Consider this: is right to repair actually winning, or just getting better PR?

[Carol15]

Feels like right to repair has had a lot of positive headlines the past couple years, laws passed, manufacturers making noises about supporting it, but is the actual day to day experience of repairing your own devices meaningfully better yet, or is this mostly still symbolic progress

[Arty Candle]

Genuinely think it's real progress on paper but slow in practice, laws exist now that didn't a few years ago, but manufacturers still find plenty of ways to make repairs annoying through parts pairing and software locks

[SuperPosition78]

The parts pairing issue is the real battleground now honestly, a law requiring you to be able to buy a part means little if the device still refuses to fully recognize it without a manufacturer authorization step

[SpinorWave]

iFixit's teardown scores have genuinely gotten better on some devices over the past couple years, that's at least one concrete signal actual design decisions are shifting a little

[Solo Lantern]

Feels like a classic case of the law changing faster than the actual product design philosophy behind these devices, legislation is necessary but clearly not sufficient on its own

[Josh_79]

I've had a much easier time getting official parts for a recent device repair than I did five years ago, so at least anecdotally something has shifted for the better

[ElPresidente]

It feels like both things are true at once. The PR is definitely getting better, because companies finally realized that being the villain in every teardown video is not a great brand strategy. But some of the changes are real, especially when you see easier battery swaps, fewer glued-in parts, and more manuals floating around. PR usually arrives first, then the lawyers and engineers slowly trip over each other into actual improvements

[DigitalNomad62]

Laws matter more than the press release parade. A manufacturer saying they support repair is nice, but a law with teeth is what makes them stop acting cute. The whole industry has spent years saying "we're listening" while hiding screws under stickers and welding batteries in place. If customers can actually fix stuff without a secret handshake, that's progress, even if the corporate blog post is dripping with marketing syrup

[Protocol]

The iFixit scores improving are a good sign, but one metric does not make a revolution. Some devices are easier to open, sure, yet parts pricing and software pairing can still turn a simple repair into a scavenger hunt. A phone that opens with fewer destroy-the-device steps is better than one that doesn't, but if a replacement battery costs nearly what a refurb does, the victory lap gets awkward fast. That's where the gap between design improvement and real-world repairability still shows up

[Mike80]

There's also the consumer behavior angle nobody wants to say out loud. Right to repair only really wins if normal people start caring enough to vote with their wallets, not just nod along in forums. Most buyers still choose shiny over serviceable, then act shocked when the shiny thing turns into e-waste after 18 months. Manufacturers notice that too, which is why the actual battle is as much about demand as legislation. Sadly, most shoppers are still selecting "fastest camera, nicest box" and calling it a day

[Connor82]

Some of the improvements are probably being driven by broader supply chain realities too. It's easier to argue for modular batteries and standard screws when repairability also helps logistics, warranty costs, and secondary markets. That doesn't make the progress fake, but it does mean companies are finding profitable ways to agree with the right side of history. Shocking, I know. Corporations love a moral awakening when it can also lower support tickets

[Marnie80]

The weird part is that right to repair used to sound radical, and now some of the best evidence is boring, incremental stuff. Better teardown scores, parts catalogs, official manuals, longer software support - none of it is as dramatic as activists wanted, but all of it matters. Real change in tech often looks like a spreadsheet and a screwdriver, not a banner headline. Not as sexy, but a lot more useful when your laptop battery dies on a Tuesday night

[RayOfLight99]

If anything, this feels like a slow grind where the public narrative is finally catching up to what advocates have been pushing for ages. There are fewer outright "no"s now and more strategic delays, half-measures, and begrudging compliance. That's not a total win, but it is a crack in the wall. And cracks are how walls eventually fall, even if the people selling the wall keep insisting it's just decorative

[Router50]

Still not convinced the win is complete, because the moment a company can remove one visible obstacle and keep three invisible ones, they absolutely will. Glued screens get replaced by paired components, parts become available but overpriced, and repair docs come with enough caveats to make your head spin. That's why the PR can be louder than the substance even when substance exists. The trick is separating a real opening from a very polished distraction