Colorado Calls For Repair Scores
Colorado's legislature calls on FTC to create a repair score system for electronics in the US. Plus: Lawmakers want to water down Maine's auto-repair law. And: Defeating DRM to free an air purifier.
Last week, the Colorado General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a national scoring system for electronic device repairs. The resolution, sponsored by 48 members of the Colorado House of Representatives and 18 state senators calls on the Federal trade commission to establish “criteria that manufacturers of electronic devices may use to voluntarily assign repairability scores” on devices that “may be displayed to consumers at the point of sale.”
Editor’s call to action: The Federal Trade Commission is asking the public for comments on a petition for rule making that would eliminate barriers to repair. The deadline to submit comments is this Friday, February 2nd (at 11:59 PM). Please take a minute to submit your comments using the button below!
The aim of the scoring system, which has already been adopted in France, would make the repairability of products both easy to understand and present when buying an electronic product.
In the resolution the criteria that electronics would be graded on includes:
Availability of technical documentation
Ease of disassembly
Availability of spare parts
Pricing of spare parts
Length of software supports
While information exists on repairability for customers to search out themselves - for example on websites like iFixit - presenting a repairability score at the time of purchase takes the responsibility off the consumer and puts it on the manufacturer. That’s a good thing because, no surprise, consumers have a lot on their mind when they’re shopping (like price, availability, brand). Repairability isn’t usually at the top of the list.
France, the original pioneer of the repairability score, calls their scheme the Indice de réparabilité. It is administered by the country’s Le Ministère de la Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des territoires (or The Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion). The index covers smartphones, laptops, televisions, washing machines, and lawnmowers. And a more recent change extended the index to cover top-load washing machines, dishwashers, pressure washers, and vacuum cleaners.
Repair scores work
Data collected and analyzed on behalf of Samsung suggests that the repairability index is having the desired effect. In 2022, the research firm OpinionWay looked at how the French repairability index influenced French consumer attitudes and behavior. The firm found that almost three quarters of consumers (71%) had heard of the index. Beyond that, 86% of those surveyed said that the index impacts their purchasing behavior.
The existing French system, however, is not perfect. It is limited in scope - covering a tiny fraction of all the consumer goods sold. And its scores are self-declared by manufacturers. Prior to 2022 there was also a lack of sanctions for noncompliance. These constraints offer lessons to be learned in the implementation of a repair score in the U.S. such as independent scoring and toothier sanctions.
Another piece of the puzzle
We know that right-to-repair is not simply about requiring companies to sell spare parts. Coupled with right to repair laws, actions to curb monopolies, and many other efforts—the repair score would be one of many contributors to a reducing e-waste and putting money back in the hands of everyday people.
Put simply, the repair score is a policy tool in a broader tool-belt that would help to make consumers aware of the currently hidden costs associated with buying a device.
Colorado’s resolution, while punchless in changing federal policy in the U.S. is important when taken together with other initiatives trying to make repair scores a reality in the U.S. For example: the group Environment America lead a coalition of Maine residents who wanted their legislature to pass repair scores. Plus U.S. PIRG is trying to take on big companies to offer repair scores voluntarily—calling for Amazon to list repair scores that it already offers (in other countries) to U.S. shoppers.
That steady drum beat calling for things like repairability scores and access to parts and information may, in the long run, pay off.
Other News
Maine politicians want to rewrite the auto-repair law passed by referendum last year. These changes would rewrite the law without the requirements for an independent oversight entity and a standardized database platform. The Maine Right to Repair Coalition, believe that these amendments could weaken the protections and impact of the current law, potentially allowing car manufacturers to monopolize automotive repairs in the state.
Seven stories that show why the FTC should act on Right to Repair -For most of the last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been accepting public comments about the Right to Repair. Since opening the public comment period, stories have poured in from across the country with people sharing both why the Right to Repair is important to them and also repair-related horror stories. Now the folks over at US PIRG have pulled a bunch of stories together that highlight the sad reality facing fixers here in the “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.” Check them out!
Breaking Free from DRM: The Story of Hacking My Air Purifier - After purchasing a Xiaomi 4 Pro air purifier, the author encountered (familiar) issues with a "0% remaining" filter warning and locked RFID chip on the replaceable filters (we’ve seen this with water filters on refrigerators, also). The post outlines how the author was able to unlock the filter and reset it using NFC tools on an NFC-enabled mobile phone. After resetting the filter, it can be used hassle-free for air purification. A list of compatible Xiaomi air purifiers with the reset method is provided, including the Xiaomi 4 Pro model.
Medical device repair is not dangerous, despite what corporate shills write in their op-eds time and time again. But it’s no surprise these arguments continue to recycle, given the healthcare industry lobbies (successfully) more than any other group in the U.S. Look no further than the peak of COVID-19 to understand how important accessible repair is. Countries needed every ventilator at their disposal to save lives—even leading to the 3D printing of parts. Would our friends getting paid to fight medical device repair say intellectual property and stopping government overreach is more important than saving those lives?
Apple will allow browser competitors like Chrome and Firefox to be more easily allowed to change their default browsers on iOS devices in responses to the EU’s new Digital Markets Act. Also: Third-party app stores will be allowed on iPhones in the EU as part of this policy regime. That said, regulators are suspicious that the company is still trying to make using other browsers difficult while following the letter of the law.
Requiring parts availability won’t make repair more popular on its own—and European advocates are pushing for laws to make reasonable part pricing required with the EU. Not to mention the need to “ban anti-repair practices preventing the use of compatible and reused spare parts”
Ag Law Center names right to repair a top issue for 2024 - The push for a right to repair farm equipment will be a major issue in 2024, according to Harrison Pittman, the director of the National Agricultural Law Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. However, Pittman says it’s a bit cloudy on which direction it will go this year. “Colorado’s right to repair legislation that passed in 2023 is something a lot of farmers in other states would love to see happen,” he said. “Other states could gain some traction on the issue, but it will take some effort to get it over the finish line. As far as the issue, it’s not going away.
Dutch businesses want taxes on repairs revoked. Proponents want to incentivize repairs by removing the country’s value added tax (VAT), set at 21%, though opponents argue changing this taxation scheme would be needlessly complicated.
Part Pairing in 60-Seconds
Apple uses software to control how phones get fixed. Lawmakers are pushing back - Fast Company reports on how legislatures are pushing back against anti-repair restrictions by vendors like Apple. The article profiles Romain Godin, owner of Hyperion Computerworks, and the challenges he faces repairing iPhones due to parts pairing, in which Apple's proprietary software now requires parts to be "paired" with the phone before functioning. Independent repair shops like Hyperion lose business due to these hurdles, and lawmakers in more states are passing right-to-repair laws, to address the issue -with some opposing parts pairing. For example, a bill introduced in Oregon's legislature would ban parts pairing and represents a significant step for right-to-repair advocates. The European Union is also negotiating rules against parts pairing to make repair more accessible.
Repair Clinics turn consumers into fixers - KALW Public Media reports on the growth of Fixit Clinics in the Bay Area and how they’re empowering people to fix their broken items. Fixit Clinics have been around since 2009 and have expanded across the country. California’s Right-to-Repair law, passed in 2023, promotes easier access to repair parts and tools. Fixit Clinics help people become self-sufficient and reduce the need for professional repair services, the report notes, with about 70% of items brought to Fixit Clinics are successfully repaired, reducing waste and preserving memories.
Workbench
Framework Teardown
Broken Commodore No More
Bringing a broken Commodore 1701 monitor back to life - Hackaday calls out a recent video from the YouTube channel Adrian’s Digital Basement in which he restores a worn-out and broken Commodore 1701 monitor with a modern circuit board and a CRT transplant. His video is a testament to (old school) repairable design…and how you can repurpose modern parts to revive aged equipment.