RELEASE: Oregonians will soon have the Right to Repair

PORTLAND, Ore. – On January 1st, 2025, Oregon’s Right to Repair Act comes into effect for the state. This law allows Oregonians to fully access the materials they need to repair their own electronic devices and appliances, including all necessary parts, tools, documentation, and software access. 

OSPIRG released a new consumer resource ahead of the bill’s effective date so Oregonians are equipped with the information they need to use their right to repair. 

Oregon’s Right to Repair law applies to all digital electronic devices and appliances sold after 2015, except for cell phones, for which the law applies to those first sold in the state after July 1, 2021. Certain other kinds of devices are also exempted, including agricultural and medical equipment and video game consoles.

The law also bans the anti-competitive use of the practice of “parts pairing” to hinder independent repair. Parts pairing is the practice by which manufacturers serialize and identify individual component parts in their devices. For many devices, if one were to repair it and replace a part without an “authorized technician,” the device would display misleading error messages that the device had a “non-genuine” part. This practice will be outlawed for devices first sold in Oregon after January 1 of 2025.

 “When tech companies withhold access to what we need to fix our products, they force us to replace our items rather than repair them and send waves of devices straight to the dump,” said Charlie Fisher, OSPIRG’s State Director. “It’s clear that in Oregon and across the country, people are fed up with manufacturers preventing us from repairing our own stuff. Oregon’s law – which also bans parts pairing – is a groundbreaking win for independent repair.”

If you have a broken device and want to use your Right to Repair, you can check out OSPIRG’s guide for the steps you should take to access the parts, tools, and information you need.