6 ms·

US farmers win right to repair John Deere equipment

35 points by willm 4y ago

mensetmanusman 4y ago
In the end, it will be a benefit for these OEMs to enable repair. Everyone has a labor shortage, so sending out manuals and repair tools will soon be cheaper than fixing it themselves, it’s better for the environment, and once a farmer learns how to repair this version of the device, they aren’t going to want to change to a different tool and learn how to fix the thing again.
- nullish_signal 4y ago
  "once a farmer learns how to repair this version of the device, they aren’t going to want to change to a different tool" There's the reason for all this obfuscation and anti-repair BS. How can John Deere sell new Tractors, and how can McD's help their Ice Cream Repair friends, if everything is fixed on-site, and each Purchase lasts 2-10 times as long? Very bad for Profits.
  - remarkEon 4y ago
    I’m skeptical this is actually true in the long run, especially for capital equipment that needs to last as long as farm equipment. If Deere enables self-repair, and does a modest job helping customers do that, why would you buy any other brand?
- randomdata 4y ago
  Thing is, Deere's entire business model is built around trying to be the most repairable brand around. Hell, they even own A&I Products, the leading aftermarket farm equipment part supplier. If you didn't want people to repair equipment, being in the business of selling aftermarket parts targeted at the self-repair market would be a strange one to be in. The contention, of course, is around their software systems that have paid upgrades. If they supply tools and manuals you'll be able to enable paid features for free and that's what they want to avoid. Same as every other software business, frankly. Not even HN gives you the ability to fix problems with this forum because they're afraid of what you'd be able to enable if they gave you access.
  - avmich 4y ago
    > Not even HN gives you the ability to fix problems with this forum because they're afraid of what you'd be able to enable if they gave you access. Can you provide a link, please?
    - randomdata 4y ago
      A link to what?
      - Phrenzy 4y ago
        How I can plow a field using a website.
        randomdata 4y ago
        Strange tangent, but I guess you're looking for JDLink? https://signin.johndeere.com https://signin.johndeere.com
idle-rig 4y ago
No, farmers are being granted permission to repair their equipment, and absent a legal mandate, it can be revoked at any time.
- randomdata 4y ago
  When, exactly, did we become not permitted to repair our own equipment for this to change anything? I own some John Deere farm equipment and repair it myself, when I don't hire my mechanic neighbour to do it for me, all the time. The parts desk down at the Deere dealership never had any qualms giving me the parts I needed.
  - zardo 4y ago
    Have you changed any parameters in the firmware? What was that process like?

35 points by willm 4y ago

In the end, it will be a benefit for these OEMs to enable repair. Everyone has a labor shortage, so sending out manuals and repair tools will soon be cheaper than fixing it themselves, it’s better for the environment, and once a farmer learns how to repair this version of the device, they aren’t going to want to change to a different tool and learn how to fix the thing again.

nullish_signal 4y ago
"once a farmer learns how to repair this version of the device, they aren’t going to want to change to a different tool" There's the reason for all this obfuscation and anti-repair BS. How can John Deere sell new Tractors, and how can McD's help their Ice Cream Repair friends, if everything is fixed on-site, and each Purchase lasts 2-10 times as long? Very bad for Profits.
- remarkEon 4y ago
  I’m skeptical this is actually true in the long run, especially for capital equipment that needs to last as long as farm equipment. If Deere enables self-repair, and does a modest job helping customers do that, why would you buy any other brand?
randomdata 4y ago
Thing is, Deere's entire business model is built around trying to be the most repairable brand around. Hell, they even own A&I Products, the leading aftermarket farm equipment part supplier. If you didn't want people to repair equipment, being in the business of selling aftermarket parts targeted at the self-repair market would be a strange one to be in. The contention, of course, is around their software systems that have paid upgrades. If they supply tools and manuals you'll be able to enable paid features for free and that's what they want to avoid. Same as every other software business, frankly. Not even HN gives you the ability to fix problems with this forum because they're afraid of what you'd be able to enable if they gave you access.
- avmich 4y ago
  > Not even HN gives you the ability to fix problems with this forum because they're afraid of what you'd be able to enable if they gave you access. Can you provide a link, please?
  - randomdata 4y ago
    A link to what?
    - Phrenzy 4y ago
      How I can plow a field using a website.
      - randomdata 4y ago
        Strange tangent, but I guess you're looking for JDLink? https://signin.johndeere.com https://signin.johndeere.com

idle-rig 4y ago

No, farmers are being granted permission to repair their equipment, and absent a legal mandate, it can be revoked at any time.

randomdata 4y ago
When, exactly, did we become not permitted to repair our own equipment for this to change anything? I own some John Deere farm equipment and repair it myself, when I don't hire my mechanic neighbour to do it for me, all the time. The parts desk down at the Deere dealership never had any qualms giving me the parts I needed.
- zardo 4y ago
  Have you changed any parameters in the firmware? What was that process like?