Apple, Samsung must let customers repair their own phones under new Colorado law

DENVER ( KDVR ) — Gov. Jared Polis signed a new law to expand existing right-to-repair laws to things like cell phones, TVs, gaming consoles and other consumer electronics.

HB-24-1121 , the “Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment” will not go into effect until January 1, 2026.

What is a right to repair?

Colorado first established a right-to-repair for powered wheelchairs in 2022 . That was then expanded to include agricultural equipment in 2023 .

A right-to-repair law gives consumers a right to repair the things they own someplace other than the original manufacturer, whether that be at a third-party repair shop or home.

Under the law, manufacturers must provide parts, documentation, and other resources to third-party repair providers or owners so they can repair broken equipment themselves.

The manufacturers will be able to charge a fee for physical tools but must give consumers access to necessary software tools free of charge under the new law.

Under the new law, phone makers such as Apple or Samsung also wouldn’t be able to put software in their devices to only allow approved replacement parts to work, a practice known as “parts pairing.”

The law specifically defines parts pairing as “a manufacturer’s practice of using software to identify component parts through a unique identifier.” Essentially, if consumers tried to replace an existing phone battery with one from another, identical model, the software would flag it as not genuine using certain identifying markers.

The law prohibits manufacturers from using this practice to prevent installation of used parts, reduce the functionality of devices with used parts in them, or make the device display alerts or warnings about unidentified parts.

Exceptions to the law

The law only expands the right to repair law to consumer electronics. There is still no right to repair certain things such as motor vehicles, boats and planes, some of which require licenses to repair.

Medical equipment besides powered wheelchairs will also not be covered by the right to repair.

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