The new EU regulations give consumers the 'right to repair'. If the product is repaired during the warranty period, the warranty period will be automatically extended for one year.

According to news from this site on April 24, in order to encourage people to repair broken appliances instead of replacing them directly, the European Union officially adopted a new set of "right to repair" rules. One of the provisions is that if the product is repaired within the warranty period, its warranty period will be extended by one year.

Source Pexels

The European Union has previously required manufacturers to provide products with a minimum warranty period of at least two years, but The new regulations further stipulate that even if the product has passed the warranty period, manufacturers "still need to provide maintenance services for common household appliances", such as smartphones, TVs, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, etc. If the product is damaged during the warranty period, consumers can choose to replace it with a new one or have it repaired. If you choose repair, the warranty period will be automatically extended for one year. The new regulations state that

companies must provide repair services at "reasonable" prices

so that consumers will not give up on repairing products because the price is too high. The new rules also require manufacturers to provide spare parts and tools, while prohibiting them from using "contractual terms, hardware or software technology that prevents repairs." Under the new regulations,

manufacturers cannot prevent independent repair shops from using 3D printed parts or second-hand parts

, nor can they refuse to provide repairs due to economic factors or because the product has been repaired by a third party. Serve. In addition, the EU plans to launch an online platform designed to help consumers find local repair shops, second-hand product sellers and buyers of defective products. The new rules will come into force after approval by the Council and publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, and EU member states will have two years to incorporate them into national law.

This site noticed that the "European Right to Repair Alliance" expressed its appreciation for the new regulations, calling it "a step in the right direction."

But the alliance also pointed out some limitations of the new regulations

. For example, the new regulations only apply to consumer products and do not cover equipment or industrial products purchased by companies. In addition, the new regulations require manufacturers to provide spare parts and tools to third-party independent repair shops at "reasonable" prices, but the European Right to Repair Alliance said that the standard is not clearly explained and actually leaves the pricing power to manufacturer.

The alliance also said bans on practices that hinder repairs, such as Apple's parts matching practices, don't go far enough. Companies can avoid complying with the ban if they can plead “legitimate and objective reasons,” such as protecting their intellectual property. The alliance called the exemption "very vague" and argued it leaves a "back door" for manufacturers to continue to prevent third parties from repairing their products.

The alliance criticized the "narrow scope" of the new rules, claiming that they would not affect most new products entering the EU market. The products covered by the new regulations are apparently already covered under existing EU law, which requires many electrical and electronic products to be repairable within 5 to 10 years of purchase, such as washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, televisions, electric appliances, etc. Bicycles, scooters, ovens, vacuum cleaners, mobile phones, tablets and more.

The alliance wrote: "Essentially, the main impact of the new regulations is to slightly increase the likelihood that those few products that should be legally repairable will actually be repaired."

At the same time, the United States is also making progress in “right to repair” legislation. In the absence of a federal "right to repair" law, more than 20 states are enacting their own "right to repair" legislation. California's law, set to go into effect this July, requires manufacturers to provide repair materials for all electronics and appliances costing $50 or more.

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