Oregon Just Passed a Monumental “Right to Repair” Law
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek officially signed a new Right to Repair law Wednesday that will make it much easier to repair our stuff—at least in Oregon.
Much of the law follows in the footsteps of right-to-repair laws passed by New York , Minnesota , and California : tech companies that sell their products in Oregon will have to allow customers and third-party repair shops to buy things like parts, tools, and schematics most electronic devices. The law is also retroactive for these devices, applying to smartphones released on or after July 1, 2021, and most other electronic devices sold on or after July 1, 2015. This means that if you live in Oregon, Apple will need to let you buy parts for that MacBook you bought almost nine years ago.
While these consequences alone would be a welcome change, what sets this Oregon law apart from the other three states is its ban on “part pairing,” a term that describes when companies prevent unauthorized parts from operating in their devices. Mating parts may also cause your device’s functionality to be blocked if these unauthorized parts are installed. We saw this with Apple with the iPhone 13 : if you replace the display with an unauthorized screen, iOS will disable Face ID. (Apple later reversed course.)
But instead of relying on public backlash to bully companies into doing the right thing, Oregon’s new law ensures that no company selling electronics in the state can remove functionality because a user installs a part they don’t approve of. . However, unlike the other side of the law, the part pairing law is not retroactive: it will only apply to devices manufactured after January 1, 2025. So while your existing electronics like phones and laptops may continue to have the part-matching policy, everything you buy in Oregon in 2025 will be banned.
What does this mean for maintainability?
If you live in Oregon, your ability to repair your products yourself will greatly improve, especially if you buy one in the next year. But what’s great about this law is that it doesn’t just apply to the devices we think of when we talk about repairability: it also applies to most electronic devices you own. If your smartwatch breaks or you can no longer vacuum, these manufacturers should offer you the option of purchasing tools that can fix your devices rather than forcing you to buy new ones.
The main exceptions here are medical devices, agricultural equipment, devices powered by an internal combustion engine (unfortunately, your gasoline-powered car won’t be covered), or gaming consoles. So while Microsoft may not have to worry about helping you repair your Xbox, it will have to offer parts and documentation for your Surface.
The right to repair is really about two things: first, it’s about allowing consumers to continue using the devices they paid for. Companies are too used to abandoning cheap products when they fall apart. If they are required by law to offer ways to repair these products, not only will we be able to repair our devices more easily, but we’ll also see companies start making more durable products – at least that’s the hope.
The second part of the movement, however, is trying to put the power in the hands of the consumer when it comes time to repair these devices. Sure, getting your appliance fixed is great, but if it costs a fortune because you’re forced to do it the way the manufacturer wants it, it’s hardly better than buying something new. Providing customers and third-party repair shops with access to parts and documentation levels the playing field and makes repairs more accessible to everyone.
As states pass these laws, we see improvements for everyone: Apple has a do-it-yourself repair program that allows anyone to buy genuine Apple parts and follow instructions to repair their products, just like Samsung does . However, they are far from perfect: Apple’s program in particular is expensive . Hopefully, the more right-to-repair laws passed, the more accessible DIY repairs will become.