Quick Answer
Right to Repair is the legal principle that consumers (and independent repairers) should have access to the parts, tools, manuals, and diagnostic software needed to repair the electronics they own.
As of 2026: - 6 US states have enacted Right to Repair legislation: New York (2022), Minnesota (2023), Colorado (2023), California (2023), Oregon (2024), Maine (2024) - 30+ US states have introduced bills in current legislative sessions - EU has the strongest framework - combining the Right to Repair Directive (2024), Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, and existing consumer law - UK uses the post-Brexit Ecodesign Regulations 2021, narrower in scope than EU - Apple, Samsung, John Deere are the manufacturers most cited in litigation and lobbying activity
What Right to Repair actually requires
Right to Repair legislation typically mandates four categories of access:
1. Parts
Manufacturers must make replacement parts available for purchase by independent repair shops and consumers, at the same price they sell to authorised repairers.
2. Tools
Specialised tools (proprietary screwdrivers, calibration equipment, diagnostic kits) must be available for purchase or licensing.
3. Documentation
Service manuals, schematics, and repair guides must be accessible.
4. Diagnostic software
The software needed to pair new parts to a device's main board, or to diagnose faults, must be available.
The exact scope varies - some laws cover only consumer electronics, others extend to medical equipment, agricultural equipment, military equipment, or wheelchairs. Coverage thresholds also vary (some laws apply only to devices over a certain wholesale price, others to all electronics).
The 6 US states with active laws (2026)
New York - Digital Fair Repair Act (S4101A, signed Dec 2022, effective July 2023)
Scope: digital electronic equipment manufactured, sold or used in NY for the first time on or after 1 July 2023
Requires: parts, tools, documentation provided by OEMs to independent repair shops on "fair and reasonable terms"
Excludes: medical devices, motor vehicles, home appliances, agricultural equipment, off-road equipment, energy storage equipment
Enforcement: NY Attorney General
Significance: First US state to enact complete Right to Repair. Watered down significantly between original draft and signed version.
Effectiveness: Independent repair shops in NY report mixed compliance - Apple has provided parts via Self Service Repair programme; Samsung and others slower to comply. Several lawsuits filed 2024-2025 testing enforcement.
Minnesota - Digital Fair Repair Act (HF 1156, signed May 2023, effective July 2024)
Scope: digital electronic products manufactured for the first time on or after 1 July 2021
Requires: parts, tools, documentation, software access for independent repair
Excludes: motor vehicles, agricultural equipment, medical devices, video game consoles, military equipment, energy storage systems
Enforcement: MN Attorney General
Significance: Stronger than NY in some respects - the documentation requirement is broader.
California - Right to Repair Act (SB 244, signed Oct 2023, effective July 2024)
Scope: electronic and appliance products sold for $50 or more
Requires: parts, tools, documentation for 3 years (products $50-$99) or 7 years (products $100+) after last manufacture date
Excludes: video game consoles, alarm systems, motor vehicles
Enforcement: California AG plus private right of action
Significance: California's 7-year parts availability requirement is the strongest in the US. Private right of action means consumers and repair shops can sue directly without waiting for AG enforcement.
Colorado - Consumer Right to Repair Agricultural Equipment Act (HB 23-1011, signed Apr 2023)
Scope: agricultural equipment
Requires: parts, tools, software for independent repair of tractors, combines, etc.
Significance: First US law specifically targeting John Deere's documented refusal to allow farmer repair. Subsequent Colorado HB 24-1121 extended to broader powered wheelchairs.
Oregon - Right to Repair (SB 1596, signed Mar 2024, effective Jan 2025)
Scope: consumer electronic equipment
Requires: parts, tools, documentation for independent repair
Specifically prohibits: parts pairing - preventing manufacturers from using software to disable parts that weren't installed via authorised channels (the strongest anti-parts-pairing provision in any US Right to Repair law as of 2026)
Significance: The parts pairing prohibition directly targets Apple's practice of soft-bricking iPhone components installed by independent repairers. Apple opposed the bill.
Maine - Automotive Right to Repair (Question 4, ballot initiative passed Nov 2023)
Scope: motor vehicles
Requires: vehicle telematics data accessible to independent shops via standardised interface
Significance: Voter-initiated Right to Repair. Maine voters approved 84%-16%. Defines a national template for automotive telematics.
States with bills in current legislative sessions (2026)
The following 30+ US states have introduced Right to Repair bills in their 2025-2026 sessions, in approximate order of likelihood of passage:
High likelihood of 2026-2027 passage: Massachusetts, Washington, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Hawaii, Rhode Island
Moderate likelihood: Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico
Lower likelihood (introduced but historically blocked): Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana
State-by-state tracker maintained at PIRG (uspirg.org/repair) and Repair.org.
EU Right to Repair framework
The EU has the most complete Right to Repair regime globally, built across multiple regulations:
Right to Repair Directive (Directive 2024/1799, in force June 2024)
Scope: products covered by Ecodesign requirements (smartphones, tablets, displays, washing machines, dishwashers)
Requires: - Manufacturers must repair products outside the legal warranty period at "reasonable price" if technically possible - Parts must be available for 7-10 years after market exit (varies by category) - Online matching platform for consumers and repairers - Standardised European Repair Information Form
Effective: member states must transpose by July 2026
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR, in force July 2024)
Establishes Digital Product Passports (DPPs) - every product covered by Ecodesign rules will have a unique digital ID giving repair, maintenance, and end-of-life information.
EU Battery Regulation (2023/1542)
Requires removable, replaceable batteries in portable electronics by 2027 (with limited exceptions). This effectively ends the era of glued-in smartphone batteries in the EU.
EU Consumer Rights Directive
Underlying consumer protection law that mandates 2-year warranty across the EU and access to spare parts during the warranty period.
The combined EU framework is the strongest in the world. Manufacturers selling into EU markets face binding obligations on parts, documentation, and increasingly tools.
UK Right to Repair
Post-Brexit UK has a narrower framework:
Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021 (UK)
Carries forward EU Ecodesign rules as of UK departure from EU.
Scope: white goods (washing machines, dishwashers, fridges, dryers), TVs, displays
Requires: 7-10 year parts availability, repair documentation for professional repairers
Notable gap: smartphones, tablets, laptops are NOT covered under current UK rules - a divergence from EU that has been criticised by repair-rights advocates
Department for Business and Trade consultation 2024-2025
The UK government consulted on extending Right to Repair scope to consumer electronics. As of early 2026, no concrete legislation has emerged. The Right to Repair Coalition UK (rightorepair.uk) tracks ongoing advocacy.
What manufacturers actually do
Apple
Self Service Repair programme (launched 2022, expanded 2024-2026) - Genuine parts available via apple.com/self-service-repair - iFixit-developed repair manuals - Tool rental available - Caveat: parts pairing restricts which combinations work; repairs without proper Apple Service Toolkit calibration may trigger device warnings
Lobbying record: - Documented opposition to every US state Right to Repair bill 2017-2022 - Reversed position after Right to Repair laws began passing - Stated public support for federal Right to Repair (2023 onwards)
Compliance assessment: technically compliant with current US state laws but uses parts pairing to limit independent repair effectiveness.
Samsung
Self-Repair Program (launched 2022, expanded with iFixit 2023) - Genuine parts via samsungparts.com - Compatible with iFixit guides - More limited model coverage than Apple
Lobbying record: - Active opposition to US state bills 2020-2023 - Less public position than Apple - Compliance with NY/CA/MN laws under enforcement scrutiny
Google
Pixel repair via iFixit (launched 2022) - Parts and guides for Pixel 6 onwards - 7-year parts and software commitment for Pixel 8 series - Considered the most repair-friendly Android manufacturer
John Deere
Most-litigated manufacturer in Right to Repair space - 2023 Memorandum of Understanding with American Farm Bureau (voluntary, weak) - 2024 FTC enforcement action over Right to Repair compliance (settlement pending) - Subject of Colorado's 2023 agricultural Right to Repair law - Continuing complaints from farmers about software-locked parts
Microsoft
Surface line repairability dramatically improved post-2022 - Surface Pro 9, 10 redesigned for serviceability - Stated public support for Right to Repair (rare among manufacturers) - iFixit partnership for parts and guides
Lenovo, HP, Dell
Generally supportive of Right to Repair through repair-friendly product design (especially Lenovo ThinkPad, HP EliteBook, Dell Latitude business lines). Documented service manuals available since 1990s for these product lines.
Framework
Modular by design - every component user-replaceable. The Framework laptop scored a perfect 10/10 on iFixit repairability. Operating from explicit Right to Repair principles.
See our Manufacturer Recycling Scorecard 2026 for full ranking on Right to Repair ethics across 12 manufacturers.
The "parts pairing" problem
The most contentious technical issue in Right to Repair as of 2026: parts pairing (sometimes called "serialisation" or "device authentication").
What it is: manufacturer software that detects whether a replacement part has been "paired" to the device's main board via authorised diagnostic tools. Unpaired parts may: - Trigger warning messages ("genuine Apple part not detected") - Disable specific features (Touch ID, Face ID, True Tone display, battery health monitoring) - Cause system instability or refuse to boot
Manufacturers' justification: security, anti-counterfeiting, ensuring matched component performance.
Critics' position: parts pairing renders Right to Repair laws ineffective in practice - repairers can install parts but the device remains hobbled, pushing consumers back to authorised repair.
Legislative response: Oregon's SB 1596 (2024) is the first US law to explicitly prohibit parts pairing. The EU Right to Repair Directive includes anti-parts-pairing language. Other states are watching Oregon enforcement before adopting similar provisions.
Apple's specific practices documented in litigation: - iPhone batteries: post-installation calibration required for full battery health reporting - iPhone displays: True Tone disabled with non-Apple-paired display - iPhone Face ID modules: disabled if replaced without paired calibration - iPhone home buttons (older models): Touch ID disabled if replaced
What consumers can actually do as of 2026
If you live in NY, MN, CA, OR, ME (specific protections) - You have legal standing to demand parts and documentation from manufacturers - Independent repair shops in your state should have access to parts at fair prices - For Oregon residents: parts pairing prohibition gives you the strongest device-control rights in the US
If you live in any US state - Apple Self Service Repair is available regardless of state law - Samsung Self-Repair Program likewise - iFixit guides and tools for thousands of devices - Independent repair shops (search ifixit.com/repair-near-me) - Repair Cafés - community workshops where volunteers help fix devices (international network, 2,500+ locations)
If you live in the EU - Manufacturer obligations are stronger - demand they comply with the Right to Repair Directive - Consumer rights include the European Repair Information Form - Two-year warranty mandatory across all member states
If you live in the UK - Ecodesign Regulations cover white goods only - for smartphones, laptops, tablets, you have weaker protections than EU - Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides general "satisfactory quality" standard but doesn't specifically mandate parts availability for non-Ecodesign-covered devices - Manufacturer self-repair programmes (Apple, Samsung) operate in UK independently of legislation
Right to Repair beyond electronics
Right to Repair principles are spreading beyond consumer electronics:
Agricultural equipment
The most contentious sector - modern tractors and combines have software locks that prevent farmer repair. Driving force behind the FTC 2021 Right to Repair report and Colorado HB 23-1011.
Medical equipment
The Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA) opposed Right to Repair extension during COVID-19 over hospital ventilator and imaging equipment repair issues. Bills introduced in several states 2021-2024; enacted in fewer.
Powered wheelchairs
Colorado HB 24-1121 (passed 2024) is the first US law specifically targeting wheelchair repair. Wheelchair users have reported delays of weeks waiting for authorised manufacturer repair while having no independent repair option.
Automobiles
Maine's 2023 ballot initiative (Question 4) and Massachusetts's earlier Right to Repair Act (2020) target vehicle telematics - the data systems that modern cars use for diagnostics. Industry association Auto Care Association advocates federal Right to Repair for vehicles.
Why this matters for e-waste
The connection between Right to Repair and e-waste is direct:
Repairable devices last 2-4x longer than unrepairable equivalents. Extending average device lifespan from 4 years to 8 years halves the per-year e-waste contribution.
Independent repair markets keep functional devices in service that would otherwise be replaced. Phone screens are the canonical example - a £100 screen replacement keeps a £600 phone in use; a £600 phone replacement creates 180g of new e-waste.
Parts pairing is environmentally regressive - even when a repair is technically possible, parts pairing can render the device functionally compromised, encouraging replacement instead.
Manufacturer-controlled repair monopolies charge enough to make replacement competitive - Apple's pre-Self Service Repair pricing for screens often exceeded the cost of a refurbished phone from the secondary market.
The e-waste argument has been the most effective political lever for Right to Repair advocates - even legislators sceptical of consumer rights claims have responded to landfill volume and toxic-disposal data.
What the future looks like
Predictions for 2026-2030: - 15-20 US states will have Right to Repair laws by 2028 (current trajectory) - Federal US Right to Repair legislation likely 2027-2030 - bipartisan support exists but agricultural and tech industry lobbying continues - EU framework will tighten - Right to Repair Directive transposition deadline July 2026, with enforcement actions likely 2027 onwards - Parts pairing will face direct prohibition in more jurisdictions following Oregon's lead - Apple's Self Service Repair will expand internationally (currently US, EU, UK) - Modular design will spread - Framework's success may pressure other laptop manufacturers - EU 2027 removable battery deadline will reshape smartphone design globally (manufacturers unlikely to design two product lines)
The trajectory is clear: Right to Repair is becoming a baseline expectation, not a fringe consumer movement.
Frequently asked questions
Does Right to Repair mean I can fix my own iPhone? Yes - Apple's Self Service Repair programme provides parts, tools, and manuals. Note that some repairs (Face ID, True Tone display) require pairing software that may degrade functionality if performed without authorised calibration, even with genuine parts.
Will Right to Repair laws lower my repair costs? Probably modestly. Independent repairers can compete with manufacturer-authorised repair, which historically reduces prices 30-60%. Parts costs remain manufacturer-controlled.
Does Right to Repair void my warranty? The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (US, 1975) prohibits manufacturers from voiding warranties solely because of independent repair. Manufacturers can refuse warranty claims for damage caused by improper repair, but cannot blanket-void warranty.
What about my old iPhone (pre-2022)? Older iPhones aren't covered by Self Service Repair. Independent repair shops can still source third-party parts, but parts pairing limits functionality.
Can manufacturers stop selling in states with Right to Repair laws? Theoretically. Apple has not done so. Industry consensus appears to be: comply with Right to Repair while continuing to design products with serial-locked parts that limit practical repair effectiveness.
Is the EU Right to Repair Directive directly enforceable on US manufacturers? For products sold in the EU: yes. US manufacturers selling into EU markets must comply. For products sold only in the US: no - US Right to Repair compliance is state-by-state.
Does Right to Repair cover software updates? Increasingly yes. The EU Right to Repair Directive includes obligations around software support periods. California SB 244 includes software diagnostic access.
What about devices with no replaceable parts (like AirPods)? Devices designed without serviceable components (AirPods scored 0/10 on iFixit) cannot be effectively brought into Right to Repair compliance. The political question becomes: should manufacturers be allowed to design products that fundamentally cannot be repaired?
How can I support Right to Repair? Vote for legislators who support it; buy from manufacturers who support it (Framework, Lenovo, Pixel, Microsoft Surface); use independent repair when available; support Repair Cafés and iFixit.
Are video game consoles covered? Currently exempted in most US Right to Repair laws (specifically excluded in NY, MN, CA). EU treats game consoles as consumer electronics - covered under broader frameworks.
Sources - PIRG (Public Interest Research Group): state Right to Repair tracker (uspirg.org/repair) - Repair.org: federal and state advocacy - iFixit Advocacy: Pro Wire of Right to Repair (ifixit.com/right-to-repair) - EU Right to Repair Directive 2024/1799 (full text via eur-lex.europa.eu) - EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 - New York Digital Fair Repair Act S4101A - Minnesota HF 1156 - California SB 244 - Oregon SB 1596 - Maine Question 4 ballot initiative 2023 - FTC Nixing the Fix report 2021 - NCSL state legislation tracker - Right to Repair Coalition UK (rightorepair.uk)
Disclaimer
Right to Repair legislation is rapidly evolving. This guide reflects laws and industry practices as of 2026. For binding legal advice on any specific Right to Repair claim, consult a qualified attorney in your jurisdiction. eCycling Central is an independent information directory operated by Defining Style Limited (UK Companies House 10572391).
