THE battle to create the perfect smartphone is a
It doesn’t have to be this way. An unlikely coalition of gadget fans and farmers is campaigning for the right to fix what we own.
This year, law-makers in 12 US states have proposed so-called “right to repair” bills that would force firms to release repair manuals and tools to the public. The European Parliament has also called on member states to put in place greater repair rights, with a debate due later this year.
The tech giants are fighting back, lobbying hard to keep these laws off the books. Is this just an issue for the hardcore tinkerers to worry about? Or should we all be demanding the right to fix our phones and other gadgets?
You might be scared to swap out that busted screen yourself (see “DIY with a little help“), but opening up the repair market could save you a chunk of change. Manufacturers get a second chance to dip into customers’ wallets by pressuring owners into using their own services or authorised third parties. “That’s a huge cash cow,” says Corynne McSherry of the digital rights non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Break the screen of an iPhone 7 and Apple will charge you $129 for a repair, unless you’ve already paid $129 for a two-year extended warranty. Some other out-of-warranty repairs can cost as much as $319 – a hefty sum for a phone that costs $649 new. In many cases, opting for a cheaper third-party repair automatically invalidates the phone’s warranty.
Apple insists that its own repair services do a better job than third parties using unofficial parts and tools. A spokesperson claimed that iPhones are so complicated that Apple couldn’t guarantee repair shops would get it right, even if it provided instructions and tools.
