Microsoft agrees to independent third-party study to look into right to repair.

[JustDenDimi]

 

Summary

Microsoft agreed to a study by an independent third-party after 'As You Sow' has filed a shareholder resolution asking Microsoft to look into the impact of making it's devices easier to repair. The study will focus on the 'social' and environmental effects easier to repair devices and providing parts and documentation to more repair shops, especially shops that aren't official Microsoft service providers, would have. This research comes after pressure from its shareholders, especially 'As You Sow', a non-profit foundation chartered to promote corporate social responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and legal strategies.

 

Quotes

 

Quote

In a first-of-its-kind victory for the right-to-repair movement, Microsoft has agreed to take concrete steps to facilitate the independent repair of its devices following pressure from its shareholders.

Quote

Microsoft has agreed to have an independent third-party study the potential impact of it making its devices easier to repair and to make changes based on those findings by the end of 2022.

Quote

As You Sow calls Microsoft's commitment “an encouraging step,” but it’s worth keeping in perspective that it is just a step — what Microsoft has actually done today is said that it’ll have a study done and then use it to “guide” its “product design and plans for expanding device repair options,”

Quote

iFixIt CEO Kyle Wiens called it a “huge, landmark move” on Twitter and, in an email to The Verge, said that it “wasn’t just talk,” citing the Surface Laptop’s improvements in repairability over the years. 

My thoughts

As an avid supporter of right to repair, and a tinkerer myself, I definitely like where this is going. I'm still sceptical on what effects this study will have, especially since Microsoft 'promises' to make changes by the end of 2022 depending on the findings. I also find this really funny timing since the 'Framework' laptops have just become available since august. It's almost like they got inspired somehow. This could also just be major coincidence of course.

 

Sources

Grist. (2021, October 7). Bowing to investors, Microsoft will make its devices easier to fix. https://grist.org/accountability/bowing-to-investors-microsoft-will-make-its-devices-easier-to-fix/

Clark, M. (2021, October 8). Microsoft has promised to actively look into right to repair. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/7/22715241/microsoft-as-you-sow-right-to-repair-study-agreement

[Arika]

Some companies are trying to get ahead of the legislation, good….others are…doubling down as hard as they can to make the excuse of “it will take years to meet your requirements give us time, so we can keep doing what ever we like and charging what ever we like”

[jaslion]

3 minutes ago, Arika S said:

Some companies are trying to get ahead of the legislation, good….others are…doubling down as hard as they can to make the excuse of “it will take years to meet your requirements give us time, so we can keep doing what ever we like and charging what ever we like”

Apple's basically going to keep making the iphone like they always have right up until the last possible second and then suddenly be like look at our new revolutionary customer friendly repairable device through our first party program subsidized thing :p.

 

But really it's about time this is officially required. The regression of repairable electronics is horrible and something that has to be undone asap.

[SorryBella]

14 minutes ago, JustDenDimi said:

Microsoft agreed to a study by an independent third-party after 'As You Sow' has filed a shareholder resolution asking Microsoft to look into the impact of making it's devices easier to repair. The study will focus on the 'social' and environmental effects easier to repair devices and providing parts and documentation to more repair shops, especially shops that aren't official Microsoft service providers, would have. This research comes after pressure from its shareholders, especially 'As You Sow', a non-profit foundation chartered to promote corporate social responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and legal strategies.

Astroturfing is imminent, keep your eyes peeled.

[JustDenDimi]

9 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

Astroturfing is imminent, keep your eyes peeled.

Had to look that one up. 

But yes, I expect some nay-sayers or maybe even other companies not agreeing with the study. For now only time will tell what, if any, impact this will have.

[Forbidden Wafer]

Considering Microsoft literally had computers with fabric covers glued into the chassis, and that opening the device would always damage the fabric... Yeah, sound appropriate.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

I def support right to repair cause i dont like having to buy sht all the time, but with companies like apple lobbying against it and todays society being a throwaway society im pretty sure it isnt gonna happen for awhile

[Fasterthannothing]

That's why I bought a framework laptop, a Pinephone (already did a full motherboard swap on it), and a steam deck. I'm a tinker always liked messing with electronics and I hate the trend of everything being locked down.

[Spotty]

2 hours ago, JustDenDimi said:

Microsoft has agreed to take concrete steps to facilitate the independent repair of its devices following pressure from its shareholders.

It's interesting that the pressure for this is coming from Microsoft's shareholders. Wouldn't they have the most to gain by preventing repairable devices and requiring customers to buy new devices on a regular basis...

Though, Microsoft is more of a software and service based company and isn't exactly a huge player in the hardware space. There's the surface laptops but they're not on the same scale as other laptops. They definitely don't have the mindshare and locked in fanbase that someone like Apple has. If an Apple laptop breaks the customer will go buy another Apple device. If a surface laptop breaks the customer will go buy pretty much anything else. In that regard it's probably in Microsoft's best interests to make repairs easy and accessible to keep customers on their devices for as long as possible, building that brand trust and reliance.

The cynic in me is thinking maybe the shareholders are wanting to take the whole corporate pride month approach thinking that if they champion whatever is trendy and popular the customers will flock to them to support them because the customers think the company shares the same values as them. Customers see Microsoft being pro right to repair, while practically all other companies in the industry are fighting against it, and think that buying a Microsoft device is showing support for right to repair.

 

Whatever the reason they're doing it moving towards right to repair is a good direction for them to head in and I do hope that the independent review will come up with some good recommendations for the industry to follow.

[Lightwreather]

Well, this is going to be interesting especially seeing as this is the very company on whose flagship device (to be clear: Surface Pro) only the SSDs are replaceable (or not? I'm not really sure)

[JustDenDimi]

21 minutes ago, Spotty said:

It's interesting that the pressure for this is coming from Microsoft's shareholders. Wouldn't they have the most to gain by preventing repairable devices and requiring customers to buy new devices on a regular basis...

Though, Microsoft is more of a software and service based company and isn't exactly a huge player in the hardware space. There's the surface laptops but they're not on the same scale as other laptops. They definitely don't have the mindshare and locked in fanbase that someone like Apple has. If an Apple laptop breaks the customer will go buy another Apple device. If a surface laptop breaks the customer will go buy pretty much anything else. In that regard it's probably in Microsoft's best interests to make repairs easy and accessible to keep customers on their devices for as long as possible, building that brand trust and reliance.

The cynic in me is thinking maybe the shareholders are wanting to take the whole corporate pride month approach thinking that if they champion whatever is trendy and popular the customers will flock to them to support them because the customers think the company shares the same values as them. Customers see Microsoft being pro right to repair, while practically all other companies in the industry are fighting against it, and think that buying a Microsoft device is showing support for right to repair.

 

Whatever the reason they're doing it moving towards right to repair is a good direction for them to head in and I do hope that the independent review will come up with some good recommendations for the industry to follow.

This was a specific shareholder called 'As You Sow'. They are a non-profit foundation chartered to promote corporate social responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and legal strategies.

[AlTech]

3 hours ago, Arika S said:

Some companies are trying to get ahead of the legislation, good….others are…doubling down as hard as they can to make the excuse of “it will take years to meet your requirements give us time, so we can keep doing what ever we like and charging what ever we like”

But then Louis Rossmann won't be able to make videos complaining about how he can't buy an ISL 9240 or other componentry. /sarcasm

 

On the plus side, Microsoft has made their SSDs in some of their products replaceable although that's only been recently.

 

Still hoping for the days where we go back to socketed ram in most laptops.

[tim0901]

1 hour ago, J-from-Nucleon said:

Well, this is going to be interesting especially seeing as this is the very company on whose flagship device (to be clear: Surface Pro) only the SSDs are replaceable (or not? I'm not really sure)

Replacable with only a sim-removal tool and a T3 screwdriver - at least in the Surface Pro X - via a little port underneath the kickstand. The Pro 8 seems to use the same mechanism for the SSD, but there aren't any teardowns yet so I can't say that for certain.

 

And while yes, having only the SSD be upgradable isn't great, you also have to remember that the Surface Pro is a tablet. As far as tablets go, it is probably the most easily upgradable option out there - the Pro X even managed to get a 6/10 for repairability from iFixit which, for a tablet, is very impressive.

 

The only (modern) tablets I know of that scored better are HP's Elite line, which (in 2019) recieved a score a 9/10 - although the biggest differences between these scores are that the Surface's battery is glued in, whilst the HP's is not, and that you can buy replacement parts from HP on account of it being a business-oriented device. You can't actually upgrade any more of the components - the ram is still soldered - and the SSD upgrade in the HP still requires the removal of the display, so upgradability is definitely still a win for Microsoft.

[Doobeedoo]

Very cool.

[WolframaticAlpha]

10 hours ago, J-from-Nucleon said:

Well, this is going to be interesting especially seeing as this is the very company on whose flagship device (to be clear: Surface Pro) only the SSDs are replaceable (or not? I'm not really sure)

Even if they release schematics and allow 3rd parties to buy parts, they will automatically be better than some of their brethren.

[Salv8 (sam)]

yea nah, this is another EEE scheme, microshit is known for doing this to anything that could 'damage the business and it's products and services'

or does no-one remember what happened to oracle?

those wankers had a hand in that starting that very fucking case and would take down the entire developer community of they didn't get what they wanted, like a spoiled toddler.

linux today, right to repair tomorrow and oracle dead yesterday with them washing their hands off with bleach.

[YellowJersey]

Suspicious...

[Arika]

48 minutes ago, Salv8 (sam) said:

yea nah, this is another EEE scheme

How is this anything close to EEE? If you think MS can "extinquish" an idea/movement, then you are giving them waaaaaaaay too much credit.

 

Besides that's, your example is from 20 years ago, MS was a very different company under very different leadership.

[mr moose]

16 hours ago, Spotty said:

It's interesting that the pressure for this is coming from Microsoft's shareholders. Wouldn't they have the most to gain by preventing repairable devices and requiring customers to buy new devices on a regular basis...
Though, Microsoft is more of a software and service based company and isn't exactly a huge player in the hardware space.

 

Although I don't think this has much to do with share holders, I do think that apple has been a huge barrier to MS getting serious market share in both phone and netbook/portable market. Coming in harder with repairable products may not have a notable impact on sales in the short term while reducing apples sales and appeal longer term. 

[RejZoR]

It's funny how everyone is droning about repairing be easier and cheaper and then I see people like Linus who have cash to throw around and using an Android phone (which are allegedly the staple of openness and ease of repairing and access to cheap parts) with all glass on it smashed to bits. If it's so cheap and easy, why are you all using phones that are shedding chipped glass bits every time you pick it up? It's just so funny and painful to watch. If it's so easy and cheap, surely you'd replace all the glass on it for like $20. No?

[Freakwise]

37 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

people like Linus who have cash to throw around and using an Android phone (which are allegedly the staple of openness and ease of repairing and access to cheap parts) with all glass on it smashed to bits

Which smartphone? His note 9?

Edited October 9, 2021 by Freakwise

[SorryBella]

11 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

If it's so easy and cheap, surely you'd replace all the glass on it for like $20. No?

Time. Its also currency.

[mr moose]

31 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

It's funny how everyone is droning about repairing be easier and cheaper and then I see people like Linus who have cash to throw around and using an Android phone (which are allegedly the staple of openness and ease of repairing and access to cheap parts) with all glass on it smashed to bits. If it's so cheap and easy, why are you all using phones that are shedding chipped glass bits every time you pick it up? It's just so funny and painful to watch. If it's so easy and cheap, surely you'd replace all the glass on it for like $20. No?

Who said android equals cheap and easy to fix? last time I checked there were just as many android phones with glued in batteries and screens that require more than a youtube video and the luck of a pixy to replace.

 

It should be that any user (literally anyone from a 7 year old with memory issues to an engineering graduate) should be able to replace the battery without tools and the screen should be a A$30-50 fix at any corner shop.   If it's not then the phone is not environmentally friendly let alone user friendly.

[Arika]

1 hour ago, RejZoR said:

using an Android phone (which are allegedly the staple of openness and ease of repairing and access to cheap parts)

Says who? Android isn't the manufacturer...The actual hardware manufacturer sets their prices and makes parts available of which many of them don't.

 

It shouldn't cost hundreds of dollars to replace the back glass of a phone, for ANY manufacturer. That's the point.

[RejZoR]

The voice of public disagrees with you on that as I've seen it way too often. It's always "Android" as this unified single entity and it's always compared to Apple as single entity. And Android phones as whole are always talked about as "so much cheaper and so much easier to repair THAN Apple". And that's where things always end as well. Android good guys, Apple bad. Now I don't know whether people are actually that dumb or willfully ignorant, that's how it is. You don't have to explain that to me because it's perfectly understandable to me.