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Summary The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently interfering with the Massachusetts Right to Repair law, which was put into law after winning a ballot Initiative back in 2020 with 74.97% of the vote. It just went into effect on June 1st, 2023 a Judge just recently denied the automaker's request for an injunction. The NHTSA has just sent a letter on June 13 advising vehicle manufacturers not to obey Massachusetts Right to Repair bill saying it conflicts with the Safety Act and that the Safety Act therefore preempts the right to repair law. The Massachusetts Right to Repair bill specifically focuses on closing the loophole in vehicle repair legislation that allowed vehicle manufacturers to not provide tools to access wireless diagnostic information. If wireless is the only way to get the diagnostic information necessary for repair off the vehicle, then independent repair centers had no way to access this information. It is worth noting that Kerry E Kolodziej, the person who signed this letter, used to work for Mayer Brown, which is the law firm who represents the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, who are the people who filed this case against the Right to Repair law. Quotes My thoughts I personally think that the NHTSA has a bit of a point on this. While going forward I think there should be some means to access diagnostic information, even if the manufacturer only elects to provide it through a physical port, it is a bit unrealistic to have manufacturers open up these systems to the public that were not designed to publicly accessible. Automakers are doing this to themselves by trying to restrict repair this way in the first place, and if they had just kept supporting independent repair they wouldn't have to fight this in court, but that doesn't mean they don't have a point. I am honestly really just bummed that there is a new hurdle in getting the right to repair your property. Sources The letter: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23846414-nhtsa-letter Slash Gear article: https://www.slashgear.com/1313911/new-nhtsa-right-to-repair-feud-explained/ Ford Authority article: https://fordauthority.com/2023/06/nhtsa-says-automakers-should-ignore-right-to-repair-law/ Autobody News article: https://www.autobodynews.com/nhtsa-tells-automakers-not-to-comply-with-massachusetts-right-to-repair-law.html Louis Rossmann's video on this and the history of the bill:

The NHTSA has asserted that a 2020 Massachusetts Right To Repair law that would give people access to the telematic data the many newer cars generate for diagnostics would conflict with federal regulations, and is advising automakers not to comply with the Massachusetts law. https://www.aftermarketnews.com/nhtsa-advises-automakers-to-ignore-mass-right-to-repair-law/#:~:text=In November 2020%2C an expanded,data through a mobile app.

Sorry if it is a bit off-topic but I think it is important to share the experience. A couple of years back my sister was looking to update her laptop to something newer, after some research i recommended her the aforementioned Acer Aspire 5 - A515-44. Equipped with a ryzen processor 4gb of soldered ram with an extra Sodimm slot for future upgrades and a 128 gb nvme SSD. I know in paper it doesn't sound great but keep in mind my sister only uses it for writing documents for university, reading pdfs and watching videos, she was also coming from a crappy "compaq" made in Argentina, with an i3 I think it was, so a pretty big step up. Recently she has been experiencing the normal hiccups due to the little and slow ram and also ran out of disk space, one thing that I liked about the PC is that in the box came an hdd expansion kit (picture 1), this kit includes screws, a carry plate and a ribbon cable with the data connection to the disk, the idea behind is that one can update storage and run two disks at once. So today I set myself to upgrade the ram with another 4gb using a random SODIMM I had laying around and also install the carrying plate so when I got the new disk everything was ready. I looked online for a teardown to check how the HDD plug had to be installed. When I opened the laptop to my surprise the ribbon cable connector that is supposed to be soldered to the motherboard under the wifi card is not there, this laptop has never been opened, they just dint added it, the solder pads are there and everything but the dam connector is not, I don't know who at acer makes this types of desitions but they went out of their way to include everything you need to upgrade in the box but they miss the connector, a piece that probably cost 10 cents, it is incredible. Nex time i have to get a computer for a family member for sure I'm going with framework. Thanks for reading.

Hey there, I have been using Logitech G535 headphones for the better part over a year now. It is a shame to admit it but I somehow lost my Logitech Lightspeed receiver for the same. I tried reaching out to Logitech for a replacement part but they denied of selling the dongle without the headphones. Looking through various Reddit posts I found that Lightspeed audio receivers have a small switch which can be used to reset them and pair with a different device. I found a replacement dongle on Amazon selling for $89.99 whereas the headphones themselves are of $119.99. I am not sure what I should do. I definitely do not want to hardwire these headphones to be wired. Anyone who has any similar experiences or solutions please help.

So a little under 2 years ago I brought the microsoft surface laptop 3 (primarily because Alex raved about it so much on ltt), a few weeks back while coding the "c" key pops off (looks like the hindge was broken). No big deal it clips back on losely and its still covered under John Lewis (v-good british shop) 2 year warranty so I bring it in for repairs. This morning I get a call from JL saying microsoft are saying I damaged the key, all I did was type on it and was careful to make sure nothing ever dropped on the keys or anything. They said they have to replace the entire laptop, the thing I'm most angry about (more than the £485 cost) is how horrificly wasteful that is. Its a fully functioning laptop just with 1 broken plastic hindge, how does that call for it to be a write off? The guy from John Lewis (who I don't blame for this) says that microsoft in the UK have a policy of just replacing the laptop in all cases instead of repair. I think I found the hindge on alibaba so Im going to replace it myself but this has put a bitter taste in my mouth.

Summary The company that manufacturers the popular single-wheel electric skateboard "Onewheel" filed a lawsuit against "bad faith actor" JW Batteries today. JW developed and sells a chip that allows the installation of an aftermarket battery for most Onewheel models. The JWFFM chip piggybacks on the battery management system to provide accurate battery readings and disrupt the "pairing" of the BMS and main controller. The suit claims that JW is circumventing core safety features and copy protection of the board, as well as violating some trademark law. Future Motion also states that they believe JW is acting "in bad faith" by alleging the FFM in JWFFM stands for "F*ck Future Motion". Some in the community are regarding this as a continued and blatant attack on Right to Repair by Future Motion. Quotes My thoughts As a Onewheel owner (both the Pint and XR models) and heavy proponent of Right to Repair this story really gets my juices flowin. FM has gone out of their way to make their boards unmoddable with things like controller and BMS pairing, but I don't think that JW really has much of a defense here. Their argument that they are just the little guy and this is a blatant attack on owning your board is undermined by their attitude and marketing. FFM is a very common saying in the community and nobody is in the dark to what it actually means. There's certain aspects to the chip and JW's marketing that has always seemed sketchy to me. As the lawsuit points out, they've straight up used the XR part of the Onewheel XR logo in their JWXR logo. The price of the chip is also strangely high at $250. It's hard to tell how complicated the device actually is since all of their photos and installation videos never show the populated side of the PCB. For all we know it's a simple microprocessor and some voltage regulators. Is this an attack on Right to Repair or just another modchip made by an angry third party? Maybe a little out of A, and even more out of B. Sources JW's response on Reddit: A Word From Our Friends at JW Batteries - In Regards to Recent Litigation from Future Motion : onewheel (reddit.com) FM's filed lawsuit: FMvJW.pdf (dropbox.com)

So. Looks like SeaSonic, Corsair, and EVGA all have the classic "open the unit, warranty is void" clause, even tho....that's slightly against the Magnuson-Moss Act. I've got a post going on Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/righttorepair/comments/naeiqn/seasonic_opening_the_psu_voids_the_warranty/ I've sent a similar email to EVGA as well and will post their reply.

While I'm not sure what to say. About Right To Repair and if big companies hide their business practices due to legal challenges. Also that the US is very happy for lawsuits against each other. If there was a rule for tech that says, anything that is sold in mass (like sold over some millions of units) could be refered to public domain for the use case in repair or replacement. As in schematic, layout and what parts are in it. As so many products sold to so many people, are likely going to be reverse engineered or the like at some point like piracy of games. Seen in third world countries were laws are less strict were they dont even care or share the same stuff or breaking it for modding certain tech. Like in india, pakistan etc, where you can buy a lot of this: (they also have a more free world when it comes to repair and access to parts, to a degree) If people want to discuss anything around that in this thread, or about something else that might be help?

Hello first posting, long time lurker. So I would like to mod my MSI Gaming X Trio 3080 with new thermal pads and thermal paste. (for better thermals/longevity) I live in Oregon USA, and a PC repair shop said that modding my card like that would void my warranty...? Is that right?

I am making this proposal in light of what seems to be a growing number of popular smartphone models that seem to have serialized parts that make it nearly impossible to repair and replace parts without special "diagnostic unlock" software or tools from the manufacturer. This would serve to educate viewers and the wider public at large on which phone models can be repaired at independent repair shops and the reality & affordability of getting a device repaired in the event of damage. Really simple idea: Buy two of the same model for reviews. Daily drive one of the units for a couple weeks (like reviews as they are now). Open-up both phones after daily drive testing phase. Attempt to swap the screen assembly and cameras between devices to see if the reviewed model contains parts that are serial locked. Integrate everything into a review video. Smartphone Models currently known or suspected to have serialized major components: iPhone 12 Mini iPhone 12 iPhone 12 Pro iPhone 12 Pro Max Galaxy S20 Galaxy S20 Plus Galaxy S20 Ultra Galaxy A51 Sources: https://www.ifixit.com/News/45921/is-this-the-end-of-the-repairable-iphone https://www.cdccellularrepair.com/post/samsung-parts-serialization-what-is-it https://www.reddit.com/r/mobilerepair/comments/jwihf1/galaxy_s20_front_camera_issues/ I for one can't bear to think that I might have to pay double for a repair on my folding phone in 2025 because no independent "mom-and-pop" repair shop has the resources to override artificially imposed locks on replacement parts. Think this would be a worthwhile?

Summary tl:dw After swapping genuine Samsung parts between 2 Galaxy A51s the fingerprint sensor fails to read and doesn't allow you to enroll new fingerprints while displaying a message about how the sensor 'needs calibration' (there is no way for someone outside of a Samsung service center to calibrate it themselves afaik.) This only started happening after a security patch update (September) meaning it's most likely either a bug or some form of software limitation rather than a hardware incompatibility. After downgrading one of the phones with a replacement screen to an earlier security patch it worked perfectly fine. Quotes My thoughts I think this is ridiculous and really hope this is just a bug and not an intended thing. Samsung has been slowly copying Apple's bad decisions and if this is another one they decided to copy it should be met with backlash. There is absolutely no reason why genuine parts pulled from a phone shouldn't work in a different phone of the same model. Especially something like a display which is probably one of the most common parts to break on a smartphone. This is one of Samsung's more budget A series devices but it's still unknown if this is an intended thing or if it will be a thing on the S series. Hugh Jeffreys says in the comments he ordered some S21s so there will probably be a similar video of him swapping parts between them. Sources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGLQ9ZRntZo This is my first time posting a news topic so if this is incorrect in some way, sorry.

A right to repair act in the EU would be worthless if the EU won't hold companies accountable even if they're blatantly breaking the act. The EU is currently going after Apple for limiting acces to NFC payment technology on the iphone, but that's not the only way that apple's anticompetitive behaviour is against EU law. Article 102 of the the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that "Any abuse by one or more undertakings of a dominant position within the internal market or in a substantial part of it shall be prohibited as incompatible with the internal market in so far as it may affect trade between Member States." which is broken by the implimentation of apples software lock on hardware and the lack of available schematics for independant repair shops. the software lock in and of itself breaches article 102 at least according to the examples set by the EU: a) directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling prices or other unfair trading conditions; b) limiting production, markets or technical development to the prejudice of consumers; and c) applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage. The fact that the EU hasn't forced apple to remove the software lock on iphones and to release repair schematics and make parts available for purchase for third party repair shops just shows that the EU probably wouldn't enforce a right to repair treaty as they have shown they don't care for protecting independant repair shops or they at least care more about NFC transactions source for article 102 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A12008E102 I also haven't gotten into how article 101 is being violated as well but reading this and looking at article 101 should be enough to understand that the software lock on Iphones is also a violation of the article

Is the fair phone a real example of a truly better for the environment when I still need to replace the whole device when it slows down in like 3 years but an iPhone last for over 5 years due to the performance headroom with the additional fact that when I trade in my iPhone to Apple it would be recycled unlike the fair phone and its lack of basic midrange specs like water resistant And wireless charging (fyi why is the no wireless charging? It's just copper coils) how is it not brought to light that the company seems to make it more reliable as a PR stunt that out of real care for the environment, considering that repairability is an enthusies thing and not something the common person really care about considering that most still got to repair shops to get it fixed anyway and according to louis rossmann said that the movement is to get companys to allow people to repair not make it easier to repair in secifce of new and better features

The digital fair repair act, to get the parts from like the biggest brands in the world that is in the US. It's tech and some "political", but mostly a focus the future of the tech space. That most could get behind? Louis speaks at press conference at New York State capitol (12th of May, 2022) With Assembly member Patricia Fahy? Last year zoom meeting, where they discussed some about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoEnUoPmUQE

The framework company seems to be pursuing a fairly noble ideal which I am wholeheartedly for, but what exactly is the target demographic for this laptop? For widespread adoption for the "everyday consumer," ease of use has to be first; although it does seem to be fairly straightforward in its construction for most enthusiasts out there, there still seems to be a fairly large barrier to entry for most consumers. For PC enthusiasts, perhaps this laptop would suffice if they were to need a laptop, but I would assume most PC users would already be satisfied with their desktops, leaving mobile computing (tablets and smartphones) as their go-to "on the go" solution. And I would think, that if these users did need a laptop, they would want one that, in the words of Todd Howard, "just works." If I am totally missing the point, I would love to hear your thoughts. I would truly love to see this product concept succeed in the increasingly proprietary tech world.

Summary Indian minister of Consumer Affairs (Govt. Of India), Mr. Piyush Goyal, launched the Right to Repair Consumer portal. All companies selling goods in India will have to upload details like service manuals, links to space parts, etc. On this portal. The link is: https://www.righttorepairindia.in/ Quotes My thoughts This portal will also serve as a mechanism to register complaints against device manufacturers. It will also be a great tool for those living outside India, helping them access service manuals, guides, etc. It has just launched, so compliance might take a while. But I am glad to see more countries taking the direction of right to repair. Sources https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/goyal-launches-right-to-repair-portal-new-premise-of-national-consumer-helpline/amp_articleshow/96477745.cms https://thelogicalindian.com/trending/consumer-affairs-minister-piyush-goyal-launches-right-to-repair-portal-39456

Has anyone considered a giant machine like a tractor, backhoe or maybe even a combiner to be open source? If John Deere and other big machinery people need for farming is hung up, why allow this to go on. Maybe you wouldn't even need to design a completely new machine. I don't know how long a tractor warranty is but it seems that getting a "certified" technician out to your place ASAP is the problem along with supply chain issues. Like not having This controller available to be replaced. Crops are one of those things you can't really wait on. Its almost like they spoil. If someone were to take the major parts of an out of warranty but popular John Deere machine and implement a new control system, opensource it with parts you can usually find to order versus some serialized part number scheme linked to one body and charge to implement it. I know designing a tractor is a multidisciplinary. You need hydraulics, electrical, AC/DC motors, diesel engines plus knowing all the fun formulas regarding strength, material and manufacturing. I know it would be a pain in the rear to do but once a tractor or combine dies, how much is trade in value for that machine compared to retrofitting it? Also, I don't think this would break any I.P. laws since I look at this as souping up a car with aftermarket parts. Has this been tried before? What do you think the drawbacks would be?

Summary Samsung has filed a HUGE US ITC Patent complaint towards chinese companies that are making Aftermarket OLED screens for smartphones, Like LG and BOE, who coincidentally is making screens for Apple. If they succeed this would stop Apple and any other manufacturer of aftermarket OLED screens from making them at all. This is clearly a warning shot to Apple for getting screens from a new supplier. The main issue Samsung is making that any screen that is made that uses the same pixel layout as their patent is in violation of their patent and therefore the US ITC could make it so that anyone that uses those screens from aftermarket suppliers would be unable to have them imported into the US. Louis Rossmann has made a few videos, and a gofundme was started to help pay for the costs to challenge the complaint but it could cost upwards of $10 million. Quotes My thoughts This is clearly concerning news and can actually be terrible news for those of us that want costs of repairing after warranty smartphones. This is clearly a warning shot to Apple without actually going after Apple who could actually afford challenging the lawsuit. The right to repair industry is worried that if Samsung has their way they would raise prices so high that no one would use it therefore making their claim even more sidious because then they literally have a monopoly on the screen industry all because of pixel patterns. Sources https://www.patentlyapple.com/2023/01/samsung-displays-complaint-to-us-itc-against-17-us-smartphone-repair-shops-is-an-indirect-warning-to-chinese-oled-maker-bo.html https://www.injuredgadgets.com/itc https://thelec.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=3802

Since every week we see more bad things from big brands, may it be anti-repair things, privacy violation, replace components during production, etc. Why not make a website/database where people can list all the bad things a brand has done? (with a good source, ofc). Good things would also be listed. For me, when shopping things that are all basically the same, the brand becomes an important factor: "Do they actually care about customers?" "Are they using slave labour?" "Has a sister company done something bad?". A ranking/list would help a lot to choose. I don't know if I can get my idea through. It can be just a list, a wikipedia-like website or a website that looks like a shopping platform but when you filter by "Vacuum Cleaners", only the brands with their profile show up.

I am a guy that lives in India presently 20. I love to tinker with electronics so I always wanted to replace my ram and/or SSD or HDD myself without going to a service center and waiting for the shit to get done which could literally take a day+. It's so bloody annoying and honestly I want to right profanity but idk if that's against Guidelines so I will limit it to just my annoying. I understand there are alot of third party reservicers but come on let me fix my own laptop.

Hello! Just a brief background about myself. Im 3rd year law student in a juris doctor program and i'm currently looking for potential thesis topics. I'm considering writing a policy paper on the right to repair and why it is necessary. As far as I know there are currently no laws in my country which neither protects or punishes the right to repair. So i'm looking for any international laws in favor of right to repair or your respective Constitutional rights which guarantee this protection. Any leads about the right to repair would be appreciated. Thank you!

http://ifixit.org/blog/8748/right-to-repair/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Right to Repair Newsletter - Feb&utm_content=Right to Repair Newsletter - Feb+Version+B+CID_e544807d57bb7f18f604e0feccbf6adc&utm_source=CampaignMonitor&utm_term=Learn More "2017 could be a very good year for repair. More US states than ever are proposing Right to Repair legislation this year. So far, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York,Nebraska, Kansas, and Wyoming have all introduced versions of the pro-repair bill in their legislatures—and more states could follow suit. If passed, the laws would make it easier for consumers and independently-owned repair shops to fix far more products." "this system already exists for your car. You can fix those in your driveway, at the corner mechanic, or with the dealer—options you have because consumers and trade groups fought for them." Warranty void if removed stickers have been illegal in the United States for over 30 years but manufacturers keep using them because no one has fought them over it. If you live in one of these states, call or write to your congressmen and ask them to support this initiative. The link below will take you to a website where you can put your email and zip code, if you live in those states, and register your support for this. If enough people stand up for repair, we might be able to fight back against the lobbyists currently in charge of Washington DC. https://repair.org/stand-up/

Found this kind of interesting considering all of the Right-to-Repair issues currently going on... It appears that Apple is initiating a 'pilot program' to make some of their iPhone calibration machines available to some 'certified repair partners'. http://www.techspot.com/news/69584-apple-share-iphone-repair-tools-third-party-shops.html While I doubt that this will ever substitute for a Right-to-Repair bill that allows for independent outfits to conduct repairs, it is interesting to see that Apple may be opening the doors just a crack. Of course, on the paranoid side of things, this may also be a way for Apple to try and kill Right to Repair legislation by saying that if a company is 'fully-certified' then they will have access to their tools for a cost. I can kind of understand a company wanting only a certified partner conducting repairs to electronics, however, at the same time, I could also see a consumer who has a product that is already beyond the warranty period wanting to be able to get a repair done to keep it running without having to pay for what a 'fully-certified' shop may end up charging. UPDATE: So I'm fairly certain that this is directly related to the earlier article concerning the iPhone calibration, but now we're getting a better idea of the scale that they are planning to role out these machines to... According to a TechReport article, Apple is looking at rolling this out to around '400 authorized third-party repair centers in 25 countries' including Best Buy retailers by the end of 2017. http://techreport.com/news/32058/iphone-screen-repair-machines-coming-to-best-buy-stores Still don't buy the whole 'unrelated to right-to-repair deal', but this should be good to some consumers who would otherwise have been required to send their devices a further distance. I doubt it will drop screen repair costs any though. Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-repair-exclusive-idUSKBN18Y0BF?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+(Reuters+Technology+News)

The fight for the Right to Repair continues! As many as 12 states in the USA have brought forth bills to force manufactures to create more repairable products, no software locks, and create a less disposable world. I actually did a video on this, but I can't post it here since it promotes another channel. Companies like iFixit, one of the voices behind the Right to Repair movement, and a sponsor of LTT, will (and do) rejoice at news like this. Oddly enough, Linus Tech Tips has never mentioned anything about the Right to Repair movement, kinda frustrating actually. Either the don't care, (which I doubt) or one of their sponsors has them in a contract to not mention it. I'd encourage them to end the relationship. EU lawmakers call for a right to repair electronic equipment https://www.cio.com.au/article/621424/eu-lawmakers-call-right-repair-electronic-equipment/?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=taxonomyfeed

Odd, my last post got removed or something. There is a topic that I've noticed LTT never mentions, and that is the ability to repair devices, stuff like phones, especially iPhones! I decided to make my own channel to talk about just that! Sorry for the click bait title! [Video removed]