The Android phone maker says go ahead, fix your own phone.

The right-to-repair movement continues to gain steam as another big tech company shows its support for letting people fix their own broken devices.

Google endorsed an Oregon right-to-repair legislation Thursday calling it a “common sense repair bill” and saying it would be a “win for consumers.” This marks the first time the Android phone maker has officially backed any right-to-repair law.

The ability to repair a phone, for example, empowers people by saving money on devices while creating less waste,” said Steven Nickel, devices and services director of operations for Google, in a blog post Thursday. “It also critically supports sustainability in manufacturing. Repair must be easy enough for anyone to do, whether they are technicians or do-it-yourselfers.”

In the Oregon repair bill, manufacturers will be required to provide replacement parts, software, physical tools, documentation and schematics needed for repair to authorized repair providers or individuals. The legislation covers any digital electronics with a computer chip although cars, farm equipment, medical devices, solar power systems, and any heavy or industrial equipment that is not sold to consumers are exempt from the bill.

Google has made strides in making its Pixel phones easier to fix. The company enabled a Repair Mode for the phones last month allowing the protection of data on the device while it’s being serviced. There’s also a diagnostic feature that helps determine if your Pixel phone is working properly or not. That said, Google’s Pixel Watch is another story as the company said in October it will not provide parts to repair its smartwatch.

Apple jumped on the right-to-repair bandwagon back in October. The iPhone maker showed its support for a federal law to make it easier to repair its phones after years of being a staunch opponent.

  • Thetimefarm@lemm.ee
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    11 months ago

    They made a big deal of being the first manufacturer to officially offer parts through ifixit, but a replacement kit for the internal display on the Pixel Fold is over $900 USD. It’s almost the same price as a brand new 512 GB Pixel 8 Pro, but that will have a warranty and is guaranteed to be waterproof, unlike a repaired phone.

    • deegeese@sopuli.xyz
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      11 months ago

      Got any non-folding examples? I’m not surprised to hear a low volume folding screen is $$$.

      • Thetimefarm@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        The 8 pro screen kit is $236 which is lot more reasonable. I just have a hard time believing the inner screen is really half the cost of the phone. I imagine supply is tight and they want to keep people from buying all of them to flip on ebay for like double the price.