Last March Oregon became the seventh state to pass “right to repair” legislation making it easier, cheaper, and more convenient to repair technology you own. The bill’s passage came on the heels of legislation passed in Massachusetts (in 2012 and 2020), Colorado (in 2022 and 2023), New York (2023), Minnesota, Maine and California. All told, 30 states are considering such bills in 2024.

• The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) examined 21 different mainstream tech devices subject to New York's recently passed electronics Right to Repair law, and found mixed results:

  • 9 devices earned A's or B's (including all smartphones)
  • 3 products received D's
  • 6 popular mainstream devices earned F's

• The devices that fared poorly, like the HP Spectre Fold laptop, Canon EOS r100 camera, and Apple Vision Pro/Meta Quest 3 VR headsets, usually lacked spare parts or useful repair manuals.

• While New York's law requires manufacturers to provide tools, manuals, and parts for affordable, easy repair, PIRG says the law has been watered down with loopholes, and there has been no enforcement action taken despite numerous companies failing to comply.

• The cellphone sector has made significant strides in repairability, but other sectors like VR headsets and cameras still have major issues.

• 30 states are considering "right to repair" legislation in 2024, but these bills are at risk of being weakened by industry lobbyists.

I stripped this screw in my laptop and as such can't open the back cover to replace parts.

Things I've tried: -Different size/type screwdrivers -Rubber band -Hammer -Hot glue gun

Edit: got it unsuck. Thanks everyone for the advice

EDIT: I believe I found the answer, it's something turned by this: https://ctatools.com/products/5065

Found some trash on the street that i'd like to take apart, but this screw is in my way.

It's like a hex bolt, but with 5 sides, and rounded (a bit like flower petals).

Here's another picture from the top:

I tried turning it with various tools (hard to get pliars in unfortunately), no success so far. The material is very soft, which doesn't help..

It turned out really nice. Looks like the void extended our wrench a bit, but I think that's fine, it kind of looks like lightning.

Thanks to @krusty@feddit.it, @coke38@lemmy.world, @Deebster@programming.dev, @Ethanol@pawb.social, and @user224@lemmy.sdf.org for helping, and thanks to anyone else I missed.

Edit 3: I've got a base down now, here's link if you can help out. https://canvas.fediverse.events/#x=819&y=76&zoom=8&tu=https%3A%2F%2Fmiro.medium.com%2Fv2%2Fresize%3Afit%3A750%2Fformat%3Awebp%2F1*edo5pVW4hzkNw0s6JCAdMw.jpeg&tw=55&tx=788&ty=55&ts=ONE_TO_ONE

Lemmy canvas is live, would we like to try and build something? The right to repair logo would be cool, but I don't know how well it'd show up as pixel art.

https://canvas.fediverse.events/?a

He's the logo link https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:750/format:webp/1*edo5pVW4hzkNw0s6JCAdMw.jpeg

Maybe we could go close to solarpunk on the middle left? They seem close thematically.

Edit: here's a location I think will work well, just south west of solarpunk. https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:750/format:webp/1*edo5pVW4hzkNw0s6JCAdMw.jpeg ~~Width=55 x=80 y=209~~ see below You can use the template by clicking on setting on the canvas.

Edit 2: I'm looking for a new location

Let's try width=55 x=788 y=55, I'm working on outlining it.

Hi,

I got an old DVR that I would like to use.

Unfortunately on the device itself, no brand, no model name !?

Any idea how can I find any documentation ?

Thanks.

I have a Pixel 4a (with Calyx) for a few years already (start of 2021) and it's still going great. The battery is okay. Everything works nice. It's smooth. It runs everything perfectly fine.

This makes me glad to see that hardware wise this phone was really built to last, I can't even count how many times I dropped it so hard that I was scared to see the damage (which was always either nothing or a broken screen protector)

But software wise I'm screwed as security updates are already gone from Google and I only get the extended support from Calyx which will also end soon.

Now I'm forced to choose between having a phone that is insecure or buying a new one.

So thanks Google for the high quality hardware, but what's up with this software planned obsolescence??

I know this isn't exactly right to repair, but it also kind of is because if Google decided to ditch the 4a, they should be forced to open source the software so that the public can actually repair it.

I'm sure that some of their latest updates can be modified slightly to work for the 4a, but they don't care and for them this is a win-win since they don't have to maintian support and they get new customers who would otherwise be satisfied with an "old" phone.

What happened to the days when an old phone meant a phone that was already crumbling to pieces, and not a fully functional computer that is slightly older then a toddler?

'The car companies want to put small guy out of business.'

A leaked "independent" repair shop contract shows that Samsung requires them to give Samsung the name, contact information, phone identifier, and customer complaint details of everyone who gets their phone repaired at these shops,

Stunningly, it also requires these nominally independent shops to “immediately disassemble” any phones that customers have brought them that have been previously repaired with aftermarket or third-party parts and to “immediately notify” Samsung

It's the second in a row news about Samsung acting agsunst the customers right to repair, showing how much we need good right to repair laws.

As revealed by iFixit, Samsung collaboration never worked well, with parts that were too expensive, and/or glued together (like a battery+screen replacement!)

Moreover Samsung never really tried to make their designs more repairable.

ifixit blog post is full of episodes, like when Samsung and iFixit announced an upcycle program, and then Samsung disappeared.

Ok, Samsung is cleared not interested in making their product repairable.

Basic blender went bad (motor ran but spindle wasn't rotating). I wanted to disassemble to see if it could be repaired. Three of the four screws were Phillips head. I had to cut the casing open in order to discover why I couldn't unscrew the fourth. It was a slotted spanner.

OnStar reports location and speed data to the car manufacturer. Sometimes they will sell this data to insurance companies to raise your premium, as several news stores pointed out a few weeks ago. I couldn't really find an advantage to OnStar, (I have my phone to call emergency services) so I disabled it by pulling it's fuse.

For my 2019 bolt, it's f31 in the instrument panel fuse box, just down and to the left of the steering wheel. The fuse box cover comes off when you pull it hard from the bottom.

I was able to find which fuse went to OnStar in the owners manual and labeled on the inside of the fuse box cover. You should be able to find it for your model car there too if it uses OnStar.

I did have the casualty of my speaker for calls and texts. I'm not able to use it right now. I'll see if I can dig in and reconnect it somehow, but we'll see.

Who knows that other into they're snitching back to GM, or what they could do in the future, so I recommend disconnecting it. Good luck!

Oregon has officially become the seventh state (behind New York, California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Maine, and Minnesota) to pass “right to repair” legislation, making it easier and m…

I’ve just watched the video. I find it pretty outrageous. The word about it should spread.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/15970180

I dropped my launch edition steam deck last night on carpet and while all the buttons still worked- something was rattling inside of it. After I opened it up I discovered a missing chunk of plastic from the R2 trigger, that piece presses against another to keep the button from over articulating. I suspect this trigger absorbed most of the impact, there was no other visible damage.

Of course I was upset that I broke it, but so very pleasantly surprised to find ifixit had the trigger in stock and reasonably priced. This availability made me love the deck even more, and really the fact valve made these parts available places the deck above any other competition in my mind.

This machine is built to last, I am so excited to get it fixed and get back to gaming.

Anyone else using the standard edition of DDDL having recent issues with the loss of Parameter access and other key features on Detroit / Freightliners?

First issue I ran into a while back was with replacing an ACM on one of our trucks. The ability to have the ACM programmed at FL, shipped to me and then resetting the Ash Accumulator at our shop was removed from the Standard DDDL software. After nearly a week of dealing with that shit, Detroit finally temporarily upgraded our software to the Professional version and still, the option to 'Replace ACM' is no longer available in the Standard edition.

Fast forward to now, I have a truck that I need to install fog lamps in. So, I need to turn on its Parameter options in the SAMCAB module. All of the parameters in the SAMCAB, SAMCHASSIS, MSF and ICU are no longer available in the Standard Edition software. This literally guts my ability to do many of my required duties at my job as a heavy truck mechanic. These were all modifiable parameters in Standard Edition in the fairly recent past. This really puts me at an unacceptable disadvantage for the work that I do. I'm turning a very significant amount of my outside labor time on work that requires me to have access to Parameters and Options. It's also killing the work I am able perform on our personal fleet trucks as well.

Are any of you mechanics facing this dilemma, as well? Or have any information that may be helpful in my situation? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

If this is posted in the wrong place, any idea where I might better post it? I haven't found any heavy truck threads on Lemmy, yet.

So long, parts pairing?

Thankfully Jonathan was able to take it to an independent repair shop for a $75 CAD adhesive fix (and battery replacement?) despite Apple's restrictions against them.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/12024688

Hi,

I'm looking for a Li-po battery : 3.7V 90mAh

In my country there isn't anymore an electronic shop that can sell it at a reasonable prices.. (taxes etc..)

On Aliexpress I can found them at ~2€ but the postal fee do not make it worth-it.. (~10€)

I travel a lot in Europe (west) so may-be you know still IRL shops where I can buy them ?

Thanks.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/11175984

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/11175612

Off topic, but ownership is a hot topic here, right?

iFixit has petitioned the FTC to write standardized rules for right to repair. A federal ruling on what companies must do to respect your stuff. Your chance to inform policy is here.

Maybe you're thinking, "what difference can I make?" However, the FTC must read all comments that aren't marked as spam or copypasta. Now is your time. The request for comment period ends February 2nd, 2024.

There are less than 6 days left to make your voice heard. Tell the FTC what you think. Let them know about the hardships you've faced trying to fix your stuff. Bring up your concerns about the difficulty in repairing you phone or laptop. Rant about "you'll own nothing," if you like. They want to hear from you and they need ammunition to make the ruling stick.

Your voice matters. Make a difference, the chance comes very rarely. I shot my shot, now what about you?

Comment on Your Right to Repair.

Unlock heated seats and full diagnostics by turning off the power to the amd chip exactly when it's checking authorization. This exploit is very tricky though and requires soldering three wires to the board, so not for the faint of heart.

This is the full talk of the article posted on lemmy a few months ago, but Black Hat only recently posted the full video.

tl:dw from helenslunch@feddit.nl

Google plans to make parts available but not at the level that they should, so they'll continue to be absurdly expensive to the point that you might as well just buy a new one.

https://feddit.nl/comment/6023378