Monday, March 27th 2023
EU's New Right to Repair Directive Requires 10 Year Component Availability
A new directive from the EU wants its member states to implement new right to repair laws that require hardware manufacturers to repair products up to 10 years from the date of purchase. This also means that devices under warranty will have to be repaired, rather than replaced, to reduce the waste that the faulty devices would most likely have ended up producing. The key part of the new directive is device manufacturers now have to offer the right to repair long after warranties have expired, with some product categories being forced to offer parts for repair up to 10 years after the purchase date, if the customer demands it.
We're not just talking about home appliances here, but also phones and tablets, as well as other consumer electronics, as well as commercial computers. That said, some devices will only be required to have a five year supply of parts and components, which makes sense for some more affordable products. The directive also calls for a union wide "repair matchmaking platform" that should make it easier for consumers to get their products repaired. However, the Right to Repair coalition calls the new directive a missed opportunity, as it wants the right to repair to be universal, but it says that the new directive is at least a step in the right direction. The biggest concern about the new directive is that it doesn't mention anything about the cost of the repairs, so we could end up seeing price gouging on spare parts and repair costs, which would make the new directive moot, as it could be cheaper getting a new product rather than having it repaired.
Sources:
The European Commission (PDF), via The Register, the Right to Repair coalition
We're not just talking about home appliances here, but also phones and tablets, as well as other consumer electronics, as well as commercial computers. That said, some devices will only be required to have a five year supply of parts and components, which makes sense for some more affordable products. The directive also calls for a union wide "repair matchmaking platform" that should make it easier for consumers to get their products repaired. However, the Right to Repair coalition calls the new directive a missed opportunity, as it wants the right to repair to be universal, but it says that the new directive is at least a step in the right direction. The biggest concern about the new directive is that it doesn't mention anything about the cost of the repairs, so we could end up seeing price gouging on spare parts and repair costs, which would make the new directive moot, as it could be cheaper getting a new product rather than having it repaired.
86 Comments on EU's New Right to Repair Directive Requires 10 Year Component Availability
Also, nits. I said it before. The OLED is FAR brighter. They could make them much more efficient but then this exact forum would complain about contrast ratios.Nits. It's the primary reason they aren't heads and tails ahead of a CRT.
Also the "smart" computer running inside them doesn't help. CRTs were dumb as a brick.
In the end we're dealing with people and they all have opinions. That's why we have the weak sauce and not your optimal opt out by default - I agree completely that its sub optimal. But we also know governments 'nudge' people in democracies, they don't use repression to achieve goals. We're left an illusion of choice, so that eventually we'll get so annoyed by the cookie clicky that we'll demand something better. Or some companies get mega fines for not adhering and commerce itself finds a way to make it work proper. Who knows...
Leadership in anything means stepping in front of the crowd and doing something new. Having a mission and executing plans that follow that mission. Its clear everyone kinda does want these things to happen, or feels the actual need for it - right to repair is a big step towards a smaller footprint and sustainable economy; its a clear no-brainer if you remove the lens of how (twisted?) our current economy works.
The next day your neighbor hears your success story and decides that he can do the same thing. And so he does it. However, after re-assembles the card, it simply won't work anymore. He then follows your advice and tries to return it, since it's within warranty, according to you.
But wait, is that:
a) a factory defect
b) overtorqued or misplaces screws
c) conductive TIM
d) wrong thermal pads
e) ESD damage
f) broken traces in the inner PCB layers
g) all of the above
h) none of the above
Eh?
Now, you could probably imagine the obscene amounts of time and effort (read "money") it would cost to properly determine the cause of death, respectively who's fault it is, in order to decide if the card should be replaced or not. It would probably cost more than the card itself.
If you're experienced, of course it feels frustrating to have some stupid sticker stopping you from cleaning your card - I get it. At the same time, I'm pretty sure it would feel equally frustrating to have to do do RMA on a particular client's card every other week because he thinks it's funny to try out if a new BIOS flash would let him unlock the higher model's shaders, for example.
If the user is technically inclined, knows what he's doing and is careful, I stand with him - let him do his thing. Conversely, if the user is a complete idiot, he has no business attempting self-service and repair. We're not all equal and determining how capable you are could be tricky, but alas - the rules must be the same for everybody. That's why I said that I'm on the fence on this one.
P.S. It's spelled "prove" and "lose".
PS:Noted.
EDIT:Yup, those Americans are really "dumb" to make the stickers illegal. We in the EU are so much smarter then them protecting multi-billion $ companies and screwing honest customers.
I'm dropping this one, bye.
Wow, such a difficult answer!
(also, suggesting users give up 40% of their battery capacity is an absolute shit answer to "why cant I replace my battery". If I have to sacrifice a significant portion of my devices capability to make it work more then 3 years, then it is a terrible design, full stop.).