I’ve been ranting about “Right to Repair” for years. It’s felt, for the most part, like shouting into the void. For the last decade, we’ve been sold a raw deal: products that are glued shut, locked by software, and designed to be thrown away the second a single component fails. It’s a culture of digital landfills, and it’s the exact opposite of what we stand for at Modded. We’re about modifying, tinkering, and owning the gear we buy.
If you can’t fix it, you don’t own it. Period.
For a long time, the situation looked bleak. But as we’re closing out 2025, I’ve got to admit, I’m feeling something I haven’t felt in a while: optimism. The tide is finally turning. This was the year the “Right to Repair” movement stopped being a niche complaint and started becoming the law of the land.
The Legislative Hammer Finally Dropped
The real shift wasn’t a change of heart from corporations; it was a legislative hammer. After years of groundwork, the state-level laws passed in places like New York, California, and Minnesota are finally showing their teeth. These laws, which seemed like minor procedural wins at the time, are now forcing manufacturers to do the one thing they’ve spent billions to avoid: make parts, manuals, and diagnostic tools available to everyone, not just their “authorized” (and wildly expensive) repair networks.
We’re seeing the domino effect right now. By early 2025, it became clear that it was simply too expensive and complicated for companies to have different policies for different states. California’s rules, being the most comprehensive, are effectively becoming the national standard.
And it’s not just phones and laptops. This year, the movement has momentum in every sector, from medical devices to motor vehicles.
The Two Big Villains Get Their Comeuppance
Let’s talk about the two biggest offenders, because their reactions tell the whole story.
First, Apple. For years, their “Self Service Repair” program was, in my opinion, a joke. It felt like malicious compliance—sure, you could rent a 79-pound toolkit to change a battery, but the process was so complex and the parts-pairing was so restrictive that it was designed to make you give up and just go to the Genius Bar. But now, thanks to these new laws, they’re being forced to simplify the process and—crucially—stop using software locks to brick devices that use third-party or salvaged components. They’re still not happy about it, but they’re complying.
Then, there’s John Deere. This, for me, was always the most outrageous case. Farmers—the original modders and mechanics—were being software-locked out of fixing their own tractors. A farmer would have to wait days and pay a technician hundreds just to authorize a new part. It was absurd. The lawsuits and federal pressure that came to a head this year have been a massive win. Deere has been forced to make its diagnostic software and parts available, breaking the monopoly its dealer network has held for years.
Why This Is About More Than Just Saving Money
This is the part that really matters to me. Yes, it’s great that you’ll be able to get your phone screen replaced for a reasonable price. But this is a much bigger cultural win.
1. It’s the Real Sustainability: For all the corporate talk about “green” initiatives, the most sustainable thing you can do is not buy a new product. The “reduce, reuse, repair” mantra always had “repair” in it, but companies conveniently forgot that part. Keeping a perfectly good laptop out of a landfill just because its battery is shot is the environmental victory.
2. It’s a Vote for Ownership: We’ve been pushed toward a future where we don’t own anything—we just license our music, subscribe to our car’s heated seats, and rent our software. “Right to Repair” is a massive pushback against that. It re-establishes the simple, powerful idea that when you buy a piece of gear, it’s yours. You can open it, you can tinker with it, and you can see how it works.
3. It’s Bringing Back the “Modded” Culture: Companies like Framework have been proving this model can work for years. They built an entire business on high-performance laptops that are designed to be upgraded and repaired. You don’t buy a new one; you just buy a new mainboard or a new port. That’s the future.
The fight isn’t over. Companies will still try to make things difficult. They’ll argue it’s for “security” or “safety.” But the momentum has shifted. For the first time in a long time, the future of gear feels like it’s back in the hands of the people who actually use it. And that’s a future I’m excited to be a part of.
Leave a Reply