Summary

  • The California state assembly has unanimously passed a bill that would require electronics manufacturers to sell repair tools and parts to consumers and to make repair guides available to the general public.

  • The bill, known as the “Right to Repair” bill, previously passed the state Senate and now has the support of Apple, a longtime opponent of the legislation.

  • If the bill is signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, it would be a victory not just for Californians but for consumers everywhere.

  • California would become the third state to pass right to repair legislation for consumer electronics, after New York and Minnesota passed laws earlier this year.

  • The bill is seen as a victory for consumers and environmentalists, who argue that it will allow people to repair their own devices and reduce electronic waste.

Additional Details

  • The bill was supported by a coalition of consumer groups, environmentalists, and small business owners.

  • The bill’s supporters argued that it would be better for the environments and save them money on repairs.

  • Apple supported bills after having spent millions of dollars against it.

  • swab148
    link
    fedilink
    English
    2310 months ago

    Those tools and parts are NOT going to be cheap.

    • @pHr34kY@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1710 months ago

      Microsoft just started selling spare parts for an xbox controller.

      Fixing a drifting thumbstick is 80% the cost of a new controller in parts alone. You can fix it for $5 if you go aftermarket and are happy desoldering over 10 points to remove it.

      • Amju Wolf
        link
        fedilink
        English
        610 months ago

        Which, as I understand it, is kinda the point of the bills too. As in, if there is documentation and it’s reasonably easy to dis- and re-assemble, there can be a (bigger) market for spare parts.

        • @pHr34kY@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          810 months ago

          The problem is that the thumbsticks are soldered onto the motherboard. Microsoft’s “fix” is replacing the whole motherboard, when the sticks should really be swappable.

          In a Nintendo Switch, the sticks are held in by screws and connect via a ZIF connector.

    • ma11en
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1110 months ago

      To diagnose the fault you need a MacBook Pro Engineer Edition $10,000, Diagnostic Software $10,000 and Diagnostic Cable $10,000.

      Then there’s the annual subscription to be able to buy parts , guess how much?