The state of Oregon has just passed legislation that confirms the right for consumers and repair shops alike the same ability to diagnose and fix their own products. Manufacturers no longer have the exclusive ability to repair their products. If customers or shops can diagnose the issue, they are now legally allowed to repair it. The legislation also bans parts-pairing. This landmark passage makes Oregon the best state in the nation for repairs and will make a marked impact in the state's output of E-waste.
Apple has been fighting against Oregon's right to repair with gusto for months. Before that, they were in support of California's (valiant but weak) right to repair push, and way before that, they were vehemently against right to repair. Despite this flip flopping and eventual settling on the business-first side of the repair right fight, consumer advocates have stuck through the good fight and won!
As the New York Times reported last year, this tactic has made Apple billions of dollars, by steering customers towards the pricey AppleCare insurance policy, under which the company will repair screens and replace batteries. So it's no surprise that Apple tried to convince Oregon lawmakers not to ban the practice, telling them that the move would "undermine the security, safety, and privacy of Oregonians by forcing device manufacturers to allow the use of parts of unknown origin and consumer devices."
Well, that didn't work. Oregon's Right to Repair Act passed each stage of the legislative process comfortably. For any devices sold after the start of next year, manufacturers won't be allowed to use parts pairing to reduce a device's functionality or performance, or to "display misleading alerts or warnings…about unidentified parts," or to stop any device owner or independent repair business from installing a perfectly functioning part. (Other parts of the law, such as those requiring manufacturers to allow people to fix their own devices, apply to stuff that was sold after mid-2015, or mid-2021 in the case of smartphones specifically.)
David Meyer, The Verge
The law will go into effect on January 1, 2025. In the mean time, I'd recommend that you hold on to those blue-screen-of-death'd jailbroken iPods from 2016 that you have lying around. Maybe they can be used as something other than a coaster or toxic kindling. Here's hoping other states follow suit.
Previously: Google endorses Right to Repair in Oregon
