The Right to repair is the concept that every consumer has the right to repair their devices such as phones, tablets, laptops, etc. Legally everyone has this right and there are no laws against repairing your devices, but companies make it difficult to actually repair your device in order to bolster their revenue and maintain control over your device. Companies will do this by limiting access to parts, documentation, and making it more difficult to open the device. 

One of the most prominent companies to be anti-right to repair is Apple. Apple is notorious for its ecosystem of devices, and this ecosystem expands to its repair ideology.

There is no easy way to get real Apple repair parts such as a screen or battery. For example, if your iPhone screen breaks your only options are going to an Apple store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

Neither of these options gives full control to the consumer or even the repair shops. For a repair shop to become an authorized service provider they must jump through many hoops and limit themselves to only battery and screen repairs. For many repair stores, it is not viable to receive authorization limiting the options for users. However, it does not have to be this way.

Companies like iFixit, Valve, and Framework are making a serious push to improve the right-to-repair landscape. iFixit runs a forum where they strive to provide “The Free Repair Manual.” On this forum, there are countless guides to repairing devices. Included with these guides is a reference to any parts or proprietary tools needed with iFixit selling most of them.

Valve is partnering with iFixit for their recently released Steam Deck, a handheld gaming device, and the Valve Index, a virtual-reality device. This partnership includes official repair parts which iFixit will provide guides for.

Through this partnership, users will be able to repair their Valve devices from the comfort of their homes and make it easier for repair shops to serve customers. 

Framework is a company that revolves around the same idea as the iFixit and Valve partnership. They develop laptops that can be completely repairable without the obstructions that come with many other laptops.

Framework provides all the parts, tools, and guides needed to conduct any repair on the laptop including the mainboard allowing for simple upgrades.

The ability to easily upgrade and repair your laptop means you would only ever have to buy one laptop and simply repair anything that breaks, or upgrade the mainboard when you want more computing power. Framework gives complete control to the users making everything accessible and open-source. 

iFixit, Valve, and Framework are paving a way for the right to repair, which other companies should look to model. You should care about this because it can save you money and have serious environmental implications.

With Apple controlling the repair ecosystems they can set the prices for repair which leads to ridiculous prices. These prices can drive consumers to throw out their old devices and just buy a new one, creating a serious e-waste problem.

E-waste is a rising concern as many throw out a mostly working phone for a small defect. With the right to repair users will no longer have to pay absurd prices and can help the environment.