Aside from the physical repair requirements, part of the same legislation also covers operating system updates for *smartphones* (see Annex II (EU) 2023/1670).
From 20 June 2025, de jure all smartphones sold in the EU must come with at least *five years* of updates.
Also the security updates must be made available to users within four months of them being fixed by the upstream project:
>security updates or corrective updates mentioned under point (a) need to be available to the user at the latest 4 months after the public release of the source code of an update of the underlying operating system or, if the source code is not publicly released, after an update of the same operating system is released by the operating system provider or on any other product of the same brand
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1670/oj
Wonder how that'll have to work for those who root their phones. I know samsung refuses to update rooted phones and has made it difficult to acquire the firmware files to manually update.
Well, if they don't find a way to fulfill the new obligation with their current policies, their policies will need to change to be able to fulfill their new obligation.
will that be 5 years from date of sale (like a warranty) or date of manufacture or date of first release? it makes a big difference since you could buy last year's model and expect 5 years of updates.
"from the date of end of placement on the market to at least 5 years after that date"
IANAL but my interpretation of rule is: if you buy from a first-party seller, you should receive an update for at least five years, starting on the day you bought the device.
Looking forward to replacing my smartphone battery without getting software warnings about the battery (even though I would have ordered it from the manufacturer).
A little anecdotal feedback: I'm French and a number of household appliance manufacturers have more or less anticipated the directive. They don't all take a dim view of it, because it benefits companies with a network of retailers and repairers (so not Amazon and Chinese retailers).
But they have already found a way around it.
I have a Moulinex kettle whose on/off button has broken. The part was designed to break, so it's clearly programmed obsolescence. But this part is not available on its own. It is included in a "kettle body" kit which costs 80% of the price of a new kettle and is only sold to professional repairers.
The problem is frequent enough for people to distribute the STL in order to 3D print the part.
Other brands operate on a fixed-price basis for repairs. Top-of-the-range equipment can therefore be repaired out of warranty at a fair price, but the price is prohibitive for entry-level equipment.
I think we'll have to wait a while for the "They will also be obliged to provide access to spare parts at reasonable prices..." obligations to be tested in court room before we can actually repair our appliances.
11 comments
[ 0.32 ms ] story [ 36.6 ms ] thread> Member States have to transpose it into national rules and apply it from 31 July 2026.
Still good news
From 20 June 2025, de jure all smartphones sold in the EU must come with at least *five years* of updates.
Also the security updates must be made available to users within four months of them being fixed by the upstream project:
>security updates or corrective updates mentioned under point (a) need to be available to the user at the latest 4 months after the public release of the source code of an update of the underlying operating system or, if the source code is not publicly released, after an update of the same operating system is released by the operating system provider or on any other product of the same brand https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1670/oj
IANAL but my interpretation of rule is: if you buy from a first-party seller, you should receive an update for at least five years, starting on the day you bought the device.
Other brands operate on a fixed-price basis for repairs. Top-of-the-range equipment can therefore be repaired out of warranty at a fair price, but the price is prohibitive for entry-level equipment.
I think we'll have to wait a while for the "They will also be obliged to provide access to spare parts at reasonable prices..." obligations to be tested in court room before we can actually repair our appliances.
Sounds more like malicious compliance