Today is a momentous day: Now, 20% of the American population is covered by an electronics Right to Repair law. Bills that passed in California and Minnesota go into effect today, adding to coverage that went into effect in January in New York.
Both California and Minnesota’s laws cover nearly all consumer electronics, from smartphones and laptops to watches and cameras, as well as appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers. Minnesota also covers servers and data center equipment.
The Path to the Right to Repair
iFixit started in 2003 because no Apple repair manuals were available to the public or to independent repair shops. They didn’t sell parts or tools. If you wanted to fix your Apple stuff, you basically had to muddle through and figure it out yourself.
In the years since then, it got worse before it got better. We saw more and more proprietary screws and glued-down batteries. We heard from so many repair shops that had to close because they couldn’t find the materials they needed.
That’s why we introduced the first electronics Right to Repair legislation with Repair.org in 2014. The movement grew legs. Now, 49 of 50 US states have considered some kind of Right to Repair law.
As the movement grew, manufacturers started to realize that Right to Repair wasn’t going away. Everywhere, people agreed that this was common sense: When you buy something, you own it, and you should be able to fix it wherever you like. So manufacturers had to start getting ready to comply, because somebody was going to pass one of these bills.
That’s around when iFixit started to meet our inside champions, people from behind manufacturers’ doors who were fully committed to making repairable stuff and wanted us to help them make their case to executives.
By the time Right to Repair passed in New York in 2022, the electronics repair world was already starting to change for the better. Companies started announcing parts and tool sales to the public. For the first time, we started to see big companies brag about how easy it was to fix their stuff.
And now, Right to Repair is the law of the land: It’s law in New York, California, and Minnesota. It’s law in the European Union. And because many manufacturers are finding it easier to make materials available for everyone than to gate them by region, these laws are already starting to make repair easier for everyone.
What Can You Fix Now That You Couldn’t Before?
Before Right to Repair laws started passing, major consumer electronics manufacturers didn’t sell original parts directly to consumers. Today, nearly all the major manufacturers sell some parts—at least in the US. Google, Apple, and Samsung now sell original parts (and Samsung will continue to sell parts, even though we’re not working with them anymore).
But the bills cover nearly all things made by these manufacturers, even the ones that aren’t yet covered by their repair programs. For instance, to comply fully, Apple very soon will have to stock parts not just for laptops and iPhones but also for iPads and Apple Watches—anything they repair at their authorized shops.
And a lot of manufacturers have been so far silent on making parts and tools available to the public. How about Kindle parts? Televisions? Electronic music equipment? Digital cameras? Nearly everything with a chip is covered, but only a few companies are ready to comply with the laws that went into effect today.
How Can You Report A Company That Doesn’t Have Repair Materials Available?
Now that Right to Repair is the law, we don’t have to wait for manufacturers to make repair available out of the goodness of their hearts. We can demand that they do better.
To report a company that doesn’t have repair materials available, you’ll need to tell the state Attorney General (AG) what happened. The AGs of New York, Minnesota, and California are in charge of enforcing their state’s laws. Check out Repair.org’s compliance watchdog tip guide. There, you’ll find links to AG websites and some sample language for your complaint.
Celebrate Repair Independence Day with a Fix
We celebrated Repair Independence Day on Friday with students from Oakland Unified School District’s Chromebook repair internship. They fixed a bunch of Chromebooks, adding to the 1500 they’ve fixed already this summer—and together, we fixed some Pixel phones using original Google parts.
The best way to celebrate the day is by doing a fix you couldn’t do before, asking manufacturers for repair materials.
Happy Repair Independence Day! Keep fixing stuff. And report anyone who won’t let you to the Attorney General!
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