With Governor Abbott's Signature, Texans Win The Right To Repair Their Stuff!
Texas is the 8th U.S. state to pass an electronics right to repair bill. Also: Maine's legislature guts state's auto right to repair bill. And: Nintendo's Switch 2 is popular...and hard to fix.
Texas this week became the 8th U.S. State to enact a right to repair for consumer electronics, with Governor Greg Abbott signing the Texas Right to Repair bill into law on June 20th.
Texas bill, HB 2963, sponsored by state Rep. Gio Capriglione, is similar to other right to repair bills enacted at the state level. It requires manufacturers to make spare parts, manuals and repair tools available to consumers and independent shops at a fair and reasonable price.
Contents:
+ EU Eco-design Rules for Smartphones Take Effect
+ These Big Brands are embracing Circular Tech
+ Video: Louis Rossmann asks: will states enforce their repair laws?
+ A win for automakers: Maine legislature guts state's auto repair law
+ Nintendo's Switch 2 is wicked popular...and hard to fix
+ Nevada enacts wheelchair right to repair law
+ Repair restrictions fuel US Navy's toilet troubles
+ Opinion: The plague of forgotten IoT devices
+ EU pushes re-use and repair for solar panels
>>Got a repair complaint? Tell us about it!<<The Texas law covers personal electronics, but not home appliances, making it more limited in scope than recently passed right to repair laws, such as Washington state’s.
Abbot’s signature follows strong, bipartisan votes in the state legislature. The bill passed the state House 126-0 on May 9, then passed through the state Senate with a vote of 31-0 on May 28. The two chambers concurred in a unified bill on June 1, sending the bill to the governor.
Repair advocates applauded the Abbott’s signature - the first by a Republican governor and the second most populous state, after California, to enact a consumer right to repair electronics. In a statement, Justin Brookman, director of tech policy at Consumer Reports, said, “A right to repair law in the second-largest state in the country means more than 30 million consumers will now have the ability to repair the devices they own. The Right to Repair movement is gaining momentum, and we’re thrilled to see Texas join Oregon and Connecticut in adopting new laws this year.”
Luke Metzger, Executive Director of Environment Texas, which supported the legislation, said in a published statement that the passage of the legislation will help to reduce an estimated 621,000 tons of electronic waste produced by Texas residents each year, leading to environmental degradation.“Now, thanks to this overwhelming, bipartisan win, Texans can fix that,” he said.
The legislation was supported by The Repair Coalition (repair.org) as well as advocacy groups like TexPIRG, Environment Texas, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF). It also had the backing of a network of local Texas repair shops.
“When Texans buy a product, they should truly own it, including the right to repair it,” said TPPF’s Greyson Gee in a press release. The bill “restores the balance between manufacturer’s intellectual property rights and individual property rights and equips Texans with the tools and parts necessary to repair the property they own,” he said.
Abbott is just the latest governor to sign right to repair legislation into law. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed House Bill 1483 and Senate Bill 5680 on May 19th. The bills aim to dismantle repair monopolies, giving Washington owners and independent repair pros greater control over their electronic devices and mobility equipment.
Legislatures in Illinois and Connecticut have also passed electronics right to repair bills in recent weeks, sending them to their governors’ desks to sign. As with Texas, the bills have enjoyed bipartisan support. "Texas proves that Right to Repair is equally popular in red states as in blue states,” said Gay Gordon Byrne, Executive Director of the Repair Association. “Everyone needs to be able to fix their stuff. "
😠 Got a repair complaint? Tell us about it!
Do you have a complaint about a manufacturer who is blocking your effort to repair your product? The Repair Coalition wants to hear about it! Use the link below to talk about the repair obstacles you’ve encountered.
Other News
EU Eco-design Rules for Smartphones Now in Effect
As of June 20, 2025, the EU’s new Ecodesign regulations have kicked in for smartphones, tablets (7–17.4″), cordless landline phones, and feature phones. These rules mandate durability standards like drop, scratch, and water resistance; a battery life threshold of at least 800 charge cycles; OS updates for a minimum of 5 years; and importantly, repairability features backed by clear labeling. Critical spare parts must be available within 5–10 business days. While widely praised for promoting sustainability, some groups point out loopholes—such as parts excluded from right-to-repair and flexible-screen devices that dodge the rules. Overall, this marks a significant move toward longer-lasting, greener electronics in Europe.
Source: Hackaday. Also covered in detail by The Verge
These Big Brands are embracing Circular Tech
A recent Trusted Reviews piece highlights how leading electronics firms are tackling e-waste through durability, recycled materials, and extended service models.
Philips is embedding repairability into its TVs via robust designs, remote diagnostics, and spare-part availability online.
Panasonic has converted dozens of its manufacturing sites to zero‑CO₂ operations and uses increasing amounts of post‑consumer recycled (PCR) plastics.
Sharp, Sonos, Chord Electronics, L‑Acoustics, JLab, Anker, Satechi, and others are each committing to improved material efficiency, repairability, sustainable packaging, and longer lifespans.
Many brand reps emphasized a shift to “circular economy” practices—refurbishment, durability-by-design, and recycled-material integration—as core to future sustainability efforts.
Source: Trusted Reviews
Louis Rossmann: are states actually going to enforce their right to repair?
Maine Legislature guts State’s Vehicle Data Access Law
A years-long effort by automakers to repeal a voter-approved vehicle right to repair law in Maine scored a big win on June 19, 2025, when Maine’s legislature approved LD 1228, implementing huge changes to the state’s automotive data access law—enacted in 2023 via referendum with 84% voter approval—before sending it to Governor Mills.
Effective January 5, 2025, the original law required automakers to provide standardized, owner-authorized access to vehicle telematics. The amendment clarifies terminology, removes the mandate for an “independent entity,” and aligns the law with the SAFE Repair Act, federal legislation backed by automakers that would supersede laws in states like Massachusetts that require automakers to make vehicle diagnostic data available to car owners and independent repair shops. LD 1228 also establishes a “Motor Vehicle Right to Repair Commission” to oversee implementation and enforce compliance. Proponents argue this ensures clarity and enforceability without violating voter intent; opponents worry it unduly weakens the referendum’s vision.
Before the vote, dozens of Maine residents—including repair shop owners, consumers, and Right to Repair advocates—rallied at the state capitol in Augusta, urging lawmakers to firmly support telematics data access and oppose any dilution of the 2023 referendum. Highlighting environmental and economic benefits, speakers pushed for stronger enforcement to prevent automakers from erecting repair barriers.
Source: Repairer Driven News
Report Finds Nintendo Switch 2 “Hard to Fix”
iFixit’s teardown of the Nintendo Switch 2 delivers a brutally honest assessment: spec upgrades aside, repairability remains a major pain point. The console touts a faster custom Nvidia Tegra chip, a sharper 7.9″ 120 Hz HDR LCD, and leaps from 128 GB to 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage. But when it comes to fixes, Nintendo is playing hardball, according to a report from iFixit.
The battery—now a 19.74 Wh lithium-ion pack—is still glued in tight. Removing it proved to be an “absolute mission,” demanding multiple tools, isopropyl alcohol, and sponge-removal tricks. Joy‑Con joysticks, redesigned but still relying on potentiometers, aren’t immune to drift and are now more deeply locked down under glued plastic ribs and tri-point screws. Even worse: essential hardware like UFS flash modules, USB-C ports, and the game‑card reader are all soldered directly to the motherboard—making even common replacements nearly impossible.
That said, iFixit did applaud some ‘repair friendly’ design features, such as the modular nature of less critical parts like the fan, headphone jack, microSD reader, speakers, and microphone. All are independently replaceable. In the end, however, the Switch 2 missed the mark, with an overall repair score of 3/10, even lower than the original Switch’s revised 4/10. That’s damning proof (if any is needed) that Nintendo hasn’t learned from past missteps.
iFixit’s report isn’t the first to raise concerns about the wildly popular Switch 2. We recently noted reports that Nintendo also revised its Account User Agreement (AUA) to give Nintendo the authority, if a user is deemed to have violated the AUA, to take punitive action, including making their game console permanently unusable.
Nevada “Right Repair Now” Becomes Law
Nevada’s legislature recently passed AB407, the “Right Repair Now” initiative, giving consumers and independent shops legal rights to access repair data, parts, and diagnostic tools for power wheelchairs. In a recent piece, KoloTV reported on the law, effective soon, which includes enforcement mechanisms to prevent manufacturers from blocking access or implementing unfair repair practices. Supporters say it will help lower costs for wheelchair owners, extending product lifespans, and reduce e-waste—echoing growing momentum in U.S. right-to-repair legislation.
Source: KoloTV
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this post stated incorrectly that Nevada’s AB407 law applied to electronics. It only applies to power wheelchair devices. The story has been updated. (June 26, 2025)
Repair Restrictions Fuel US Navy Toilet Troubles
In a striking story from June 2025, the National Interest highlights an unexpected consequence of the U.S. military’s self imposed restrictions on repairing their own equipment: functioning toilets. Aging sewage systems aboard ships are malfunctioning at sea, hampering mission capability and morale. But contract restrictions forbid sailors for repairing them, requiring authorized service personnel to be flown out to ships to perform maintenance. That has led to maintenance crews improvising repairs, by adapting parts from commercial marine systems in cramped engine rooms. The article notes this isn’t just unsanitary—it poses operational risks if toilets back up during deployment. And the problem isn’t limited to toilets. Testimony from Navy officials also called out delays in repairing malfunctioning ovens on ships that must prepare thousands of meals daily for crew members. The Navy is reportedly exploring upgrades, but budget and contract constraints may delay comprehensive fixes.
Source: National Interest
Forgotten IoT Devices
We’ve written about the “end of life” problem before. Now contributor Erich Hugo is digging deeper into the problem of “forgotten” IoT devices. Writing over at RCR Wireless, Hugo notes that many IoT devices—smart thermostats, wearables, sensors—are being abandoned after a few years, creating “fogotten” e-waste. In the piece, he argues manufacturers rarely offer long-term support, software updates, or repair options. As a result, privacy and security vulnerabilities emerge, with outdated devices left connected indefinitely. Experts say building in repairability and update-compatibility could reduce waste, improve longevity, and support more sustainable IoT ecosystems.
Source: RCR Wireless
EU plan focuses on Solar Panel repair and re-use, before recycling
An article in The Conversation explores proposed European schemes to collect and recycle solar panels at end-of-life. While recycling is essential for recovering materials like silver, silicon, and glass, the authors caution that the best solution is prolonging panel lifespan through repair and reuse. They argue regulation and incentives should prioritize maintenance and repair, not just recycling—ensuring panels serve 30+ years before disposal.
Source: The Conversation