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EU Technology

EU Law Requires Companies To Fix Electronic Goods For Up To 10 Years (euronews.com) 137

Posted by BeauHD from the throw-away-society dept.
Companies that sell refrigerators, washers, hairdryers, or TVs in the European Union will need to ensure those appliances can be repaired for up to 10 years, to help reduce the vast mountain of electrical waste that piles up each year on the continent. Euronews reports: The "right to repair," as it is sometimes called, comes into force across the 27-nation bloc on Monday. It is part of a broader effort to cut the environmental footprint of manufactured goods by making them more durable and energy-efficient. Lack of spare parts is another problem, campaigners say. Sometimes a single broken tooth on a tiny plastic sprocket can throw a proverbial wrench in the works.

Under the new EU rules, manufacturers will have to ensure parts are available for up to a decade, though some will only be provided to professional repair companies to ensure they are installed correctly. New devices will also have to come with repair manuals and be made in such a way that they can be dismantled using conventional tools when they really can't be fixed anymore, to improve recycling. German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said that the next step should see manufacturers forced to state how long a product is expected to work for and repair it if it breaks down earlier. This would encourage companies to build more durable products, she said. In a next step, environmentalists and consumer rights groups want the "right to repair" expanded to include smartphones, laptops and other small electrical devices.

The bloc's ecological design directive -- of which the right to repair requirement is a part -- will also revise existing energy labels that describe how much electricity washers and other household devices consume. The new seven-step scale from A to G will be complemented by a QR code that provides consumers with further information, such as how loud the devices are.
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EU Law Requires Companies To Fix Electronic Goods For Up To 10 Years More

EU Law Requires Companies To Fix Electronic Goods For Up To 10 Years

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  • Up to... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fibonacci8 ( 260615 ) on Monday March 01, 2021 @05:49PM (#61113432)
    Zero years is up to ten years. Unless the legislation requires "at least ten years" it's worthless. Both the summary and the article use the weasel word version. And neither points to the actual legislation. Not in the mood to go searching for the actual wording.

    • I can't find the text, but I assume it's by category and only some categories require the full 10 years.

      • https://ec.europa.eu/commissio... [europa.eu]

        o 7 years minimum for refrigerating appliances (10 years for door gaskets);

        o 10 years minimum for household washing-machines and household washer-dryers;

        o 10 years minimum for household dishwashers (7 years for some parts for which access can be restricted to professional repairers);

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Vrallis ( 33290 )

      It won't matter anyway. Unless they put in a lot of restrictions the companies will just sell every part for ten times the MSRP of buying a new one, and only make them available to a single repair vendor globally.

      • Which if combined with the need to stock replacement parts, an original equipment manufacturer would be competing against aftermarket parts created to satisfy the repairs at a cheaper cost. This would then result in a fresh herd of Louis Rossman types popping up to satisfy market needs.

        Also, to the credit of the EU, they have only included more mature types of appliances where underlying designs have already become commoditised and fairly uniform. We are not talking iPhones and such. This is much more

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Whibla ( 210729 )

      And neither points to the actual legislation. Not in the mood to go searching for the actual wording.

      I did go searching, and despite finding (some of) the actual legislation I can't find specific timeframes within it (and that's with multiple Ctrl+F searches within the text).

      However, if anyone wants slightly more info:

      The basis of the rules is the "Sustainable product policy & ecodesign" framework [europa.eu] which deals with energy efficiency and sustainability.

      You can find the ammended main text of the legislation [europa.eu] <- here, and the breakdown of specific product types [europa.eu] <- here, with further links to the speci

      • It's after reading stuff like this that I wonder when and where it all started going wrong. It's almost as though it's designed to be as opaquely verbose and pointlessly complicated as possible, whilst still retaining the image of usefulness.

        I don't think it's hard at all to read, once you've found the regulations (which is a pain indeed). The first bit (and the 'legislation' document that you linked to) is a bit of legal context and stuff describing how member states of the EU need to handle things.
        Scroll a bit down in the per-product regulations and you get something similar to an engineering specification. I'm sure that the engineers that design the equipment have to deal with thousands of pages of internal engineering documents that are muc

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      It just means that different things have different legal minimum terms for parts availability, not that the company can choose zero years.

      We already have rules that mean the minimum warranty period is effectively 2 years, although many EU countries give you rights beyond that period.

    • Zero years is up to ten years. Unless the legislation requires "at least ten years" it's worthless. Both the summary and the article use the weasel word version. And neither points to the actual legislation. Not in the mood to go searching for the actual wording.

      Nor does it appear to address the costs of repair and repair parts. Spare part pricing could make repair uneconomical compared to purchasing a replacment. Just becasues a 10 cent resistor failed doesn't mean you be given information on troubleshooting to do board level repairs, the repair manual may simply require replacing the entire board for a mere $500.

      In additin, the cosst of mantaining spare parts inventory will simply be passed on to the consumer in the intial costs as well as charging for them for

  • Tech isn't advancing all that fast (Score:4, Interesting)

    by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Monday March 01, 2021 @05:51PM (#61113440)
    I'm still happily rocking a 5 year old LG Stylo and my RX 580 is pushing about the same age. With tech moving so much slower and obsolescence less and less of a thing this makes sense.

    Only thing is, the only way you can get this sort of thing is with laws. There's just too much money to be made in planned obsolescence and you only have to pour a little of that cash into marketing to keep it going.

    • There's just too much money to be made in planned obsolescence

      Sorry but that's a fantasy that people are misattributing. Beyond not supporting security updates on phones there's basically no "planned obsolescence" in consumer gear. The few cases which have been identified have been very vocally called out and in some cases forced companies to backtrack on their attempted phase out.

      There is however a trend to build cheap shit usually made in China that breaks down after a couple of years, but hey that is precisely what consumers want to pay for. Hard to blame the compa

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by ffkom ( 3519199 )
        The number of devices that contain glued-in, proprietary batteries alone is proof enough that "planned obsolescence" is abundant. Mass-produced run-off-the-mill standard batteries, when usable, would not even have to be part of the product sold, and thus could even lower the price of the device.

        • The number of devices that contain glued-in, proprietary batteries alone is proof enough that "planned obsolescence" is abundant. Mass-produced run-off-the-mill standard batteries, when usable, would not even have to be part of the product sold, and thus could even lower the price of the device.

          Yes, but if you're talking about phones, user-replaceable batteries make them thicker and heavier, and the vast majority of consumers won't buy phones with them. If you could convince large numbers of people to change their mind about that, to value long device lifetimes over sleekness, it would happen. Heck many smartphone manufacturers started out with replaceable batteries, because it was obviously a good idea, only to discard them when they realized that their customers didn't care, preferred thinness,

          • You know, I doubt that many people care about the thickness of the phone by a few mm.I'm pretty sure they care more about the features and once other manufacturers start copying Apple (which is notoriously anti-repair) the number of options goes down.

            But OK, maybe a soldered in battery is better. There is still no reason for Apple to authenticate the battery and screen to the phone, making it either not work or display error messages if someone replaces those parts and does not authenticate them - doing tha

        • Most glued in batteries are not glued, but simply fixed with a sticky paste that can easily be removed with some hot air.

        • The number of devices that contain glued-in, proprietary batteries alone is proof enough that "planned obsolescence" is abundant.

          False. Again you're miss-attributing to planned obsolescence what is actually largely a consumer driven trend to demand thinner sleeker devices without plastic, clips, or external blemishes or lines. The use of various adhesives is an engineering requirement to achieve this.

          Also the majority of these devices are easily repairable and the batteries are available. Just because *you* lack the skills or tools to repair something, doesn't mean the device has planned obsolescence.

          Also your comment is ignorant to

          • That is funny. When the phones became so thin everyone had to start adding cases with knobs so they could hold them. No where on any message board or forum did I hear the large chanting of MAKE IT THINNER. My last phone that had a replaceable battery was pretty dang thin and I never saw a review or comment saying Con of phone... too thick.

            So who is driving this must be thinner idea? And why we can't have user replaceable batteries?
            I would point my finger at the company that charges extra money just to repla

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by sjames ( 1099 )

        That's a knee slapper!

        The market is stuffed full of things that fail early and could have been built to last for $1 more.

        Beyond that, it's stuffed full of things that should be easily rapairable but aren't.

        • So what you're saying is your product is more expensive? Not sure why you are both laughing and agreeing with me at the same time, but you do you man.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by sjames ( 1099 )

            Even on a $5 item that is unlikely to become obsolete (for example, an LED bulb), paying $6 instead could add 15 years to it's service life, but good luck getting one of those.

            Most of the arguments against durability screech "but that will be more expensive", but actual analysis suggests the extra expense is lost in the noise while the extra durability would stand out loud and clear. It perfectly fits the old saying "Penny wise and pound foolish".

            Have an example [hackaday.com]. They'll crow about them all day, but they wo

      • vs Europe. Or Apple getting sued for throttling iPhones (never did get my $5 check for that). Or nVidia and AMD putting less ram on their mid range cards so they'll be ram limited in a few years...

        • Maybe look at what planned obsolescence means.

          There's not major issue with printers in Europe or USA. Shit breaks and need repair. That isn't planned obsolescence.
          The iPhone thing is unfortunate, but don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to stupidity, especially when what you do appears so overtly malicious. Thinking the iPhone throttling is some big brained Dr Evil level planned obsolescence scheme by Apple is just silly.

          Also producing a low cost low performance product is not planned obsolescen

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Tell that to the laptops I've had that have batteries that are non replaceable, no spares exist, and when the battery is removed, the laptop will not POST. Planned obsolescence is a thing. Even cars have it. Look how modern cars tend to become money pits after 150,000 miles (241.000 km), just because the over-complex subsystems start failing, and it doesn't take much, like a CAN wire that gets gnawed by a mouse or exposed to the weather because the insulation cracks while the vehicle was parked, for it t

        • Tell that to the laptops I've had that have batteries that are non replaceable, no spares exist, and when the battery is removed, the laptop will not POST. Planned obsolescence is a thing.

          Nope. You seem to be unable to separate the concept of an engineering decision forced by consumer demand for ever thinner sleeker devices with no external blemishes and planned obsolescence. Also I've yet to find a single laptop where I haven't been able to replace the battery. That includes glued together slate devices with an iFixit Repairability score of one. I've also never seen a battery I've not been able to buy online. I suggest you put a bit more effort in.

          Now repeat with me: Just because there's no

          • Your Galaxy S works just fine... well, sort of. If you're using official OS builds you're limited to Gingerbread (Android 2.3), an ancient version of Android that most apps no longer support. (You can take it up to at least Android 7.1 with third party OS builds.) It only has 512MB of RAM, so there are modern apps that wouldn't even load if builds of them for Gingerbread existed. Its network support is limited to either the original version of HSDPA (if you have the GSM version) or EV-DO (the CDMA version);

      • My dishwasher broke with very strange symptoms after it is more or less exactly 25 years old.
        As a fan of conspiracies I would assume: such a timeframe is rather fishy.

  • China is going to be mad (Score:3)

    by WindBourne ( 631190 ) on Monday March 01, 2021 @05:55PM (#61113456) Journal
    This is actually a GREAT idea. Far too much of this is difficult to obtain parts for, even directly from China. Now, if only we can get American CONgress critters to do the same.

    At the same time, Europe (in fact, all of the West), needs to pass laws to PREVENT the exporting of any 'waste'/'junk'/etc. Basically, we need to recycle these in our own nations.
    • If we get CONgress to do this, make SURE they throw appliances in the mix. No such thing as a 20yr hot water heater, fridge, or washing machine these days. Every time something in my 2002 home dies recently, the plumber, ac guy, appliance repairman tell me how lucky I am to have gotten 20 years. New stuff (made in china) doesnt last half as long. I had a maytag washing machine die twice in 3 years. One time it was a plastic multiport solenoid fill valve that costs $350 to replace including the 15min of labo
      • huh.
        We have a 15 y.o. whirlpool washer/dryer doing great. We have had several items break, but I have been able to fix these on my own, for less than $100 each time.
        However, we had a Electrolux fridge. One of the WORST POS appliances that I have ever owned. WIthin 5 years, it was hauled off. 5 fucking years.
        It broke every 6 months. I tried fixing it. Called in appliance repair ppl and they could not fix it after more than 12 visits.
        The only others that I have heard was horrible was Hain.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by e3m4n ( 947977 )
          yea my GE artica is finally dying. Ive fixed it twice. One time the blower that takes the cold air from the freezer and blows it into the fridge died, that was a fairly easy fix. Another time some motherboard underneath died. Now the compressor makes this ca-chunk sound when it stops .. but that doesnt impact operations. Just 2 months ago the ice dispenser and the water dispenser stopped working and the ice maker keeps making ice even when its full. So when we pull out the ice drawer a bunch of ice falls to

          • Maytag, kitchenaid, and Whirlpool are owned by the same company, who builds shit in china now

            Uh no. Whirlpool owns it, and it is STLL built in America. And, the stuff they have, I am told remains rock solid. Well, whirlpool/kitchenaid that is. I would not buy a maytag from the last 20 years.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Bert64 ( 520050 )

            I would pay $2000 for a washer built with that level of resilience.

            Miele stuff still seems to be pretty reliable.

            • I would pay $2000 for a washer built with that level of resilience.

              Miele stuff still seems to be pretty reliable.

              Yup. My 10 year + Miele vacuum still sucks; th eonly repair I've done is replace the cored when I couldn't convince peopel not to just yank it out of the wall by the cord, resulting in a broken plug and retract mechnism.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      This is actually a GREAT idea. Far too much of this is difficult to obtain parts for, even directly from China. Now, if only we can get American CONgress critters to do the same.

      At the same time, Europe (in fact, all of the West), needs to pass laws to PREVENT the exporting of any 'waste'/'junk'/etc. Basically, we need to recycle these in our own nations.

      Yes, and you've just doubled or tripled the cost of a product. Did you think PCs, phones, TVs and such were already too expensive?

      People who live in EU cou

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        Many countries have required car manufacturers to keep parts available for 10 years for quite some time already.
        A lot of vehicle parts are common between vehicles. They don't get warehoused, they continue being manufactured as they're used by a large number of different vehicle models and manufacturers.

        This would encourage manufacturers to use common discrete parts, rather than assembling a bunch of standardised parts into a large proprietary blob sold as a single expensive item.

      • You ever heard about "economics of scale"?

        Probably not.

        People who live in EU countries already complain they are ripped off on prices - take the US price and change the currency from USD to Euros, about 40% higher.
        Never heard about that ... any example?

      • The extended warranty isn't the same thing though. It will pay for replacement or repair of the product... which for those three year old products will either mean replacement with a leftover one the company has in its warehouse or with a newer version. Your three year old device probably won't be repaired at all; it will be sent to landfill.

  • Could be made so much simpler (Score:5, Interesting)

    by fustakrakich ( 1673220 ) on Monday March 01, 2021 @06:05PM (#61113494) Journal

    When the support expires, so should all patents and copyrights. This will enable third parties to provide parts and support.

    • Congrats, you've just destroyed all innovation. I mean it's not like a company will take the risk of losing it's payments by adopting a new technology with an unknown part life time and a supply or EOL issue from their vendor can force them to give up patents.

      As usual, the "simple" idea ignores some very real problems.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by sjames ( 1099 )

        Nah, they'll just require their vendors to agree to provide the parts for the needed lifetime. The vendor will agree because everyone is requiring that and they want to make sales.

        • Nah, they'll just require their vendors to agree to provide the parts for the needed lifetime. The vendor will agree because everyone is requiring that and they want to make sales.

          Nope. You're thinking too generally. Sure a typical capacitor or common transistor, or microcontroller may have that process. But the world is full of special purpose devices by specialist vendors doing limited run production for which datasheets don't exist.

          There are many devices like this. If you're lucky you can work around an EOL issue (ever send something for repair and you got back a product that has a completely different PCB revision? that's how this happens), if you're unlucky the device is special

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by sjames ( 1099 )

            That's because under the current legal framework, they CAN tell you to go away. Change the framework and the value of such a component goes to zero. I doubt they'll just sell the factory and get a job at Starbucks, instead they'll start agreeing to keep the device in production. Larger manufacturers might even demand that the "secret sauce" be placed in escrow. Stop producing and your customers get the right to have someone else produce.

            I have seen a lot of products where the cost of going with COTS rather

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

        • If you're focusing on dishwashers then you better write a law for dishwashers. Generalised simple solutions are either not actually simple or not actually general.

    • This will enable third parties to provide parts and support.

      Do you have any idea how much it costs to replicate custom parts and assemblies? How much are you prepared to spend on repairing a dishwasher that is showing ten years of wear, rust , scratches, and dents?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        How many custom parts does a dishwasher really require? If using custom parts is more expensive, then there will be more incentive to use standardised parts. Standard interchangeable parts will be cheaper and more widely available.

      • Dishwashers do not rust.
        They are made from stainless steel.

        If your dishwasher does not last 10 - 20 years you made a mistake in the purchase.

        • Even stainless steel can rust.
          Besides, only the insides of the dishwasher are made of stainless steel. The outside frame is just painted steel and does rust.

          • Even stainless steel can rust
            Not inside of a dish washer. You would need a current, by salts and/or less "noble" material.

            The outside frame is just painted steel and does rust.
            Is that just nitpicking or pointing out your kitchen is somehow "wet"?

            My 25 year old dishwasher has no rust as far as I can tell. I wonder if I should try to get it repaired or get a new one ... not really a money or conscious issue, more an issue of convenience. They would bring a new one and take the old one ...

  • Thank...government (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Dixie_Flatline ( 5077 ) <vincent@jan@goh.gmail@com> on Monday March 01, 2021 @06:14PM (#61113520) Homepage

    While I strongly believe in this applying to everyone in some way or another, including tech companies, I'm really most concerned about replacement parts for common household stuff. I had to get rid of a perfectly good Krups blender recently because the glass jug wasn't available anymore. I've heard about modern fridges dying after just a couple of years, and it's so prohibitively difficult to get parts, the whole thing needs to be trashed, which is insane.

    The older I get, the more I appreciate analog devices that work well. Like, have you tried to find a triple-beam balance scale? I was thinking it would be nice to buy a nice little scale for weighing out coffee instead of the ugly $20 garbage ones that I've been buying. The $20 one has tenth of a gram precision, but they're utterly disposable and honestly, they don't look very nice. Well, no way to get any sort of scale that measures to that sort of precision without tracking down old school laboratory surplus, and even then, I really couldn't find what I was looking for. I'll pick up the chase again in a couple years, I'm sure, but boy, they don't make it easy.

    I hope there's a trend back towards repairability. I know that's anti-capitalist of me, but I'm okay with that.

    • Replacement parts (Score:4, Interesting)

      by jeti ( 105266 ) on Tuesday March 02, 2021 @01:48AM (#61114790)
      I was surprised by how easy it is to get replacement parts for things like ovens and fridges. Don't bother with customer support. Just do an online search for the device number and you'll typically find a shop offering all replacement parts, largely independent of the manufacturer.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by antdude ( 79039 )

      Analog, yes like my bone conduction hearing aids. Sure, digital can be customized with many features but their audios suck compared to analog to me.

  • Seems like an easy fix (Score:3)

    by inhuman_4 ( 1294516 ) on Monday March 01, 2021 @06:32PM (#61113608)

    I'm sure companies will have no problem following this directive. Just make the replacement parts obscenely expensive so that almost no one bothers. And keep a small stock from the initial production run to cannibalize for the handful of customer that absolutely insist. Of course now that their products come with repair manuals and last longer they can start charging a higher premium.

    The automotive industry has been moving in that direction for years.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by swilver ( 617741 )

      Oh look, slashdotter finds way to circumvent law. If there even is such a hole in the law (I doubt it, these things are usually mulled over slighty longer than the 3 seconds you took to come up with this shit), what will really happen is that companies not in compliance or trying to fuck the system will be fined or can stop selling their products in the EU altogether.

      You know what's the most fun part? The EU is actually setting the standards. The spineless US is along for the ride only, but you'll get to

      • Re:Seems like an easy fix (Score:4, Interesting)

        by sit1963nz ( 934837 ) on Tuesday March 02, 2021 @01:08AM (#61114740)
        New Zealand and Australia are a decade ahead of the EU. Both countries have "the consumer guarantees act" which gives consumers rights.
        Things must be durable, Free of defect, etc etc. A Fridge can be expected to be fault free for 10-15 years.
        Consumers deal with the shop they bought it from.
        Spares/consumables must be fair and reasonably priced
        You can NOT contract you way out of the act.
        And no, manufacturers have not run away.
        We also have laws covering pricing, the price MUST include ALL taxes, fees etc. What you see on the tag is what you pay.

    • Re:Seems like an easy fix (Score:5, Interesting)

      by sit1963nz ( 934837 ) on Tuesday March 02, 2021 @12:43AM (#61114696)
      The New Zealand consumer guarantees Act is another example where consumer rights come first.
      A Fridge can be expected to be free of fault for 10+ years and its up to the retailer to fix, replace, refund.
      Prices are not higher here, shops are not closing, etc etc.
      Also prices for parts have to be fair and reasonable.

  • Good times! (Score:4)

    by MindPrison ( 864299 ) on Monday March 01, 2021 @07:13PM (#61113840) Journal

    Repair business will once again boom, and we will have more business opportunities.

    As an old service tech, I'm thrilled to hear this!

  • Above a certain price, products must come with 2 or even 3 year warranty. Guess what happened. Shops stopped selling to individuals, the law doesn't apply to companies. Want to buy a $1000 electronic part for your PC? No, no, cannot do that. I can see a similar thing happening with this as well.

  • Fridge with a tablet on the door (Score:3)

    by stikves ( 127823 ) on Monday March 01, 2021 @07:48PM (#61113954) Homepage

    Makes sense for appliances that were traditionally not changed for 20 or even 30 years. My grandma's fridge for example has been rocking for so long, it might even be older than I am. However recent ones with complicated insides quickly give up, or at least parts of functionality do so. (Ice maker => gone, fancy tablet => no longer updating).

    For example, it might make sense to have raspberry pi style "compute boards" that are replaceable. Your "tablet" no longer works: buy a new computer board. Display is broken? Get a new one. As long as they use standard parts it can even be partially upgradable.

    On the other hand, moving this to traditionally fast changing devices could be an issue. My phone was an HTC HD2 10 years ago. It was the most "open" device I ever had. Came with Windows, but unofficially supported Android, Firefox, and Ubuntu. (I actually used Android on it). However even if I still had it today, I would not expect it to be repairable. The CPU or RAM production lines are long gone.

  • With more and more "smart" appliances wanting to get online to function properly, what good is the appliance 5 years down the road if the software was not going to have patches just after 3 years? There *will* be security holes in the software, keep using the appliance then it is just a matter of time before the appliance become part of a botnet, or worse.

  • We want access to fix the things ourselves or by a third party.

  • I got a home warranty on our house when we bought it. It covers all the major appliances and house systems and it has definitely come in handy.

    They covered a rebuild on a 15-year-old A/C unit. That should extend its life for another 5-10 years.

    But ultimately, I would rather have quality products. We have an LG dishwasher that is not even two years old yet and I think it is on its last legs. When it fails, though... I guess a call to the home warranty company will be in order.

  • The actual rules (Score:4, Informative)

    by hankwang ( 413283 ) on Tuesday March 02, 2021 @03:04AM (#61114930) Homepage

    The article is a bit vague about what the rules exactly are. Here is the official list of applicable EU regulations [europa.eu] (search for "1 March 2021").

    Dishwashers: [europa.eu]
    spare parts available to professional repairers for 7 years after market introduction (motor, circulation and drain pump, heaters, piping, door assemblies, PCBs, pressure switches, thermostat, software).
    Spare parts for end users for 10 years after sale: door hinge and seals, other seals, spray arms, drain filters, interior racks and plastic peripherals such as baskets and lids, for a minimum period of 10 years after placing the last unit of the model on the market.
    "delivery of the spare parts within 15 working days after having received the order".

    Refrigerators [europa.eu]: Similar, under Annex II, Section 3.

    Washing machines [europa.eu]: Similar, under Section II, Annex 8.

    TVs and computer monitors [europa.eu] (Annex II, Section D, sub 5):
    7 years after market introduction, for professional repairers: internal power supply, connectors to connect external equipment (cable, antenna, USB, DVD and Blue-Ray), capacitors, batteries and accumulators, DVD/Blue-Ray module if applicable and HD/SSD module if applicable,
    10 years after last sale, for end users: external power supply and remote control for a minimum period of seven years after placing the last unit of the model on the market;

    There's quite a bit more than spare parts in those regulations. Have a look at them; they are not that difficult to read; they are more like engineering specifications than law texts.

  • Throw-away electronics is a ecological nightmare, so the idea is good. However, it would also be due to price in the eco - balance and have the market adjust. When regular smartphones go from 200 euros to 1000 euros there will be another strong incentive to make them repairable.

  • How does one decide when something is too small repair? What is a component? Is a battery a component, or is a cell a component? Is a screen a component that must be replaceable? A screen consists of several layers of plastic, each of which could possibly be replaceable. Do you want to replace a car tire or do you want to retread it? Now consider that a car tire costs much more, than a complete cell phone.
  • Why is everyone complaining that washers, dryers and refrigerators of today do not last 20 years? If you are using, particularly, a refrigerator that is 20 years old, you are not receiving the benefits of efficiency engineering. While whitegoods engineering is _mature_ it is not _static_. Your 20-year-old refrigerator has probably cost you as much wasted electricity as the price of a new, more efficient model.

    Similarly it always makes me chuckle to see someone slap the hull of the 1980s washing machine in

  • As someone who is apt to try and fix things rather than throw them out, I think part of the problem is just pricing of replacement parts.

    I paid $175 for my microwave. The plastic handle on the front broke. A new 10 inch plastic handle? $45. That's over 1/4 the price of the entire item.

    I haven't done any firm research but I'd be willing to bet if you assembled an entire item from replacement parts you'd be paying dozens of times more than buying an assembled one.

    If they skirt the intent of the law by mak

  • Clearly, this illustrates the fact that bureaucrats have zero understanding of technology. What happens if a company designs a product around a third-party component that gets EOL'ed two years later?

  • In the end, the extra cost will be paid by consumers. I'm not sure it will increase the quality of the goods sold, just the price and might even lower the quality, since repairs are not free out of warranty..

    Nothing stops a company to give the usual warranty, and just jack up the prices of parts so that's cheaper to buy a new one over a repair. That way the stock of parts you need to keep for 10 years is smaller.

    What are "conventional tools"? I mean, glue, and using a hot gun to pry open a smartphone ar

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