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The Right to Repair Is Law in Washington State
- froggertoaster 1y agoCompanies like John Deere have way overplayed their hand, and I'm glad to see the regulatory winds are changing.
- sleepybrett 1y agoThis law does not apply to tractors or game consoles. It's neutered as all fuck. From the article: Of course, these wins come with carve-outs. HB 1483 exempts: Video game consoles Medical devices Motor vehicles Agricultural and construction equipment Security systems and alarm equipment Internet and TV equipment from ISPs Off-road recreational vehicles Large-scale energy storage and solar gear Low earth orbit broadband gear (until 2044)
- dghlsakjg 1y agoBy 2026 my dishwasher is going to have a forced update to run Doom in an effort to be classified as a video game console, isn’t it?
- 20after4 1y agoI don't know if the assholes behind these restrictions are clever enough to think of that loophole. Thanks for giving them the idea!
- thrance 1y agoNo need for that much effort, just have a horde of lawyers convince lawmakers that dishwashers are actually medical devices, that help relieve wrist pain from doing the dishes. A bit of brib- lobbying might help the lawmakers understand if the arguments aren't enough.
- EndsOfnversion 1y agoI think you’ll find “Hurt me plenty” is sufficient for all but the toughest baked on food stains.
- 1970-01-01 1y agoIf Samsung gets Doom to do LAN multiplayer with the coffee machine and the refrigerator, then they all deserve the title of video game console.
- ourmandave 1y agoIt will be a patched Doom that doesn't let you upgrade or fix your armor.
- sidewndr46 1y agoAnything connected to the internet ought to be a "Security system" and should therefore be exempt as well
- peterjmag 1y agoNot sure if the link was changed by the mods or something, but just a heads up that your quote's from the iFixit article [1], not the EFF one [2] [1] https://www.ifixit.com/News/110039/double-trouble-for-repair-monopolies-washington-passes-two-right-to-repair-bills https://www.ifixit.com/News/110039/double-trouble-for-repair... [2] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/06/right-repair-law-washington-state https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/06/right-repair-law-washi...
- CobrastanJorji 1y ago...but those are most of the things I want to repair. Did the check from HP not clear?
- Reubachi 1y agohilariously, this states right to repair law does not include road going or ag vehicles. Ya know, the impotus for this now hijacked initiative. "tell me the state of washington protects failing US auto manufacturers and shade tree mechanics without saying it". But hey, at least now I can rest assured knowing that korean smartphones are now going to be a little cheaper to repair in wshington.
- mschuster91 1y agoRoad vehicles should already be covered by existing right-to-repair rights, are they not? Otherwise, how would independent repair shops still exist?
- pavon 1y agoPurely due to industry norms, no laws that I am aware of. For example Tesla makes it much harder for third parties to repair vehicles both by not making parts available and by using DRM/part-pairing/phoning-home to require authorization from them to replace some parts.
- tadfisher 1y agoIt's a traditional benefit of decoupling the sales and maintenance of vehicles from the manufacturer. The manufacturer should not care who buys their parts, so it should be purely an additional revenue stream. ASE certification means any shop can carry out warranty repairs and the manufacturer doesn't have to have repair shops and staff in every city/town. That said, it's not just Tesla that has broken this model; Volkswagen Auto Group in particular are famous for requiring proprietary tools and software packages to diagnose and repair their vehicles, and refusing to sell tools/software to independent shops. I think some manufacturers are just more tightly coupled to dealerships, so there's a profit motive in forcing all repairs to happen through them.
- userbinator 1y agoAlso the not-to-be-underestimated culture around car modding and the aftermarket, which has lead to a situation where you can build a stereotypical mid-century vehicle with entirely aftermarket parts, but parts availability falls drastically for anything newer.
- connicpu 1y ago"Low earth orbit broadband gear" is incredibly specific lol, I believe there's exactly 2 companies with large offices in Washington that would apply to.
- alpb 1y agoDoesn't that include all home Starlink devices?
- connicpu 1y agoPlus Amazon's Kuiper when it eventually launches
- dylan604 1y agoI'm not familiar with BO's rocket offerings other than the New Glenn phallic thingy. I chuckled thinking they'd just have the passengers open the hatch and push the new satellites out and hope they push hard enough to reach orbit.
- shawn_w 1y agoStarlink is one of those 2 companies (or grandfather commenter miscounted and meant 3)
- abnercoimbre 1y agoEverything you listed is what the typical Washington resident will WANT to repair. How is this law even worth celebrating? And how did these companies obtain these exemptions?
- sleepybrett 1y ago.. just like every other carve out exception. Bribes.
- usui 1y agoWhy do right-to-repair bills always have these kinds of exclusions? These are pretty important categories.
- tomwheeler 1y agoLobbyists
- sidewndr46 1y agoSo it carves out most of the stuff I could reasonably expect to be covered under this? The only thing I can see covered would be cell phones and DVD players
- walterbell 1y agohttps://www.ifixit.com/News/110039/double-trouble-for-repair-monopolies-washington-passes-two-right-to-repair-bills https://www.ifixit.com/News/110039/double-trouble-for-repair... Come January 1, 2026, manufacturers must also stop using parts pairing to block repairs for these devices. That means no more pop-ups that say “unknown part” when you swap in a working screen. No more downgrading your camera or fingerprint sensor just because you repaired your own phone. SB 5680 goes even further for wheelchair users. It covers power wheelchairs, manual wheelchairs, power-assist devices, and mobility scooters. Manufacturers will have to provide not only parts and tools, but also firmware and embedded software, the stuff that’s often used to digitally lock out independent fixes.
- jasonthorsness 1y agoHere is the bill for consumer electronics: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=1483&Year=2025&Initiative=false#documentSection https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=1483&Year=202... Text as passed (for pasting into LLM :)): https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/1483-S.PL.pdf?q=20250604085723 https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Ho... I wondered what it would mean for small manufacturers and they are not exempt however o3 believes "in practice, your duty is limited to providing whatever service manuals, firmware-pairing utilities, and spare parts you already possess (or have made for warranty work) and making them available at cost, digitally for free." EDIT: as people below have posted, o3's "at cost" is misleading, the text actually says "at costs that are fair to both parties"
- rafram 1y agoPretty much all of that o3 output is wrong. You could at least check its work before posting.
- sokoloff 1y agoWhy would anyone believe that spare parts would need to be provided at cost? I’m a proponent of right to repair, but that would be an absurd over-step (and be a strong force to ensure that no spare parts are available to anyone).
- 0xbadcafebee 1y ago> a soldier struggling with a broken generator Are there generators you can't fix right now? I assumed most of them are pretty basic designs, an ICE with either an inverter or non-inverter generator. You can look up how to tear them down and repair them step by step on YouTube (including commercial units)
- octoberfranklin 1y agoLarge generators are fuel-injected, which requires a microcontroller with software. In the 1990s that software was write-once, non-upgradeable, and bug-free because it was trivial. But it hasn't been that way for a long time. "Fuel injection requires software" turned into an exploit vector for feature creep.
- technothrasher 1y agoTo be needlessly pedantic, fuel injection does require a micro. I only say this because I deal with classic Bosch K-Jet systems often.
- paddy_m 1y agoDetroit diesel two strokes were entirely mechanical. As were cummins engines like b5.9 with a bosch p-pump. In fact all diesel engines have fuel injection, and they were all mechanical up to the 80s/90s.
- mikestew 1y agoI assume you meant to say does not require a microcontroller, given that Bosch K is a mechanical FI system.
- userbinator 1y agoThere's also analog EFI, which was rare and expensive and otherwise not great: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendix_Electrojector https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendix_Electrojector The early electronic components were not reliable in an underhood environment and were not easily modified as engine control requirements advanced. Most of the 35 vehicles originally equipped with Electrojector were retrofitted with 4-barrel carburetors.
- net01 1y agoisn't this a copied and pasted version of the one in Texas that Louis Rossmann talked about in his video ( https://youtu.be/C_ohgeWKcOY https://youtu.be/C_ohgeWKcOY ) ? With the same loophole, i.e., selling assembly parts meaning screen with hinge and camera etc(expensive). instead of just the display(cheap). Apparently, there is one slight variation > https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44182235 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44182235
- wetpaws 1y ago[dead]
- CrimsonCape 1y agoIt appears that the Washington bill excluded power tools whereas the Texas bill did not, which means that in Texas I should be able to swap dead lithium cells out of my expensive power tool batteries.
- FuriouslyAdrift 1y agoWe've been using these at work and they are great! https://ceenr.com/ https://ceenr.com/
- dylan604 1y agoJust took a look here, and I didn't see anything over 20V offered. I'm in the market for 40V versions for some of my gear. I also have Gold mount and V-mount type batteries that I'd love to have the cells replaced. If you think power tool batteries are expensive, take a look at film/video batteries!
- bityard 1y agoVery interesting. Maybe I can afford Milwaukee tools now! Their tools are good, and sold bare, for semi-reasonable prices but their batteries are eye-wateringly expensive. (I should probably pick one of these up before Torque Test Channel does a video on them and they end up getting sold out for a year.) Edit: I'm referring to the PDNation universal battery + brand-specific adapter in particular.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- bityard 1y agoI fully support right-to-repair but do you need a law to repair batteries? You can buy a battery build kit for M18 tools (for example) on AliExpress that comes with everything but the cells. I'm a bit of a tool nerd and I'm not aware of any power tools that are doing DRM in their tools to prevent usage of third-party batteries but I don't mind being wrong so I know which brands to avoid.
- senbrow 1y ago
- divbzero 1y agoWill companies be forced to design products that can be repaired in any state? Or are there ways they can still restrict repairs for states without right-to-repair laws?
- connicpu 1y agoI imagine they will simply only provide the required parts/software/documentation to customers/repair shops who prove residency in a state that has these laws.
- edoceo 1y agoWhat if I buy in WA, from a WA store and a WA manufacturer but live in ID?
- vkou 1y agoIt'll follow WA laws. You could live on the moon for all anyone would care, if the sale is in WA, it's covered by WA laws.
- scottyah 1y agoThey will do a cost-benefit analysis, I'm sure, but most likely it'll just turn into small businesses not selling in the restrictive states, and large companies making different versions. One of the versions will probably be better in almost every way except lack of right-to-repair compliance.
- zkmon 1y agoI might need an ELI5 here. "Right to repair" as in "right to choose someone who repairs"? Don't think anyone stops you from repairing your own stuff yourself.
- throawayonthe 1y agoMany manufacturers take active measures to prevent or discourage you from repairing your own stuff yourself
- jrajav 1y agoIt's almost never been a question of how to execute the repair - rather, it's a matter of repercussions for repairing 'yourself' (or authorizing a third party to on your behalf). Actors like John Deere and Apple have taken steps that are actively hostile to self-repairs, from voiding service agreements that have nothing to do with the repaired parts, up to bricking your device.
- GuB-42 1y ago> Don't think anyone stops you from repairing your own stuff yourself. They do. By making the parts needed for repairs unavailable to you. And by making it really hard for other manufacturers to make compatible parts.
- _kidlike 1y agoeasiest example: most components of a macbook laptop have their serial number baked in the OS (or some hardware controller, idr). So even if you can find a legit macbook part from another laptop, and you can even replace it yourself (which is also impossible but that's another story), the laptop won't boot. In order for it to boot, you need a special device which "official apple repair" people have, which can bake-in the new part's serial number.
- scottyah 1y agoGreat from a security perspective, as far as mass stealing and swapping/scrapping parts for resale is concerned. I wonder how they'll prevent it now.
- 1970-01-01 1y agoThe full bill is here: https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/1483-S.PL.pdf https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Ho... It's only 12 pages and is easy to understand.
- sheiyei 1y agoI hope "easy to understand" doesn't translate into "has loopholes" this time.
- lenerdenator 1y agoHonestly, given the current administration and Congress, I could see this being the focus of a federal lobbying effort to "reduce burdensome state regulations that limit consumer choice, kill jobs, and increase prices".
- andelink 1y agoNot that I’m dissatisfied by this being on the front page, but why is this article news right now? The bills were delivered to the governor in April and then signed in May. Regardless, this is great news!
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- rkagerer 1y agoAxis locks out certain useful features in their IP cameras unless you install an Axis-branded SD card. Since Axis doesn't actually manufacture SD cards, they are obviously rebranded high-endurance cards from one of the major fabs (possibly with some minor firmware parameter tweaks). Except, they cost twice as much and aren't as generally available. Would this law have any bearing on that business practice?
- tialaramex 1y agoInteresting. I know at work we use a lot of Axis cameras, but I don't know if we use those features (which ones?) or whether we bought their SD cards.
- rkagerer 1y agoWithout the Axis-branded SD card, they axe or deteriorate access to the cameras from mobile devices. Namely, you cannot add the camera to a site for access from Camera Station Edge. This applies to both the desktop and mobile flavors of the software. On the desktop version of Edge, there's a little-known hack you can make to a config file to override the behavior. But this means you need to drag a computer to the physical site for the initial provisioning. There is no such override available on the mobile app. (Also depending exactly how you provision, the Storage, Motion Detection and Continuous Recording toggles will be disabled when viewing the device in Edge). It's a weird place to gatekeep, and reeks of pure sales / marketing driven impetus.
- pnw 1y agoWhile this is overall good progress, this bill was watered down by WA politicians after meeting with their corporate donors. Someone already mentioned the video game console exemption, there were a number of other changes, detailed here: https://ethicalhour.com/ethicalbusiness/microsofts-bold-move-supporting-right-to-repair-legislation/ https://ethicalhour.com/ethicalbusiness/microsofts-bold-move...
- Yhippa 1y agoDoes this mean I can go to Washington to tune my Audi S5 that protects the TCU with encryption?
- buildsjets 1y ago034 Motorsport can't help you with that?
- drdaeman 1y agoI wonder if the scope of "diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of digital electronic products" is extensive enough to be usable for requesting protocol documentation for purposes of integrating products with systems from different vendors (such as DIY). Plenty of IoT stuff has proprietary "hubs" or "cloud services" (that frequently pose reliability, privacy and security problems), and I'm really curious if this law could be used to repair this design defect.
- avodonosov 1y agoDoes it include the right to decompile and modify any software?
- gosub100 1y agoand nevada! https://www.kolotv.com/2025/06/04/lombardo-signs-cell-phone-right-repair-bills-into-law/ https://www.kolotv.com/2025/06/04/lombardo-signs-cell-phone-...
- GnarfGnarf 1y agoWould this also apply to a vendor’s encrypted file format?
- devwastaken 1y agoThis doesnt do anything. Sellers have rights to not have liability for their products as long as you agree. this means they will make you agree to terms before buying the product. terms that will be far more obtuse than what you would have had before. you have to incentivize the market to build repairable products. the proper solution is the complete removal of software and hardware patents or copyright. our age is control of production, everythings been engineered already.