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Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

theregister.com

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Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#181

Post by tdeck »

sandworm101 wrote: post #147
benrutter wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm not sure how to translate this to the smartphone market though. Fairphone and LaJolla seem to do well in this regard though so back to brand reputation for a lot of this. I'm not here with a silver bullet or anything, but I'd say the EU's energy efficiency labeling works well and has a fairly low level of being gamed/falsified. I don't think there's any big reason why the EU couldn't enforce labeling of a simil…

>> labeling of a similar kind to IFixit's repair-ability Because the public generally does not care one iota about repairability. Phones are more robust these days than ever. A fatal flaw like a screen break occures on the order of years. People just assume that, if something bad does happen, the phone will be out of date and/or no longer getting updates anyway. Many also get thier phones as part of a service plan an…

> Phones are more robust these days than ever.

They are certainly not more robust than ever. The trend of screen glass extending all the way to the edge of the phone and around it has ensured that most people need a case. Back in the 2010s I never used one and my phone would survive many drops.

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#182

Post by pona-a »

oblio wrote: post #97
streetfighter64 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Powerbank: Works with all phones, Doesn't require you to shut down and take your phone apart, Can be charged with a regular phone charger. Spare battery: ???

I would be more optimistic but I ordered some pretty solid power banks from Anker, which should be a top notch power bank manufacturer. Both types of products from them were recalled after about a month for being fire hazards. I imagine it's not universal but it really made me question the product category.

Just like external AUX-type-C DACs, manufacturers took a trivial feature of a smartphone and outsourced it to an array of disposable device vendors with questionable practices

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#183

Post by 999900000999 »

mitxela wrote: post #173
999900000999 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Screens generally break because you dropped the phone and you can take out have the components that way. But no matter what your battery is at 80 or 70 percent in 2 years. Power connectors are much harder to engineer to be replaced. Something has to connect at some point

Delete unused apps and set your phone to flight mode when not using it. This does wonders to your battery life. A 5 year old phone can last a week. Of course this doesn't work if you're expecting to receive calls or notifications.

What’s the point of having a phone then ?

I personally buy mid range phones for around 400$ and then buy new after 2 years.

Better than buying a 1200$ phone and expecting it to last 5 years

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#184

Post by Frieren »

mitxela wrote: post #168
Frieren wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Amazon... The company that looks like a medieval food shop with meat warming in the sun and a big sign that says "caveat emptor" and manned by a slave with very dirty hands. The fact that it still operates in the EU is prove that more tough punishments are needed for corporations that push fraud, dangerous products, abuse of monopolistic position, etc. Amazon in a nutshell.

A government can't ban a company for its reputation - it has to actually do something wrong.

> it has to actually do something wrong.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/apr/...

It is not reputation, it is committing actual crimes...

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#186

Post by welwala »

streetfighter64 wrote: post #42
eloisant wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't need to be able to swap a spare battery like we did 15 years ago. However when your battery is old, and drains fast, it's really nice to be able to order a new one and easily change it by removing 4 screws. Not having to perform surgery on your phone, heating it to remove glue, etc.

Sure, but so far I've replaced my phone screen once and the battery never, I suppose both would be equally easy though. Why is heating a big issue but removing screws not? Shouldn't we mandate user-replaceable screens too? Soon you'll end up regulating all phones to be modular.

Yes please! That would be great. I would love to just be able to replace a screen easily.

And really this is what this law does already.

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#187

Post by welwala »

nradov wrote: post #101
mschuster91 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spare batteries are a nightmare to handle. Far too easy to bend or have something short-circuit the pads, and you have to shut down and restart your phone. However, what is needed desperately is the ability to quickly change a degraded battery.

Nah, when the old Samsung phones allowed user battery replacement it was completely safe and easy to handle. Restarting the phone took only a few seconds.

And the S5 was waterproof and almost the same thickness as the S26 Ultra.

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#188

Post by bmacho »

masfuerte wrote: post #140
juntoalaluna wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the food hygiene ratings are a regulatory thing - https://ratings.food.gov.uk - places are required to show their stickers by law. I'm not sure how the Scores on the Doors website, which is at least related to TripAdvisor, fits into all of this...

The restaurants are proactively inspected but nobody is checking that the sticker on the door matches the real rating unless you do it yourself*. Some companies have been taking the piss. * Which you can at the website you listed.

Make the sticker text + QR link to a website so anyone with a smartphone could verify them if they wanted.

This could work for products too: have webshops add links to verdicts of inspections and also put them on the boxes (in link and QR code form).

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#189

Post by rickdeckard »

mitxela wrote: post #178
rickdeckard wrote: post #138

The notable weak spot for this regulation (like some others) is that the member countries agreed to execute it NATIONALLY, so EU member states had to turn the directive into national law and begin enforcement in 2026. Now the EU is already quite challenged to stand up against US, China (and Korea) when it comes to enforcing such regulation and dealing with accusations from US/China/Korea of "sanctioning sales of thei…

That's how all EU regulations work, the EU is not sovereign, it's more like a localised UN

Sorry, I phrased it incorrectly.

- Regulations are binding acts for all member-countries.

- Directives are goals the union should achieve, but actual execution including laws is up to the local countries.

The handicap comes when important actions like this repairability target are defined as a DIRECTIVE, leaving it up to the local country (and all its lobbying influences) to set up the corresponding laws and governance.

This inevitably leads to delays and fragmentation, tainting the result

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#190

Post by oblio »

mitxela wrote: post #166
oblio wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hint hint to what? South Korea is a very dynamic, tech heavy country and it hasn't managed to push any software product as a market leader. The EU is bigger, but it's fractured, so functionally it's basically 2-3x South Korea in terms of "software power". And that's not enough to compete with the much larger US juggernaut. Only China has managed to hold its own by simply banning US software all together. I'm actually…

Hint hint, if you're European, wake up and make some good software!

The EU needs a real single digital market with single patents, copyright, IP licensing.

The EU also needs easier financing of risky ventures, probably with tax incentives associated.

The EU needs specific regulation to facilitate accelerated scaling across all its countries. This last part is the hardest to do because by definition startups are challenges to big and rich incumbents.

I would just ban US software companies like China did (I'd obviously also ban Chinese software companies, too). The resulting chaos would end up with some pretty solid EU software companies, the know how is there.

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