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Appliance Companies Are Lobbying To Protect Their DRM-Fueled Repair Monopolies (vice.com)
Electronics companies Dyson, LG, and Wahl are fighting right-to-repair legislation, Motherboard reported Wednesday, citing letters it has obtained. From a report: The manufacturers of your appliances do not want you to be able to fix them yourself. Last week, at least three major appliance manufacturers -- Dyson, LG, and Wahl -- sent letters to Illinois lawmakers opposing "fair repair" legislation in that state. The letters were written with the help of a trade group called the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM). All three letters are similar but include slightly different wording and examples in parts. The letters ask lawmakers to "withdraw" a bill that would protect and expand the ability for consumers and independent repair professionals to repair everything from iPhones to robot vacuums, electric shavers, toasters, and tractors. Here are links to the Wahl, Dyson, and LG letters.
Fuck them and their unrepairable junk. They have competitors.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
They're trying to get in on the sweet revenue stream John Deere cooked up.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
That it's actively being discouraged by some manufacturers by making repairs as difficult as possible if not impossible.
Not just that they don't make parts available they go out of their way to sabotage use of the parts people can get.
Yes. Yes we do need laws
Do we own the device or are we just renting it?
Because the receipt says we own it.
Most phones, tablets, laptops can still be repaired although some make it much more difficult than it needs to be.
I've heard some of the windows tablets are epoxied together so even the manufacturer can't repair them.
Usually they last a long time but they are also usually pretty expensive so most would prefer not to have to chunk a $700 device for a $0.50 part.
IMHO the right to repair should extend to software so being able to load your own os on your phone when the manufacturer decides there is no longer any money in it should be possible.
Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
The most egregious example I've come across is my shiny new Hyundai i30. They have proximity keys. You can buy the blank for around $100 or so, and most locksmiths will program them for a few dollars. But they need to get the secret code to match it to the car's Engine Control Unit. Obtaining that is a 60 second task for a Hyundai dealership, but they won't tell other locksmiths what it is. So you can only obtain the key from Hyundai: Cost: $1,500.
The price is not too far from what they charge for a ECU, which is not too surprising because the other route you can take is to replace the ECU and keys.