What Is Right to Repair? The Movement to Fix Your Own Devices, Explained

What right to repair means

'Right to repair' is a movement advocating for your ability to fix the products you own, or have them fixed by an independent repair shop of your choice, rather than being forced to use the manufacturer's often-expensive service or buy a replacement. It calls for manufacturers to make repair possible: providing access to spare parts, tools, repair information, and designs that can actually be opened and fixed. At its core, it's a simple idea, if you bought it, you should be able to fix it, that has become a significant consumer-rights and environmental cause.

Why repair got so hard

Repairing modern electronics has become surprisingly difficult, and often by design. Manufacturers increasingly use glued-together construction, non-standard screws, soldered components (so parts like storage and RAM can't be swapped), parts 'paired' to the device electronically (so replacements don't work without special authorization), and they restrict access to genuine parts, repair manuals, and diagnostic tools. Some designs make simple fixes, like replacing a battery, needlessly hard. The result: many devices are effectively disposable, expensive or impossible to repair, pushing owners toward costly official service or, more often, buying new.

The case for right to repair

Advocates make several strong arguments. Economic: repairing is usually far cheaper than replacing, so repair barriers cost consumers money and hurt independent repair businesses. Environmental: hard-to-repair devices become e-waste, one of the fastest-growing waste streams, and manufacturing new devices consumes huge resources, so repairability reduces waste and environmental harm. Ownership: if you bought something, you should control it, including fixing it. Fairness: monopolizing repair lets manufacturers overcharge. These arguments, saving money, reducing waste, and genuine ownership, have won broad public support and growing legislative attention in many places.

The manufacturers' arguments

Manufacturers offer counterarguments, some with merit, some self-serving. They cite safety (untrained repairs of batteries or complex devices could be dangerous), security and privacy (unauthorized access to devices), quality control (third-party parts may be inferior), and intellectual property concerns. There's genuine nuance, some devices do involve real safety and security considerations. But critics note these arguments also conveniently protect lucrative repair monopolies and new-device sales, and that requiring repairability need not compromise safety. The debate weighs legitimate concerns against the clear consumer and environmental benefits of repairable products.

The e-waste connection

A crucial dimension is electronic waste. When devices can't be affordably repaired, they're discarded, and e-waste is a massive, growing environmental problem: discarded electronics contain hazardous materials and represent enormous wasted resources and energy. Making devices repairable extends their lifespan, keeping them in use longer and out of landfills, and reducing the demand to manufacture replacements (which is resource-intensive and polluting). Right to repair is therefore closely tied to sustainability: it's not just about consumer convenience, but about reducing the environmental toll of our fast-churning consumption of electronics.

Why it matters and where it's going

Right to repair has gained real momentum: growing public support, legislation in various regions requiring more repairability and access to parts and information, and even some manufacturers beginning to offer self-repair programs and more repairable designs in response. The trend is toward more repairable products, though progress is uneven. For you, it means being an informed consumer: consider repairability when buying (some brands and products are far more fixable than others), support repair when possible, and recognize that the ability to fix what you own is a right worth valuing, for your wallet and the planet.

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See also: iPhone battery health explained: what it means, How much RAM do you actually need?.

Sources

• Right to repair - Wikipedia
• Electronic waste - Wikipedia

Published date reflects the original event date (2025-07-15). This article is original Skillo editorial written from the sources above; facts were verified in September 2026.