Right to repair: all the latest news and updates – The Verge

A new Nintendo Switch 2 could be the poster child for replaceable batteries

2026-03-20T15:59:05-04:00

Nintendo plans to release a Switch 2 revision in the European Union that will let users replace their own batteries, Nikkei reports. The current version of the Switch 2 has a glued-in battery. But Nintendo apparently plans to make the change in order to comply with EU rules going into effect in February 2027 that will require devices to let users easily swap out portable batteries.

The new version of the Switch 2 will be released "soon," and both the console and the Joy-Cons will have replaceable batteries, according to Nikkei. In Japan, the console's specifications will remain the same, Nikkei says. Nintendo didn't immediately reply to a r …

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Pentagon contractors want to blow up military right to repair

2025-11-26T15:18:17-05:00

Military contractors are trying to thwart a widely-supported right-to-repair provision in the annual defense policy bill - and their efforts may pay off. A source familiar with the negotiations tells The Verge that there are significant concerns that the bill's right-to-repair language will be replaced by a "data-as-a-service" model, potentially requiring the Department of Defense to pay for access to equipment repair information.

The move, which right-to-repair advocate and YouTuber Louis Rossmann also highlighted last week, would go against the Trump administration's stance on access to repair materials. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegse …

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iFixit is retroactively giving the Nintendo Switch a 4/10 on repairability

2025-06-03T11:15:45-04:00

The Nintendo Switch, opened.

Would you call the Nintendo Switch easy to repair, what with its infamously drifting joysticks, glued-in battery, tiny and easy-to-damage ribbon cables, and lack of official repair instructions and replacement parts?

iFixit doesn't think so anymore. After giving Nintendo's handheld a rosy welcome at its 2017 debut, the online repair site says the Switch no longer lives up to 2025 standards - and so iFixit is cutting the Switch's repairability score in half, from 8 out of 10 to 4 out of 10.

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Banish Joy-Con drift (hopefully). #zelda #tearsofthekingdom #nintendo #switch #gametok #techtok
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Texas Right to Repair bill passes, heads to the governor’s desk

2025-06-02T17:46:07-04:00

iPhone repair kit (2022)

Texas moved closer to becoming the next state with a right to repair law on the books, as the state Senate unanimously voted 31 - 0 to finalize HB 2963 this weekend. It would require manufacturers to make spare parts, manuals, and necessary tools available for equipment sold or used in the country's second most populated state.

As more states have passed right to repair laws, we've seen repair options and information becoming more widely available nationwide from companies like Apple and Samsung. If the bill is signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, that will add another significant market with these requirements in place.

A pres …

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The US Army is getting in on right-to-repair

2025-05-16T20:24:34-04:00

The US Army is done relying on contractors to repair its equipment. Earlier this month, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll committed to including right-to-repair provisions in all existing and future contracts with manufacturers, a change Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told The Verge will "put an end to our dependence on giant defense contractors who charge billions of dollars and take months to repair critical equipment."

For now, only the Army has committed to securing right-to-repair provisions in contracts. But Warren is pushing for other military branches to adopt the requirement, addressing long-standing repairability problems across the ar …

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FTC sues John Deere for ‘unfairly’ raising repair costs on farm equipment

2025-01-15T10:47:44-05:00

Four John Deere combines harvest wheat in tandem near the farm shop and maintenance yard near Pullman, Palouse Region, Washington, USA. | Photo: Getty Images

John Deere's "unfair" practices raised repair costs for farmers and kept them from being able to make repairs on tractors and other equipment they own, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges in a new lawsuit.

The FTC and attorneys general for Illinois and Minnesota filed suit today in a long-running fight for the right to repair - a battle that's become more heated as Deere increasingly incorporated software into farm equipment. The complaint accuses John Deere of "decades" of unlawful practices that forced farmers to turn to the company's own network of authorized dealers for repairs.

"Illegal repair restrictions can be devastating fo …

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Senators rip into automakers for selling customer data and blocking right to repair

2024-12-20T08:00:00-05:00

A bipartisan group of senators is calling out the auto industry for its "hypocritical, profit-driven" opposition to national right-to-repair legislation, while also selling customer data to insurance companies and other third-party interests.

In a letter sent to the CEOs of the top automakers, the trio of legislators - Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) - urge them to better protect customer privacy, while also dropping their opposition to state and national right-to-repair efforts.

"Right-to-repair laws support consumer choice and prevent automakers from using restrictive repair laws to their financ …

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iFixit now sells official Xbox parts

2024-12-05T20:02:12-05:00

iFixit now sells genuine Xbox parts you can use to repair your Xbox Series X or S and offers official guides to help with fixes. You can browse what's available from iFixit's Microsoft Repair Hub.

"We're excited to be working with Microsoft to keep Xboxes running longer and out of the waste heap," Elizabeth Chamberlain, iFixit's director of sustainability, says in a statement to The Verge. "We now offer official Microsoft parts and step-by-step repair guides for Xbox Series S and Series X, including both the all-digital and disk drive editions."

iFixit's Microsoft Repair Hub also features iFixit's parts for repairing Microsoft Surface devi …

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Apple now sells iPhone 16 and 16 Pro repair parts

2024-11-10T12:16:31-05:00

Apple has begun selling repair parts for iPhone 16 and 16 Pro phones on its self-service repair store. That includes replacements for commonly damaged parts like cameras, displays, and back glass, and follows the release of official Apple iPhone 16 repair manuals in September, as MacRumors notes.

A replacement camera assembly will run you $169 for the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus or $249 for the 16 Pro and Pro Max. And new displays range from $279 to $379, depending on the model. Batteries are either $99 or, for the 16 Pro phones, $119. And if you don't have the tools, you can always rent out one of Apple's heavy, specialized repair kits for $49.

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McDonald’s busted ice cream machines can now be fixed — legally

2024-10-25T12:33:50-04:00

McDonald's always-broken ice cream machines might finally get easier to fix. That's because the US Copyright Office granted an exemption allowing third parties to diagnose and repair commercial equipment - including the ones that make your McFlurries.

Now, franchise owners will be able to break through the digital locks that have blocked them from repairing McDonald's ice cream machines for years. According to the Copyright Office, the exemption will allow people to diagnose, perform maintenance, and repair "retail-level commercial food preparation equipment." McDonald's ice cream machines have become so notorious for breaking that someone …

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