely made cars less and less self repairable and got away with it! It's infuriating.
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Interesting things that are not on the list:
- Farming equipment
- Motor and electric vehicles
- Computers (including laptops)
- Video game consoles
- HVAC systems and equipment
Not sure if smart TVs fall under "electronic displays", or if they just mean commercial displays when they say that.
not yet ! we hope !
John deer tractor lost a case that became famous in my rural area (and elsewhere). It now have to let repair shop acces the tools and allow repair on its tractors.
I take the win ! And we continue to push forward in talks, petitions, actions and repairs (autorised or else) Support and/or use open source.
Farming equipment is a particularly annoying one, that and construction vehicles, are becoming increasingly locked down by proprietary software and impossible to maintain yourself. You can't even employ mechanics outside the dealer network in some instances and it will be more so in the future.
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They pass dystopian chat control with one hand and does this with the other.
The EU is a complex organization with different power poles and a variety of different interests. Add to that members of parliament do not always understand everything they vote for. And yes: you get bad things, nonsensical rules, but also good things.
Overall, I would say it's positive, but when it's bad it can be brutal.
Edit: I forgot to mention lobbying! Brussels is full of lobbyists!
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Seriously, talk about major whiplash with how they do things lmao
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Heh, the dryer stopped working at home and my spouse was bracing to buy a new one. So nice to break out the multimeter, find the issue, and 10 dollar part later, good as new.
Think of all the waste avoided by repairing a tiny part in a gigantic appliance.
Yeah this could be great. Part of my job involves clearing up fly tip, dumped rubbish, and a shit load of it is electric appliances. Most people don't know how to use a multimeter, but you only need to know someone who does.
Today I repaired my toothbrush after my room mate suggested buying another one that is cheaper than mine amd the same brand as theirs.
Looked up the model, iFixIt manual available, opened it, tightened the screw on the vibrating head for the motor and put it back together.
Working flawlessly again and 50-75€ (or even more) saved.
This is good.
The RIGHT to repair does you no good if the thing itself is not DESIGNED to be repaired.
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This is a step in the right direction love it. Although I got a reality check recently when I bought a washing machine and had a chat with the guy selling them new and used. He said that from 201X onwards basically the manufacturers constructed the insides of them in a single piece which is 350€ and with that it’s not economical to fix them. So yea technically they are repairable. But I have little hope that this will actually change something for consumers or the environment.
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Unfortunately there are some exemptions. Flexible / folding displays are not covered. Fitness trackers and watches are not covered.
There is also a battery regulation coming in next year to require phone batteries to be replaceable with no tools but that has loop holes too - long life batteries aren't covered, IP67 rated phones aren't covered. So you can bet your boots those two reasons will be what makers use to bullshit their way out of it.
Having those rules is much better than not having them. Also, IP rating is not enough, batteries also need to have sufficient load cycles. So if it forces them to use only long life batteries that reduces the need for battery repkacements and is already something.
Well it's a start.
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Water kettle stopped working, has fucking temper proof triangle head screws so can't even open it without having to buy a special screwdriver bit. name and shame : kitchenaid
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I'm noticing cars are not part of the list, despite being smartphones on wheels
Presumably the germans must have lobbied tooth and nails against this.
This is excellent news, but I really wish this same logic will spill into the recent "stop killing video games" movement as well.
That whole fight was really about consumer protection as well, not just about video games IMO.
I want to be able to be easily repair and support products that are past their manufacture supported end of life. This goes for both physical products and digital products!
There is no repair without firmware. All hardware needs to be documented and ship with source. It hasn't been enough to be able to buy physical parts since perhaps the 80s or 90s. Everything is controlled by software. Without that right to repair is a joke. Meanwhile the surveillance industry and their well greased govt supporters are trying to lock down software. Can't have it both ways.
Thank you E.U. I hope you have a run of people buying and shipping products all over the world and it pressures everyone else to follow suit.
Good, now let's increase the list and also add vacuum cleaners to it! I thought that they already were but seemingly not :(
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For things like these I love Europe. For things like Chat Control I hate Europe
regulation works.
Good start I guess but missing plenty of things that others have already pointed out. This list only covers like half of devices in a household. Also, what is stopping companies from pricing replacement parts way out of proportion because of this? Even more than they already do now to prevent repairs
I wonder why the US doesn’t have this law.
Hmmmm. 🤔
I hold out the thin hope that manufacturers will not want to split their product lines any more than they have to and will make these devices available globally.
It's possible that they want to hang on to the revenue streams that making irreparable garbage generates, but it would have to be greater than the cost of designing and manufacturing a second product line for most of their stuff.
Kind of how like when dumbass apple was forced into USB-C in the EU and they finally gave up on their own charge cables globally.
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I like this for a lot of obvious reasons.
I worry about corporate malicious compliance though where the cost of a replacement part costs as much as the unit or near it to make up for lost revenue from selling whole units.
They could even get to the printer ink model where they sell the initial device for cheap or at a lost with planned obsolescence of parts that almost guarantee a replacement rate.
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Can't wait to see what loopholes they will implement such that I can avoid repairing my shit and pay full price for a new one anyway because the repair costs just as much as a new one. God forbid replacing a single bearing instead of the whole wash drum, I hope the EU protects me from that like before.
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