Right to Repair Is Winning: Why You Should Care

You buy a phone. The battery degrades. The manufacturer charges $200 to replace it. An independent shop could do it for $50, but they can't get genuine parts. And if you try yourself, the phone bricks because a software lock detects "unauthorized" components. This is the world tech companies built. It's finally starting to change.

How We Got Here

It wasn't always this way. Old cars, appliances, and electronics were designed to be serviced. Components were modular and standardized. Repair manuals were available. Third-party parts were common.

Then companies discovered that making devices hard to repair was profitable:

• Glue instead of screws: Components sealed in make repairs difficult
• Proprietary screws: Even when accessible, special tools required
• Serialized components: Software that rejects "unauthorized" replacement parts
• Withheld schematics: Repair manuals kept secret
• Parts restrictions: Genuine parts only available to authorized repair

The result: when something breaks, you can't fix it. You can pay the manufacturer's premium pricing, use an unauthorized repair that might void your warranty or trigger software locks, or buy a new device. Companies preferred you buy new.

The Environmental Cost

The e-waste numbers are staggering. The world generates about 50 million metric tons of electronic waste annually. Most of it isn't recycled properly. Devices with years of useful life left are discarded because a single component failed and couldn't be replaced.

A phone with a dead battery isn't obsolete. A laptop with a cracked screen isn't worthless. But when repair is impossible or uneconomical, perfectly good devices become trash.

The Fight Back

The right-to-repair movement has been building for years. Advocates argued simple principles:

You own what you buy. If you purchase a device, you should be able to fix it, modify it, or have someone else fix it without manufacturer permission.

Access to tools and parts. Manufacturers should make replacement parts, diagnostic tools, and repair manuals available to owners and independent repair shops.

No software locks. Devices shouldn't brick themselves when they detect non-manufacturer components.

These seem reasonable. For years, manufacturers fought them fiercely, lobbying against legislation and arguing that independent repair was unsafe, would void warranties, and would harm innovation.

The Tide Is Turning

Starting around 2021, things shifted:

Legislative victories: The European Union passed comprehensive right-to-repair legislation. US states started passing their own laws. New York, California, Minnesota, and others now mandate repair access for electronics.

Apple's reversal: In late 2021, Apple announced self-service repair, providing parts, tools, and manuals directly to consumers. It's imperfect—pricing is high, and some restrictions remain—but it's a dramatic shift from a company that once actively fought repair.

Standardization pressure: The EU mandated USB-C for phones, forcing Apple's hand. Similar pressure is building for standardized batteries and modular components.

Public awareness: Documentaries, YouTube repair channels, and advocacy from organizations like iFixit brought repair issues mainstream. Consumers started demanding repairability as a feature.

Why It Matters for Software Too

Right to repair isn't just about hardware. Software locks are a key tool manufacturers use to prevent repair. Your car's diagnostic data is locked behind proprietary systems. Farm equipment requires dealer authorization to service. Medical devices can't be maintained by hospital technicians.

This extends to abandonware. When a manufacturer goes out of business or stops supporting a product, should customers be left with expensive paperweights? Should software-locked devices be unusable because servers were shut down?

The principle extends: owners should have access to the software running their devices, the ability to modify it, and the freedom to keep devices functional beyond the manufacturer's intended lifespan.

The Design Shift

The most exciting development: some companies are designing for repairability as a selling point.

Fairphone builds modular phones where every component can be replaced without tools. Framework makes laptops designed to be upgraded and repaired. These companies prove that repairability doesn't require sacrificing quality or aesthetics—it requires prioritizing it during design.

This creates market pressure. When consumers can choose between sealed boxes and repairable devices, manufacturers who block repair lose competitive advantage.

What You Can Do

Consider repairability when buying. iFixit publishes repairability scores. Choose devices that can be serviced.

Repair what you can. YouTube has guides for almost everything. Replacement parts are often available online. Even if a repair fails, you've learned something.

Support independent repair shops. Local repair businesses keep devices alive and deserve support over manufacturer-premium pricing.

Support legislation. Right-to-repair laws are still being fought state by state, country by country. Advocacy matters.

We're at a turning point. The era of planned obsolescence and repair restriction is being challenged—by laws, by competition, and by consumers who refuse to accept that "broken" means "garbage." The right to repair your own stuff is slowly, finally, winning.