Right to repair compliance checks carried out in New York have revealed that many products covered by the law do not appear to be in compliance.
Three Apple products were checked, gaining scores ranging from A right the way through to F, suggesting that the company is not in full compliance with right to repair legislation in the state …
New York’s pioneering law benefits everyone
New York was the first state to introduce right to repair legislation back in June 2022. The law was welcomed by DIY repair enthusiasts across the US, as it was likely to benefit everyone, not just NY residents.
For example, the requirement to make repair manuals easily accessible to consumers could only be met by putting them online, and they would then be available to everyone, not just consumers in NY.
The law applies to products launched after July 1, 2023.
Right to repair compliance checks
Non-profit PIRG has now carried out checks on 21 products which are required to comply. Product repairability was graded from A to F, based on “the quality and accessibility of repair manuals, spare parts and other critical repair materials.”
Of the 21 products, only nine of them were rated as either A or B – and six of them got the lowest possible rating, F.
The biggest failing identified was failing to provide access to adequate repair manuals.
For each product, we checked the manufacturer’s website for the service manual, and then contacted customer service to request a manual as well. Of the 21 surveyed devices, 15 had repair manuals of any kind that we were able to access. Of those manuals we were able to access, we scored them based on whether they contained some important repair information: the procedure for replacing a part or parts, a list of required tools, exploded diagrams, troubleshooting procedures and a list of parts.
All manufacturers provide materials on initial setup for their devices, but only 12 of 21 products provided replacement procedures and 11 listed which tools are required to disassemble the product.
Apple rated A, C, and F
Three Apple products were launched after the legislation took effect:
iPhone 15: Rated A
This got a perfect score, based on the availability and quality of the repair manual provided by Apple, along with perfect availability of the parts checked.
M3 MacBook Pro: Rated C
The manual scored 10/10, but parts availability was non-existent at the time, so scored 0/10. That gave the device an overall score of 10/20 and a grading of C.
Vision Pro: Rated F
Neither a repair manual nor spare parts were available at the time of checking, resulting in a total score of 0/20, and a grading of F.
Apple also gave incorrect information
When researchers contacted Apple to enquire about obtaining repair manuals for an iPhone 15, they were incorrectly informed that the company does not provide these. The customer service rep said that DIY repair was not supported for any Apple product.
I understand that you want to replace your battery and screen yourself. However, I would like to inform you that only trained Apple Technician can be able to do it.
Q: Is this the case for all Apple products?
Yes, that is correct. If I only have option to do what you wish for I will do that for you without hesitation, William. I understand what you’re going through since I am a consumer and customer as well. I hope you understand we’re also bounded with Apple’s policy, we do have limits, terms and condition to follow as well. The best course of action we can do is to maximize and utilize the limited warranty that the phone has.
NY Attorney General asked to investigate
PIRG says it isn’t qualified to definitively state that the companies given failing grades are breaking the law, but since it appears they are not in compliance, it wants the NY Attorney General to investigate.
This investigation evaluates and grades manufacturers on how available their manuals and spare parts are, and is not intended as a definitive analysis on whether any manufacturer is in violation of the New York law. The New York Attorney General’s office should follow up with those who do not have posted repair materials and determine whether these companies are out of compliance.
We’ve reached out to Apple for comment, and will update with any response.
More right to repair laws just took effect
New York isn’t the only US state to enact right to repair laws. Legislation passed by California and Minnesota took effect from Monday, and there are pending laws in Oregon and Colorado.
Apple just expanded access to its Apple Diagnostics for Self Service Repair software to 32 European countries.
Via Arstechnica. Photo by My name is Yanick on Unsplash.
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