Yahoo Finance You could soon get your iPhone fixed without Apple waiving your warranty
In most cases, attempting a smartphone repair at an independent servicer would waive your right to get your handset fixed for free from the manufacturer, but all that could change.
Australia’s consumer affairs ministers will Friday discuss whether Australians should have the right to repair their phones and other electronic goods, rather than throw them out.
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While ACT consumer affairs minister Shane Rattenbury will be pushing the cause in a bid to stop e-waste, it could have flow-on effects for users wanting to get their phones repaired cheaply.
The proposal will also mean manufacturers like Apple and Samsung will be forced to make products more repairable, and stop design concepts that deliberately seek high turnover in goods.
"It is about building products that can be easily disassembled, that can be opened up, the spare parts are available, and then take standard tools to repair them," Rattenbury he told, the ABC reported.
"It is important that devices such as smartphones and others are included because they're expensive.
"And they if they have such a short life, they will be thrown away and replaced, and that simply becomes more e-waste being stockpiled all around the world."
The 'Right to repair' movement
The ‘right to repair’ movement advocates for the right for consumers to fix the electronics and other items they own.
The movement has been gaining traction in the US, with two 2020 Democractic presidential candidates – senator Elizabeth Warren and senator Bernie Sanders – getting behind the cause.
But while smartphone manufacturers have been relentlessly fighting the movement, Apple has now introduced an ‘Independent Repair Provider Program’, which is designed for companies interested in offering out-of-warranty repair service for iPhones.
The program, which will launch in the US first before being rolled out to other countries, will mean Apple iPhone owners can hand down used phones to friends and family, limiting e-waste and making the product more affordable for its new owner.
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