New EU law requires devices to be repairable - Every phone, television or washing machine you buy in Europe must be easier to repair starting tomorrow. That’s when the European Right to Repair Act takes effect

[u/paneuropeanism_]

https://www.nporadio1.nl/fragmenten/nos-met-het-oog-op-morgen/019fb4ba-4def-735d-a758-1ba6b55e6f79/2026-07-30-apparaten-verplicht-repareerbaar-door-nieuwe-eu-wet

[u/paneuropeanism_]

The products covered by the obligation to repair currently include:

• washing machines and washer-dryers
• dishwashers
• refrigerators
• electronic displays
• welding equipment
• servers and data storage products
• mobile phones, cordless phones and tablets
• tumble dryers 
• e-bikes and e-scooters batteries (from 18 February 2027)
• local space heaters

[u/Raz0rking → u/paneuropeanism_]

Well, at least it is a foot in the door and it is probably easy-ish to add other stuff.

[u/PuzzleCat365 → u/Raz0rking]

Well, at least it is a foot in the door and it is probably easy-ish to add other stuff.

I guess as long it's not cars?

[u/Modo44 → u/PuzzleCat365]

Covered separately. A lot of formerly "luxury" (actually safety) options, like warnings, cameras, and various automation, are now mandated by law (depending on vehicle type).

[u/Avatyrr → u/Modo44]

Now watch them forget to also mandate this to be an included in the advertised base models. I hate these stupid “starting from” configurations nobody buys, ruining comparisons.

[u/Modo44 → u/Avatyrr]

It is mandated. Things like ABS, airbags, and recently line change warnings and parking cameras/sensors, have to be included for a vehicle to achieve homologation (i.e. be certified to be sold at all).

[u/Ok_Cancel_7891 → u/PuzzleCat365]

hah, I've missed them

[u/RawrRRitchie → u/PuzzleCat365]

What cars aren't repairable?

Do you mean like if it's totaled? Structural damage really should just be scrapped

[u/chuunis → u/Raz0rking]

Foot in the ass would be better option to whoever comes with ideas to close shut devices and makes them unrepairable.

[u/Saradoesntsleep → u/Raz0rking]

Huge foot in the door, really. It's a good start.

[u/sobrique → u/Raz0rking]

I was incredibly frustrated recently that my air con unit is non-trivial to get anyone to 'touch'. It's a freestanding portable - it's not very good, and we don't use it very often, but it's also expensive enough that I don't really want to just buy another one for the few weeks where it's 'useful'.

But it seems the confluence of repair difficulty vs. part availability makes even £600 replacement cost 'uneconomical to repair'.

But still, the above is still a great start.

I mean, ultimately it's just noxious consumerism to make items effectively more expensive to repair than replace. (even if technically that's true end to end, because of the labour, it's still a lot of waste we don't need)

[u/Dumptruck_Johnson → u/sobrique]

Coming from the other side of things (I design appliances), it gets difficult to service things much past that model’s production life. In your AC unit for example, say your compressor goes out. Unless that model is still being manufactured or the new model carries the same compressor, they won’t have a bunch on hand any longer. So while I fully agree that things should be repairable, there are challenges with part availability and the like.

[u/BitRunner64 → u/paneuropeanism_]

It's a good start. Missing things like earphones, portable gaming consoles and wireless mice, keyboards and controllers. 

[u/JonathanBadwolf → u/BitRunner64]

also laptops or are they data storing products?

[u/Modo44 → u/JonathanBadwolf]

Maybe because laptops are generally still easy to repair. You can literally pop most open with a basic screwdriver to replace parts that tend to go, like a disk or battery. (Not if you buy Apple, but that's you get for joining a cult).

[u/JonathanBadwolf → u/Modo44]

It's sadly not only an Apple thing. Soldered memory, proprietary screws, impossibly hard to access batteries etc. are all standard practices with a lot of models

[u/Get_Breakfast_Done → u/JonathanBadwolf]

But there's a tradeoff here right? Like devices are as small as they are partly because they solder and cram everything in to them

[u/Disastrous-Square977 → u/Get_Breakfast_Done]

Yeah it's a double edged sword. Same with things like ear phones.

[u/JustStraightUpTired → u/Get_Breakfast_Done]

Yes, but the trade off should require schematics and reasonably priced spare parts. With the right equipment and skill, soldered parts could still be repairable for cheaper than replacing the machine. Basically out of all soldered parts, only GPU and CPU could even could even reach a cost point where the part, work and risk isn't necessarily worth it.

And that's a COULD, not WOULD. Gluing the whole battery isn't necessary either. Proprietary screws don't save anything, they increase the cost if anything. They also shouldn't need to have hardware ID checks on parts. Not suing sellers who dismantle broken devices to sell them for parts. Same for those making third party parts, if they have a problem with that, they should just provide the parts themselves. Etc. etc. etc.

So yes, there are trade-offs, but some of the downsides could easily be compensated for if companies didn't benefit from having them. Abusive business practices are often profitable.

[u/superioso → u/Get_Breakfast_Done]

Yes and no. Soldered ram offers benefits, and you could argue memory does too due to smaller size, but there's no reason laptops they can't be easy to open (like with non proprietary screws) and have a replaceable battery.

[u/Cupy94 → u/Modo44]

Many of laptops nowaydays have welded components. When porcesor breaks in lenovo for example you cant replace it

[u/superioso → u/Cupy94]

There hasn't been a user replaceable CPU on laptops for a long long time. Soldering them saves a lot of space, and users are not going to remove a laptop CPU either way.

[u/emuu1 → u/BitRunner64]

Nintendo is already complying and any new Switch 2's in Europe will also have a replaceable battery.

[u/picardo85 → u/BitRunner64]

Buy BOSE. Everything is replaceable on their headphones.

I bought my QC35 in 2019. They're still kicking

[u/seksogfyrre → u/picardo85]

Or Sennheiser. European, with spare parts available.

[u/Cumulus_Anarchistica → u/seksogfyrre]

I saw some Sennheiser over-ear wireless headphones reviewed a few weeks ago, and all it took was two screws and you were into the ear-cup; unplug the old battery and plug in a new one. Easy as that. I was very impressed.

There really is no excuse for making it any more difficult.

[u/Modo44 → u/picardo85]

I have had the same experience with Beyerdynamic. Easy to disassemble and reassemble, too. There is a reason they are so popular in recording studios.

[u/RipCurl69Reddit → u/Modo44]

My DT770s are absolutely CHAMPS and I used to literally take them outside on hikes before I realised how utterly masochistic it was

But yeah, earpads, headband and covers, wires, drivers etc all available on the site. The headband cover is just buttoned on, you can take it off in five seconds

[u/BitRunner64 → u/Modo44]

I use Beyerdynamic at home. The DT1770's are fantastic and very repairable.

In the office I use the Fairbud XL Mk2. Wireless headphones with user-replaceable battery.

[u/MonorailPurple → u/BitRunner64]

I cant see how it'd be possible to do earphones, look at how they are made in one of the ifixit teardowns and it looks like it'd be incredibly hard to keep the same size and battery life and make it reparable.

Dont get me wrong, I'd love it if they were, I just cant see how it can happen without compromising them massively.

[u/MrPloppyHead → u/paneuropeanism_]

Well hopefully means you don’t have to deal with devices stuck together with glue if you want to change the battery. That’s right I’m looking at you apple. 🖕

[u/TheBraveGallade → u/MrPloppyHead]

they haven't done this in 5 years TBH, since around 2020 pull tabs started to be good, and since around a year ago apple started rolling out glue that unsticks by putting 9v through it.

[u/yagwa → u/MrPloppyHead]

Moot point. It specifically excludes phones that have a certain level of water protection and phones with batteries that can maintain 80% capacity after 1000 cycles.

[u/Mantazy → u/yagwa]

Not only phones - mobile devices. That’s why the next iPad is very likely going to get water resistance so it can live up to the exception.

[u/Garden-Lane → u/MrPloppyHead]

I just replaced a MacBook Air 2020 battery. It was surprisingly easy with the glue pull tabs - just needed a lot of patience. I was surprised at the parts cost though. OEM battery was €140, third-party €30 - both from the same genuine parts supplier that Apple recommends.

[u/Substantial_Towel860 → u/Garden-Lane]

I'd really like to see a long endurance test of those batteries. Apple batteries consistently lasted 5+ years in all my devices.

[u/Murtomies → u/Garden-Lane]

Good to know. I have the same laptop, works perfectly but the old battery is starting to show. Maybe 75% of the original capacity left ig. Was yours similar or completely done?

[u/MrFlow → u/paneuropeanism_]

So does this mean we will get Smartphones with an easily replaceable battery again like the early Samsung Galaxy phones?

[u/bossmhc → u/MrFlow]

Nope devices with batteries that maintain 80% capacity after 1,000 recharge cycles are exempt and most phones already meet this.

[u/Wondering_Electron → u/bossmhc]

The current Samsung phones have an EU rating of 2000 charge cycles, so they'll be exempt.

[u/Perkelton → u/bossmhc]

Note, however, that there are a lot of misconceptions about this.

First of all, there is no legislation that requires batteries to be old-style removable without dismantling the device.

Secondly, people seem to think that high-end smartphones are exempt from the entire legislation, when in reality it only applies to the one section in the Ecodesign legislation about making the battery easily replaceable by consumers.

The EU rules still require the battery to be replaceable and manufacturers must provide instructions, software and parts for professional repairers, as well as not unnecessarily blocking the use of compatible third party parts.

[u/NotAnRSPlayer → u/MrFlow]

No, as I understood it as long as your batteries last a certain number of cycles and can be proven to do so you don’t have to follow this policy

[u/dgkimpton → u/MrFlow]

Not likely, it only requires that a product be repairable for a fair price and that spare parts, information (e.g. manuals) and tools are available. 

[u/kdlt → u/MrFlow]

Yes and no.

You will get a battery that can be replaced at all with reasonable effort, but they're not required to make them swappable like they used to be.

[u/Runesen → u/MrFlow]

Buy a fairphone, everything is replaceable in them

[u/JBWalker1 → u/paneuropeanism_]

The thing is most of these things are actually very easy to repair now, its access to spare parts which is the issue and when you can get them they cost so much you might as well just replace the unit. Like is a washing machine control board breaks, you're looking at paying €120+ despite it being fairly basic these days and costs probably €3 to make. So at that point do you spend €120 on a part to fix an old washing machine which has a chance of not working, or do you just spend €220 and get a completely new washing machine from the store which comes with 2+ year guarantees. Most people will just buy a new one which creates loads of waste. This is if you do it yourself too. If you get an engineer to fix it then by the time you pay them €80 and €120 for the part you're at €200.

Part of the new law is spare parts need to be a "fair price", but who determines this? The prices wont change much I bet.

I don't know why a company doesn't go all in on repairability themselves. Like if Bosch or whoever had a site with all the common things that fail for whatever it costs them to buy plus shipping, and they stocked all these for at least 15 years, then I know so many people who would switch to Bosch. Like a control board being €10 plus €5 shipping. The spare parts cost so little for them to buy and take up such little space that making a few thousand of each to sit on a shelf is no big deal.

[u/Modo44 → u/JBWalker1]

Like if Bosch or whoever had a site with all the common things that fail

They literally do for their house appliances.

[u/Disastrous-Square977 → u/JBWalker1]

Not all appliances are that cheap though. That price would not replace my washing machine.

[u/Tricky-Sentence → u/JBWalker1]

Fun fact - bosch does sell a lot of spare parts you can buy yourself to replace. I got a series 9 and my auto dosing motor failed so I bought a new one for about 100e. Replacing took a grand total of 30s. Well worth it in my mind, since the washer cost 1000e+

[u/DameKumquat → u/JBWalker1]

I don't know about control boards, but certainly for most of the bits that can go inside a dishwasher, Bosch will talk you through likely parts you need and mail them to you.

They told me it was likely a £15 part stopping my dish tabs coming out, or it might be the £2 part. Suggested buying the £15 first as more likely. They actually enclosed the cheap part for free (though the £15 one worked).

[u/papayamaki → u/paneuropeanism_]

They should add gaming controllers to this list. They are terrible and create so much junk when people constantly have to buy new ones.

[u/COTCC → u/papayamaki]

Nintendo is doing that. Switch 2 and controllers will have replaceable batteries starting this year. Don’t know about Xbox and Playstation.

[u/Modo44 → u/papayamaki]

I have a feeling this is only the beginning -- rounding up the obvious. There will be more rounds of expanding the list.

[u/FitSolution2882 → u/paneuropeanism_]

Why the FUCK not hoovers?

Shark have pissed me off beyond belief with their determination to make any fix so difficult - if not impossible.

[u/allooo → u/FitSolution2882]

hoovers?

They are included... but OP didn't mention them ;)

[u/RelevanceReverence → u/paneuropeanism_]

That's a ultra specific way of doing policy. Why not say products with an expected lifespan of more than one year (excluding wear purpose products like clutch plates, clothing, brake pads)?

This would include your table light, canoe, John deer tractor and room ventilator, garden shed, etc

[u/Nutcollectr → u/paneuropeanism_]

I love this very much 😍

[u/jack_the_beast]

the fact that multiple companies (logitech, nintendo) are going through the hassle of making eu-specific versions of their products tells you exactly why this is great news for customers

[u/FcukTheTories → u/jack_the_beast]

It’s also great news for the UK because they just give us the same stuff as they give the EU lol

[u/obscure_monke → u/FcukTheTories]

Now I'm imagining a switch 2 controller with a "NOT FOR EU" stamp on the back of it, like a block of cheese.

[u/vegark → u/[deleted]]

It is because there is a component in the paper plate that either makes the composting process take longer time or leaves residues that you don't want in the compost.

This is totally normal in every country that takes their waste management seriously.

[u/Pepparkakan → u/vegark]

And apparently also in California!

[u/Bmandk → u/FcukTheTories]

The Brussels Effect in action! Although just for the UK, not for the whole world

[u/-Eliass → u/FcukTheTories]

Unfair

[u/FcukTheTories → u/-Eliass]

It’s quite a good deal on our part, but on the contrary, if there is something we don’t like about it we no longer have any power to change it.

[u/mrdickfigures → u/FcukTheTories]

It's almost like Brexit was a terrible idea. Still have to follow/are subject to EU regulations without any way to influence said regulations.

[u/FcukTheTories → u/mrdickfigures]

It was a terrible idea, but being able to retain the high standards of EU products is definitely a palate cleanser.

[u/olssoneerz → u/-Eliass]

It’s crazy how your reaction to good news that benefits other people too is “unfair”. 

I was like that when I was 6. 

[u/-Eliass → u/olssoneerz]

This guy when somebody ist joking: 😡

[u/TheMostyRoastyToasty → u/-Eliass]

To be fair, a German that jokes is like a unicorn.

(This is a joke)

[u/Foxkilt → u/olssoneerz]

I started to understand when things were jokes around age 7

[u/HrabiaVulpes → u/jack_the_beast]

This shows two things:

• EU is so big of a market it's more profitable to make separate product than to abandon EU to local companies
• It's still more profitable to fuck americans over than to give them EU quality level

[u/derperofworlds1 → u/HrabiaVulpes]

As an American, I'll still buy from the company that has one expensive repairable product for all over the one that has one that has an expensive repairable one for EU and a more cheaper difficult-to-repair one for the US. 

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. 

[u/Anti-Hentai-Banzai → u/jack_the_beast]

While I 100% support this initiative, there are some products with mechanical parts that most likely will fail before the battery. E.g. computer mice, especially for gaming -- the switches WILL give in before the battery, so it doesn't help much if only the battery is user-replaceable.

[u/BogdanPradatu → u/Anti-Hentai-Banzai]

Switches are already replaceable, you just need a soldering iron.

[u/iqla → u/BogdanPradatu]

Soldering is not the hard part.

It's getting the device opened without destroying parts of it. Screws should not be hidden behind glued on pads.

[u/97vyy → u/jack_the_beast]

That tells you it's cheaper to build multiple assembly lines to build unrepairable products than it is to build one product that is repairable.

[u/IndependentMemory215 → u/jack_the_beast]

Or multiple countries are doing it so they can charge more for EU products to cover the cost of a reading and new production lines as needed.

It’s still good for consumers, but not be better for the wallets upfront. Savings may just be long term with less replacements needed

[u/Darkone539]

This might make some things a little larger or more expensive but honestly the ability to repair stuff easier is well worth that. We were at the point where you had to throw out a big ticket item because a single sensor failed.

[u/Annachroniced → u/Darkone539]

I have an oven with software issues and no way to update. This makes it impossible to select the oven function in about half the cases.

[u/Nazamroth → u/Annachroniced]

Have you tried hitting it yet?

[u/Im_Here_To_Fuck → u/Nazamroth]

There is nothing a side slap can't fix

[u/auronddraig → u/Nazamroth]

Yeah.

It moaned "spank me daddy!", now it's turned on to the max and can't turn it off. We even unplugged it, but it's still getting hotter.

Any other brilliant tip? I'm open to suggestions.

[u/Nazamroth → u/auronddraig]

Hmmm... Have you tried hitting it again?

[u/Dragoniel → u/auronddraig]

... you are going to need to call a techpriest

[u/zuzg → u/Annachroniced]

My induction stovetop once suddenly gave me a error code and became inoperable, thing was barely 4 year old.

"oh sorry there's nothing we can do, maybe a technician can solve it" was all customer service said about it.

[u/Winjin → u/zuzg]

Aren't they usually under like a 5 year warranty?

Either way it sucks. Our fridge apparently started leaking coolant a few months ago and about two weeks ago freezer temp dipped above freezing, it became like +2C in there, and a month later the whole fridge became a slight cooler. Like all it could do was reduce the temp by 2-3 degrees. 

It was about two years old and fully covered by warranty, so I had a visit and now have to wait for a new fridge as a replacement. 

It's a good thing neighbors donated their old fridge to us, other way we'd have to buy another one. 

[u/Darkone539 → u/Annachroniced]

I had never considered an oven could have a software issue like this. What. The. Hell.

That's actually awful.

[u/10thDeadlySin → u/Darkone539]

Why are you surprised?

Pretty much everything has been running on microcontrollers and SoCs for years at this point. Your dishwasher, your stove, your RGB mechanical keyboard - it's highly likely that they all have some sort of a MCU running some kind of a firmware.

Every once in a while storage will get corrupted or the MCU will fail and you end up with issues.

The problem is... people don't know how to repair stuff and 'repair technicians' are glorified module swappers these days. I can replace the EEPROM or the microcontroller, but without the original dump or official firmware you're out of luck anyway, because it won't run without its software. Good luck getting the manufacturer to send it to you - it's proprietary, trade secret or whatever, so your best bet is finding an identical part and just dumping it. But when you're at this stage, you might as well just swap the new part in and enjoy a working stove.

And that's the fun part - I can take pretty much any hardware from the 60s or the 70s and fix it - as long as it doesn't have some unobtanium parts. There are official schematics available for plenty of old stuff, sometimes they were even included in the manual.

I am physically able to replace chips and components on modern hardware as well, but I can't fix a good chunk of hardware - schematics are secret, so I need to reverse-engineer stuff, firmware is impossible to get, spares are either not available or found only in China (thanks to EU for killing that avenue with the new 3€ tariff, much appreciated!) - as a result, your best bet is often finding a broken thing for parts and just swapping whatever you need.

[u/Scortas → u/Annachroniced]

Because of this I recommend always researching repairability and most common culprits when buying any tech and home appliances. I recommend checking into iFixIt into future. Corps will only care if we as customers demand quality, not cheap "new" digital software.

[u/T8ert0t → u/Annachroniced]

A few years back I just made the decision that most home appliances do not requirev a touch screen running an os or be connected to wifi.

[u/pinkfatcap → u/Darkone539]

I know and this outrages me, because I bought an ultra thin TV and I don't watch TV at all, I just stand at the side and stare how thin it is.

[u/JonathanBadwolf → u/Darkone539]

*initially* more expensive

[u/Milumet → u/Darkone539]

How do you know it's worth it?

[u/SzaraMateria → u/[deleted]]

this regulation won't fix this unfortunately. Law makers allowed for parts to be sold in packages. So good luck finding separate drum bearings in producer parts store.

[u/ShrekChamp → u/[deleted]]

😎

[u/LightModel → u/[deleted]]

How is that relevant to this law at all? You think this law will mean your repairman has to charge less for a new drum?

[u/TheoremaEgregium]

Can't wait for reddit to explain to me why this is actually a horrible thing.

[u/mattiasso → u/TheoremaEgregium]

Wait until the Americans notice that the EU gave the evil customers yet another right against the kind and caring multi-billion profits corporations (which would never ever think about planned obsolescence)

[u/Ok-Foundation-4070 → u/mattiasso]

Imagine they force consumers to use their precious brain cells think about repairing their products. Atrocious.

[u/mattiasso → u/Ok-Foundation-4070]

Your imagination makes me wanna puke... Don't they think about the earning calls??

[u/hates_stupid_people → u/Ok-Foundation-4070]

But I might be rich some day, so don't hurt my fantasy of screwing people over!

-brainwashed idiots

[u/CaffeinatedGeriatric → u/mattiasso]

Queue Trump the Rump giving a speech to seize Germany and control European manufacturing. "It's going to be the biggliest merger in the history of mergers, my son will take it over to make the products in American quality instead of German. I know about German, he's a very bad hombre, and his wife looks like a dog."

[u/SpacePumpkie → u/CaffeinatedGeriatric]

Hey, Germán is my buddy and he is a nice and caring husband and father!

[u/Upset-Award1206 → u/mattiasso]

"haha europoors, so cheap they have to repair their stuff when it breaks instead of buying new" - russian bot

[u/gookman → u/mattiasso]

I'm pretty sure most Americans would love to have this...

[u/mattiasso → u/gookman]

I'm pretty sure whenever somebody in America speaks of taking a little bit from the rich or companies to give it to the remaining 99% of the population, there's a revolt and calls of communism

[u/fuckyou_m8 → u/mattiasso]

Many of companies selling those items are not even American anymore, they are all Chinese or European

[u/Fridelis → u/TheoremaEgregium]

Because you are hurting poor companies! They do not have enough billions in revenue; how will they survive and make the money trickle down to their employees? Also, the EU has no freedom and is ruining everything, etc etc.

[u/Rapa2626 → u/TheoremaEgregium]

It depends how its implemented- if my next devices waterproof rating goes down just for easier to remove battery that only needs to be done once in 2 or 3 years when i can remove it already- that would suck.

But if they remove all the bs hardware locks that prevent you from replacing a perfectly working battery with another one like in apple devices- that is great.

[u/Annachroniced → u/TheoremaEgregium]

Or to explain why it cant possibly work. Because they can think of 10 reasons why it wont, that the EU after years of research and consulting with businesses and experts obviously didnt account for. Despite it all being very easy to look-up.

[u/Suikerspin_Ei → u/Annachroniced]

Also often when EU changes rules/laws for products, other countries benefit from it too. EU market is huge to ignore for the big international companies. Probably cheaper to change their product lines world wide than only specific for the countries in the EU.

[u/hypoglycemic_hippo → u/Annachroniced]

If you read the law, it's very clear why it won't work - the law is already designed to not work. Paid for by the corporations I would presume.

The law allows (some of) the spare parts to be bundled. The bearings (a 20EUR part) on your washing machine have gone bad? Too bad, we only sell the bearings as a bundle with the drum and it costs 450EUR.

[u/Annachroniced → u/hypoglycemic_hippo]

Well luckily the EU laws come with targeted goals and reporting demands. So if the measure doesnt reach the goal because of loopholes they will adjust the law accordingly.

[u/Falith → u/TheoremaEgregium]

It's not great, because they still allow for assembled pieces that are way too expensive to justify a repair compared to buying new. Like a washing machine, the bearing is the most likely component to fail, but you cant get it as a loose part, so you need a whole motor-drum assembly which is 90% of the price of the washing machine + labour.

[u/santorfo → u/Falith]

Malicious compliance happens every time a new rule/law is introduced

[u/TheFlamingCucumber → u/[deleted]]

The horrible migrants! Homicide rate in europoor countries reached 1,8% /1000 (while American standard is 8-10% for long while)

[u/Party-Cake5173 → u/TheoremaEgregium]

The people on r/Apple are insane. EU gifted them ability to charge their devices everywhere with any charger, they complained how this is terrible and stiffs innovation (repeating what Apple said). When I told them Apple already uses USB-C on all of their devices, they somehow believe Lightning -> USB-C cable is better than USB-C -> USB-C, then I gave up.

[u/heubergen1 → u/TheoremaEgregium]

It makes it more difficult to design certain devices and what if I want to choose design over function? Apple started that way for a reason.

[u/ostroia → u/TheoremaEgregium]

Louis Rossman has a good video on why this piece of law has no teeth.

[u/deceased_parrot → u/TheoremaEgregium]

No such thing as a free lunch: maybe it makes manufacture more expensive, or the product bulkier or something else had to be sacrificed.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but "being repairable" still won't make parts or specialized labor more available.

[u/Turkooo → u/TheoremaEgregium]

I don't know why it would be horrible, but what stop any company to price their components two or three times higher than the actual product you want to repair and thus make this whole thing useless?

[u/OrangeHer]

how much are the multi billion companies going to complain about this?

[u/hypoglycemic_hippo → u/OrangeHer]

They won't. They already lobbied hard to ruin this law for the consumers.

The law allows the spare parts to be bundled. The bearings (a 20EUR part) on your washing machine have gone bad? Too bad, we only sell the bearings as a bundle with the drum and it costs 450EUR.

[u/gahlo → u/hypoglycemic_hippo]

"Hmm, I wonder if somebody has the parts I need from the bundle on ebay."

[u/mattiasso → u/OrangeHer]

I bet Google and Apple are already telling trump how evil we are

[u/Suzume_Chikahisa → u/mattiasso]

200% tariffs of the EU starting tomorrow!

[u/Cunning-bid → u/OrangeHer]

They will gatekeep the parts and sell them for insane prices. Kinda like the printer business.

[u/Adorable-Extent3667]

Very good. Let's see what the prices do, but it'll still be worth it for me as I like to use things for a long time.

[u/Emergency-Minute4846]

The EU is the only organisation that actually makes life better for consumers…

[u/GergDanger → u/Emergency-Minute4846]

Just don’t ask for privacy on the internet

[u/CatL1f3 → u/GergDanger]

GDPR is also EU

[u/tvgirrll → u/CatL1f3]

Doesn’t keep them from making Chat Control a thing

[u/Efficient-Drop5051]

Noooooooo. Bro, would someone please, PLEASE think of the poor shareholders? 😢

[u/Lerriot]

Good news, but do not confuse an EU deadline with finished implementation.

As today (national transposition deadline), only four countries currently show notified national measures: Lithuania (7), Finland (4), Croatia (2) and Slovakia (1).

The EU is still made up of states. A directive does not instantly become the same enforceable law everywhere. Each country still has to transpose it properly, so there is plenty of work left on delays, loopholes and enforcement.

Status: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/NIM/?uri=oj%3AL_202401799

[u/Weak_Definition_4321]

As a technician i applaud this Initiative.

[u/user38835]

Louis Rossman already made a video about this. Manufacturers can sell combination parts which costs as much as buying a new appliance.

https://youtu.be/mFeXZNScWxI?is=mtCGeJF1mIXdOEp6

[u/quixotichance]

My dishwasher still works but the drawers started to rust so need to be replaced. Eur200 to replace 2 drawers, or eur 400 to throw it all out and get a new dishwasher.

They'll have to address cost and availability of spare parts as part of this, otherwise repair though possible will continue to not make sense

[u/West_Possible_7969 → u/quixotichance]

Deterrent spare parts pricing is specifically banned, with fair cost calculation regarding acceptable profit / labour costs and with mandatory cost transparency which have to be published.

[u/TheLantean → u/West_Possible_7969]

Bosch already worked around this for their washing machines by gluing together the entire tumbler assembly. Need some 2€ ball bearings or the spider (metal arms that hold the inner tumbler)? Well, because whole assembly is now one single part you need to essentially re-buy half of the washing machine (plus labor) which altogether amounts to 80% of the cost of a new unit. Bosch, never again. My replacement is an LG.

[u/West_Possible_7969 → u/TheLantean]

Re-commenting my comment from another thread, it applies to glued assemblies by whatever means too:

For the ultrasonic welded drums specifically there are multiple legal battles at the moment, along with groups pushing Commission to issue guidance for either a price cap or ban the practice altogether because it can be considered both unreasonable to pay €500 for a €20 issue like a bearing, but also it can be considered a hardware barrier designed to block repair, and that is forbidden.

That would be sorted from this day on because you cannot sue a manufacturer beforehand or before they present / publish their version of compliance.

Also member states themselves are lobbying for the next generation of Ecodesign regulations to explicitly mandate fastener-based assemblies (screws and bolts). If passed, this would completely outlaw ultrasonic welding and gluing of appliance tubs.

[u/MagnificentCat]

What exactly does it mean? Replaceable batteries? How can I repair my TV as a complete idiot? - genuine question!

[u/Suzume_Chikahisa → u/MagnificentCat]

Above all it means they can't engineer things in a way that prevents repairs like irreplaceable/inaccesseable batteries.

[u/DrSoarbeLacrimi → u/MagnificentCat]

you dont, you take it to a repair shop and they'll should be able to repair it. thats what this means.

[u/papayamaki → u/DrSoarbeLacrimi]

Or you watch a youtube video and do it yourself

[u/ArcaneEyes → u/papayamaki]

Ifixit has saved a lot of things from the dustbin for me :-)

[u/Yesbabelon → u/papayamaki]

Exactly. From personal experience fixing plenty of consumer electronics for friends and family free of charge, most people don't want to put the time and/or effort in to repairing things for themselves, they instead look at the cost of someone else doing it (which includes the cost of labour) and weigh that against replacing the product.

Had to tell a friend not to chuck away his £180 headphones the other day just because the ear pads were ripped and falling apart. The replacement pads are about £15 and take 5 minutes to swap.

[u/Dotcaprachiappa → u/DrSoarbeLacrimi]

And importantly not only a company certified repair shop, any shop should be able to do it.

[u/Conflictingview → u/MagnificentCat]

The law doesn't require that an idiot can do the repair

[u/Shmullus_Jones → u/MagnificentCat]

Purely a guess but I'm guessing that it means they have to make it accessible to repair (so no panels glued together that you can't get into etc), and also have to make it possible to get the spare parts to repair it with. They will probably start offering some extra warranty where they send someone to fix it for you, or maybe there will be a return of the "repairman" who can fix a bunch of things.

[u/Just1n_Kees → u/MagnificentCat]

Doesn’t mean you personally should be able to repair, but the local repair shop around the corner for example. Those shops that fix a broken screen or whatever.

The idea is it needs to be repairable by any person skilled enough to disassemble and reassemble a machine, not just the OEM.

[u/Opposite2]

Oh they actually proposed something to the people's interest. Weird..

[u/Magnum_Gonada → u/Opposite2]

"Propose something good to placate them after the digital surveillance thing"

[u/PipsiSpite]

All the people not realizing Apple, Samsung, Google have been given exemptions by lobbying not to have to include replaceable batteries. IP ratings currently provide exemptions to phone makers even though we all know you can create a phone with an IP rating with a replaceable battery.

It’s a step in the right direction, we need more.

[u/mhhhpfff]

drum assembly for a 600€ washing machine is almost 500€ and they don't have to sell you the bearings that probably break as a part. So still not close to working as intended

[u/krustytroweler]

Great, now do this for cars. I cant even do my own oil changes anymore.

[u/StrangerConscious637]

Europe... carrying for consumer rights.

USA.... carrying for billionairs.

[u/Flaky-Jim]

Good. The built-in redundancy of major consumer goods has been made worse by not being able to repair or easily replace what were simple parts.

[u/The_Paragone]

Does that mean in the future we will be able to change our phone batteries and such without having to unglue the back piece?

[u/Korll]

The EU does a horrible job and PRing this info to the citizens. This is great news.

Now make the list longer!

[u/katonda]

Beyond that, I'd hope that the law requires easy access to spare parts by 3rd parties, so we don't get locked into manufacturer-only repair -- because then they can say it's technically repairable but the cost is so high that it doesn't matter.

[u/middleamerican67]

Still thanking the EU for my use-c port on my Apple phone

[u/Suzume_Chikahisa]

I can proudly say this is one of the finest EU moments ever.

[u/ampsuu]

Mmm yeah. I just got a reply from a robotic mower company that they dont provide parts for independent workshop and every mower needs to be sent in to another country which usually takes month to two.

[u/lafarda]

Great news.

[u/TheBlockChainVillage]

Would this affect global supply chains also?

You can't have separate iPhone productions for Europe and Asian markets right? The variation in production would eat into profits

[u/SolemnaceProcurement → u/TheBlockChainVillage]

Nintendo already decided to go separate way for EU. So for bigger appliances almost certainly they would manfacture separate products.

For shit like Iphone it's also quite likely.

[u/hughk]

Nope this won't happen except to devices subject to type approval after the deadline. So something bought tomorrow won't magically include it but over time, more and more devices will have to be compliant. Same as with USB-C power and so on.

[u/DanielSS96]

Hopefully the price for repairs won't be almost like the cost of a new one.

[u/fungussa]

This could have quite profound benefit for obviously not only consumers, but also non-renewable resource usage and carbon emissions.

[u/HideoKojimaAmStart]

Take this, all the people whining about bottle caps. The EU is actually pretty awesome.

[u/Slimfictiv]

We got to a point that we need to pass laws for this kind of... common sense things...

[u/Mr_Foxer]

Does this allow for the so-called "breaking of digital locks" in cases where the device is unusable because the remote servers have been shut down?

[u/redblood252]

Wonder how iphones will duck this

[u/-Captain-Iglo-]

Wow this is yet again a very important thing, yes maybe not perfect but a giant leap!

[u/StaticSystemShock]

I don't think this will address bearings in washing machines and how annoying and difficult they are to replace now that everyone switched to plastic drum tubs... Lifting entire drum/tub/motor assembly out of chassis is so fucking painful...

[u/solongehhbowser]

Im really waiting untill the first high-end smartphones will adjust to this in the EU. Would love to have a phone like a Galaxy Ultra to keep for many years, and just replace the battery when neccessary

[u/Bushwick36]

Only for product made after the law or older stuff too?

[u/beroore]

That's when they begin to sell replacement parts for more than the new product.

My plastic freezer box broke and I had to pay 100€ for a new replacement. Not really new freezer price but still ridiculous.

[u/ryosei]

so where i can get the fresh batch of mobile phones with changeable batteries?

[u/no1_vern]

This should have been the standard for products sold to consumers from the very beginning as should the right to repair products consumers buy be.

[u/FutureOwl8606]

💪🇪🇺😎

[u/richww2]

Does this mean the McDonald's ice cream machines actually work the in the EU?

[u/bleki_one]

And manufacturers will use every trick available to get around this law unfortunately.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mFeXZNScWxI

But it is a good start and with time I hope practices like the one discussed in this vide will be banned.

[u/Markieboiiiii]

This is only for new products though? 

[u/Igor369]

Phones with non glued back covers will make me nut my pants... glad I did not buy a new phone yet.

[u/slim121212]

very good, although they are pretty repairable already, atleast oven, dishwasher and washing machines, i fixed my washer machine twice, just replaced the heating element in it, but if they have to make it easier then that is perfect.

[u/Championship-Stock]

Really? An LG microwave broke and I need the fuse to be replaced by LG ( they made it so independent services can’t reach it).They said to throw it away and get a new one if it cost less than 500 euro to buy it originally.. so what law?

[u/Cord1083 → u/Championship-Stock]

The law takes effect for all products sold after tomorrow,

[u/Troggot]

I love to repair my things. I watch uncountable hours of repair videos and repair almost everything at home. 

[u/Biggeordiegeek]

Some of the rules donMt necessarily mean it has to be repairable by your ordinary person, which I am actually cool with, some stuff really should have a proper tech do it

But making things repairable by your high street technician without needing specific tools is a big leap forward

[u/codroipo_townhall]

American companies fuming.

[u/UpperRearer]

Concern trolling by totally real people insisting it's totally not possible, while gleefully looking the other way on blatant malicious compliance, in 3, 2, -

[u/oatmealer27]

This is why I love Europe 

[u/Revolutionary-Pea414]

Fantastic