The tech industry is still a Wild West of consumer protections. Europe’s been making some progress, but we’re especially behind in the US. Here are some protections we should be demanding of our legislators:
The right to easily, and safely revert to a past version of any software, especially the OS, that the device has previously supported
Don’t like that a patch removed functionality that you need? You should have the right to undo it without having to jump through hoops, and without risking damage to the device
The right to a full refund if a manufacturer or one of their third party partners removes functionality that you can’t get back for free, within 5 years of owning the device
i.e. If you have the means to easily revert to a previous version of the software but the capability remains disabled for reasons unrelated to wear and tear, the manufacturer should be on the hook for making your device inferior to the one you purchased
This would also make it the manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure that OS versions which have reduced functionality are only applied to new models that aren’t currently in circulation
If the change originates with a third party partner, the manufacturer should be required to develop a fix before being permitted to push the software version
There should also be massive fines for manufacturers that pull the same crap HTC did with the Droid Eris: they released an end-of-life patch that disabled significant, core functions in an attempt to force users to upgrade to new devices. For example, it made all pictures self-close after 3 seconds no matter what you did, and they disabled the music player
This would merely make existing bait and switch laws catch up to the realities of the high tech world we live in. We are entitled to this protection, because it’s one we already have with any other physical product
The right to have hardware design that is easily fixable
Manufacturers have been increasingly favoring designs that are hostile to repair, because they get more money by making you buy a new phone or use only authorized repair people
Examples include embedded batteries under the false pretenses of water proofing, proprietary screws that you can’t remove without specialized tools, integrating cheap to repair components into more expensive components to require replacing both, etc
Replacing a battery should be as simple as replacing a lightbulb; repairs shouldn’t force you to spend a significant amount of money and have to wait for a technician when it can easily be a simple process you can perform without specialized knowledge or tools
The right to buy durable products
Phones are being designed to be increasingly fragile, due to the overly thin form factors and materials that simply aren’t strong enough to handle everyday life
There’s no reason that phones should be a disposable product that’s replaced every year or two, due to component failures and physical damage. Companies should be required to make hardier devices instead of trying to force you to pay for more and more repairs
