Wheelchair Repair Bill Hits Congress. Apple Declares 8 Year Old MacBook 'Obsolete'
Proposed federal legislation would make a right to repair wheelchairs the law nationwide. Also: Apple declares 2015 to 2017 Macs "obsolete" and Bloomberg urges a right to repair military equipment.
Contents:
+ Apple calls 2015–2017 Macs “obsolete.” Users fume. (MacRumors)
+ Are the UK’s right to repair laws working?
+ Clean culture: why countries treat waste so differently (Circular Online)
+ Farmers to manufacturers: let us fix our own equipment (IndexBox)
+ Pixel 10’s “dual-access” design: signals from Google (WebProNews)
+ Michael Bloomberg: “Americans are fixers. Their troops should be too.” (Daily News)
+ Pope launches zero-waste farm and center (USCCB)
+ Nintendo sunsets repairs for 2DS XL and 3DS (MyNintendoNews)
+ Samsung’s S25 FE promises 7 years of updates (PhoneWorld)Congressman Maxwell Frost (D-FL) joined fellow lawmaker Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) on August 26th to introduce a Wheelchair Right to Repair Act on Capitol Hill: a federal version of laws that have already passed in a handful of states that seek to facilitate repairs and maintenance for the million Americans who rely on power wheelchairs.
As we’ve written about, the need for wheelchair repair laws is clear: outdated federal warranty laws as well as maximalist copyright provisions like Section 1201 of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) give wheelchair makers near total control over wheelchair service and maintenance as well as access parts and repairs. The consequence: high costs and long waits for service on devices that are essential for their independence.
Wheelchairs: repairs get complex (and expensive)!
With the growing presence of software on powered wheelchairs, even simple repairs or modifications - changing a tire; replacing a worn battery; adjusting the speed to suit the owner’s needs - can become lengthy and expensive ordeals requiring in person visits from manufacturer-authorized repair technicians that lead to long waits and higher out of pocket costs for wheelchair owners.
The Wheelchair Right to Repair Act introduced last month would establish a federal right for wheelchair users in all U.S. states and territories to repair their own chairs or use third parties - like locally-owned repair shops- without the fear of voiding their warranty.
“Power wheelchair users know their chairs better than anyone else, but right now they’re forced to wait months and pay hundreds of dollars for simple fixes that should take days and cost a fraction of the price,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost in a statement. “The Wheelchair Right to Repair Act puts people back in control of their mobility and their independence.”
Frost cited examples of the kinds of commonplace abuses of consumer rights that are regularly found in the wheelchair service marketplace. Those include high out of pocket costs to obtain replacement parts and service, as well as long waits for wheelchair users to get their chairs serviced - especially those living in rural communities far from population hubs.
Innovation or mobility: choose one
The conundrum faced by power wheelchair owners has been a focus of the right to repair movement for years. In 2022, US PIRG issued a report, Stranded, that detailed the plight of power wheelchair owners saddled with expensive repairs and agonizingly long wait times that left many bound to bed.
And, while manufacturers may decry new regulations as inhibiting “innovation,” power wheelchair users are in desperate need of working chairs—and fast repairs, as this recent report in Mother Jones notes.
The scarcity of repair services is a byproduct of the U.S.’s tortured medical insurance marketplace, as well as severe consolidation in the medical device equipment and service industries in recent years. Private equity firms have conducted “roll ups” of small, independent repair shops, a once diverse marketplace that is now dominated by two, large nation-wide chains owned by private equity firms: NuMotion and National Seating and Mobility. Beyond that, a small cadre suppliers and insurers further restrict access to parts, manuals, and even software, while some state laws requiring a doctor’s prescription for wheelchair repairs (??!) lead to months-long waits for simple fixes, wheelchair users stranded for want of $20 parts, and users forced into dangerous workarounds.
Congress needs to act! 🙄
If passed, The Wheelchair Right to Repair Act would be the first federally guaranteed right to repair of any kind.
“Right to Repair means that when the manufacturer or their authorized agents fail to offer timely, cost-effective repairs, you have options,” said Isaac Bowers, Federal Legislative Director, U.S. PIRG.
To date, lawmakers in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington have enacted wheelchair right to repair bills, with strong bipartisan majorities. In 2025 alone, seven states introduced one or more bills to create (or strengthen) a right to repair wheelchairs: Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington State. Washington’s bill passed.
Historically, around a third of U.S. states have introduced such legislation, but it has often faced the same fate as broader electronics right to repair legislation: faltering in the face of strong lobbying by industry groups. This year, for example, New York’s state Senate unanimously passed the Consumer Wheelchair Repair Bill of Rights Act, and Florida’s state House unanimously passed the Repair of Motorized Wheelchairs Act - but both bills faltered on the other side of the state house and failed to be enacted. A wheelchair right to repair bill introduced in Alabama also died in committee as have bills introduced Massachusetts and other states, despite strong popular support for right to repair.
What is clear is that until lawmakers require access to parts, diagnostic tools, and documentation—and rein in insurer red tape—wheelchair users will keep paying in lost wages, lost independence, and unnecessary injuries. The “choice” the market offers is an illusion when the same players write the rules and lock the doors.
Apple calls 2015–2017 Macs “obsolete.” Users fume. (MacRumors)
Apple Computer has declared a number of popular MacBooks “obsolete,” including a 2017 MacBook Pro. The “obsolete” designation blocks official repairs and parts—even as machines continue to function fine. Apple classifies a product as 'obsolete' after it has been discontinued for over seven years. Once declared obsolete, the device no longer receives support from Apple at the Apple Store or an authorized third-party service provider.
In other words, if the product breaks, Apple has no obligation to repair it, effectively turning the device into little more than a relic from the past. This is planned obsolescence by paperwork. The fix is obvious: keep parts and manuals available, allow third-party components without software penalties, and separate “no longer sold” from “no longer serviceable.” If repair is “unsafe,” prove it with data. Otherwise, let people maintain the tools they rely on. (Read more…)
Are the UK’s right to repair laws working?
The UK has some of the most robust right to repair laws of any country. But are they working as intended? Which reports that consumer advocates are right to ask why “right to repair” still feels like wishful thinking. As the report notes: too many devices still ship with glued batteries, serialized parts, and paywalled diagnostics. Mandated parts lists are narrow; availability windows are short; prices are high.
In contrast, real repairability looks like: tool-free battery swaps, parts and manuals for everyone (not just “authorized” shops), software pairing bans, and support windows measured in a decade—not a warranty term. If regulators won’t define “repairable” with teeth, manufacturers will keep optimizing for quarterly upgrades over durable goods.
A related article at ERT Online notes that data from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from the government suggests the UK’s appliance “right to repair” push hasn’t curved the disposal curve on white goods. That may be do to self imposed limitations of that law, which was focused on energy labels for appliances and stuck to a narrow list of replacement parts that must be supplied, but left out the hard stuff—affordable parts, long-term availability, diagnostics, and realistic labor economics. If repair costs are still about the same as device replacement and independent techs still can’t get what they need, consumers will keep ditching broken machines in favor of new ones.
The lesson is clear: repair policy must be measurable (fewer landfilled washers), enforceable (penalties for withholding parts/software), and comprehensive (price caps or tax relief for repair; design-for-disassembly; and open diagnostics). Anything less is just eco-washing. (Read more here… and here)
Clean culture: why countries treat waste so differently (Circular Online)
Why do some countries rinse yogurt cups and others pitch them whole? Culture and policy coevolve. Where municipal systems make sorting simple and visible—and where producers pay for waste—people participate. Where infrastructure is confusing, pick-up is scarce, and brands externalize costs, apathy follows. “Clean culture” isn’t about virtue; it’s about incentives, design, and trust. Want higher recycling and lower contamination? Standardize labels and bins nationwide, mandate producer responsibility, publish open data on outcomes, and fund repair/reuse hubs alongside collection. Make the cleaner choice the easier habit. (Read more…)
Farmers to manufacturers: let us fix our own equipment (IndexBox)
When a tractor idles, so does an entire operation. Farmers are fed up with dealer-locked diagnostics, parts scarcity, and software that bricks third-party repairs. Repair restrictions aren’t “safety”—they’re rent-seeking that inflates downtime and costs. Farmers want what works: open service manuals, parts at fair prices, interoperable tools, and a ban on VIN/serial-bound software pairing. States and the feds are edging that way. The test will be planting season: when breakdowns hit, can farmers fix what they own without begging a dealer for permission? (Read more…)
Pixel 10’s “dual-access” design: signals from Google (WebProNews)
Reports say Google’s Pixel 10 embraces repairability with dual-access internals and pull tabs—small changes with big implications. If both screen and backplate access are sane, battery swaps and board-level work get faster, cheaper, and safer. That’s good for consumers and independent shops—and a quiet admission that sealed slabs were a dead end. The question now is follow-through: parts pricing, manuals for everyone, and software that doesn’t punish non-OEM repairs. Design is step one. Policy and pricing finish the job. (Read more…)
Michael Bloomberg: “Americans are fixers. Their troops should be too.” (Daily News)
Michael R. Bloomberg, the multi-billionaire founder of Bloomberg L.P. and the former Mayor of New York City has penned an op-ed calling for a right to repair - starting with the U.S. military. The military runs on maintenance, Bloomberg notes —and yet a lot of its gear is locked behind contractor-controlled service regimes. That’s a readiness risk. If units can’t fix what they use at the edge, they’ll fail when it matters. Bloomberg’s op-ed maps 1:1 to civilian life: ownership should include the right—and capacity—to repair. For the military, that means technical manuals, parts, and training in-house. The op-ed follows the introduction, in July, of The Warrior Right to Repair Act of 2025, bi-partisan federal legislation that - if passed - would prohibit the Defense Department (Department of War?) from signing contracts for goods that do not provide “fair and reasonable access” to parts, tools, software and technical information used to diagnose, maintain or repair those goods.
Similar to right to repair legislation approved for electronics, automobiles, wheelchairs and agricultural equipment in a range of states, the Warrior Right to Repair Act defines “fair and reasonable” as providing the Defense Department similar terms, conditions and prices that a contractor already offers to its authorized repair providers.. (Read more…)
Pope launches zero-waste farm and center (USCCB)
In a move aligned with Laudato si’, the Pope inaugurated a center and farm aimed at a zero-waste, inclusive economy. Moral leadership matters here: when faith institutions model reuse, repair, and circular design, it reframes waste as a justice issue—implicating workers, the poor, and the planet. Beyond symbolism, the question is scalability: can this hub publish open curricula, open-source tools, and measurable outcomes that municipalities and parishes can adopt? If so, expect a ripple effect from pulpits to policy. (Read more…)
Nintendo sunsets repairs for 2DS XL and 3DS (MyNintendoNews)
Nintendo will no longer repair 2DS XL/3DS hardware, orphaning millions of handhelds that still work—and a generation’s worth of game libraries. This is why right to repair matters for culture, not just convenience. When OEMs exit, communities step in: independent shops, donor parts, and DIY guides keep devices alive and accessible. Nintendo should publish service docs and release remaining parts into the market. If the company won’t preserve its own history, let the people who love it do the job. (Read more…)
Samsung’s S25 FE promises 7 years of updates (PhoneWorld)
Seven years of OS and security updates is a big win for longevity—on paper. Long support windows cut e-waste and boost value, but only if the hardware remains repairable and parts stay affordable. Pair long updates with easy battery swaps, open diagnostics, and fair parts pricing and you’ve got a credible alternative to yearly upgrades. If not, you’ve just delayed the landfill date while keeping users dependent on expensive, OEM-only service channels. Longevity is a system, not a slogan. (Read more…)