Within the past decade, technology has changed a lot. Phones have improved, and laptops have gotten thinner and lighter. But not all changes to technology have been good changes for the customers. Phones that used to offer replaceable batteries, now come glued to the phone, making it very dangerous to remove without professional expertise. Manufacturers now use special screws to discourage people from getting access to their insides.

All of these types of practices have slowly started to turn a device that was at one point something you could upgrade down the line, to something that is disposable in a few years. For example, MacBooks used to have upgradable RAM and Hard drives, now they both come soldered to the logic board. To make matters worse, these computer companies will make it extremely hard to service these devices even if you have soldering experience since they use proprietary chips that are flashed per device. These practices aim to eliminate third party repair since these shops don’t have access to any of this information. This is essentially creating a monopoly on certain repairs and forces you to go to them.

Imagine having to replace your tires of your car and having to, by law, take it to your dealership instead of a tire shop. The dealership now is the only entity that can service your car, so they can charge whatever they want to change those tires. If they are they only one that can legally change your tires, they can just recommend you buy a new car since repairing it costs too much money.

This is essentially what these new tech companies are doing with these phones and laptops. Apple charges up to $599 to just replace the back glass on their phones. At this rate, they just expect you to buy a new phone and be done with it.

Right to Repair Laws have caught national attention lately and these laws offer a way for these repair shops to better do their jobs. It opens up the access to parts and plans so they can better do a repair. To learn more about these laws and contact your local representative click here.