EU Right to Repair: What's Owed

The charging port quit first, then the screen lifted at one corner, and the shop's quote crept toward the price of a new phone. Before you accept that, know that the EU right to repair gives you a claim on the maker itself, for covered products, from 31 July 2026.

What does the EU right to repair oblige a maker to do?

A maker of a covered product must repair it within a reasonable time and for a reasonable price, so the duty is a fair-priced fix, not a free one. The European Commission's page on Directive (EU) 2024/1799 (read 16 October 2026) says the rules apply from 31 July 2026, which means the maker, not just the shop, is now someone you can ask.

Hardware, software or contract barriers to repair are prohibited unless justified by “legitimate and objective factors”, the Commission adds. A pairing lock can therefore be challenged, but “justified” is an escape hatch, so expect no automatic win. For a blunter approach, see how parts-pairing bans in US states set hard dates.

Which products? The full Annex II list is unverified here, because the EUR-Lex text would not load. Ireland's consumer regulator, the CCPC, published guidance on 7 September 2026 naming starter products that include mobile and cordless phones, tablets, e-bikes, e-scooters and external hard drives. A storage drive is in scope for repair, but repair is not data recovery, so keep a copy (that last point is my inference, not the rule). Check the current annex before relying on any list.

Four numbers decide whether you can plan a repair. The Commission sets the quote window on its standard form. A 2024 Council of the EU note (ST 6153/24, background only) describes that form as free. The CCPC counts the starting product types. Germany, per the Verbraucherzentrale consumer advice body, limits how long phone parts may take to arrive.

The delivery limit is the one to use as leverage. If a repairer quotes a screen part slower than Germany allows for phones, ask for the delivery date in writing, because a stalled part is how a quick fix turns into a replacement. Batteries run on their own clock under the separate EU rule on replaceable phone batteries.

Does repairing extend the warranty, and what does a quote cost?

Choosing repair over replacement adds an extra year of legal guarantee, and the quote itself depends on the maker, since the rules require a reasonable price rather than a fixed fee or free work. The Commission says “an extra year”. Verbraucherzentrale puts a number on it: Germany extends the limitation period once by 12 months, from two years to three, only for purchase contracts from 31 July 2026. Germany is the worked example, since each country transposes the directive its own way.

My own arithmetic, not a source's: a phone bought on 30 July 2026 and one bought a day later can differ by a full year of cover in Germany, because the cut-off falls on the purchase contract. Read the date on your receipt before you choose. Then set the quote against the price of a replacement, and treat repair as the winner only if it costs less.

Where can the repair duty still fail you?

The duty can still fail you in four ways: you pay a reasonable price, the quote form is optional, the German year skips earlier purchases, and no EU-wide repairer directory exists yet. On the last one, the Commission expects the European Repair Platform to be operational in January 2028, so for now you find a repairer yourself.

Then the grey area. In my view the “justified” carve-out is the weakest clause in the directive: a maker can dress almost any lock as security, and only a test case will settle it. That is opinion, not a finding.

One more limit. Readers in the UK or India are not covered by this directive, though India has its own yardstick in India's repairability index, which helps decide when repairing beats replacing. Before you hand anything over, watch for these:

• A diagnosis fee can be charged even if the repair never happens, so ask first.
• No standard form from the repairer? Get the price in writing anyway.
• A part promised later than the limit for your product is a flag.
• A drive repair is not data recovery.

This week, find the receipt, read its date, and email the maker (not only the shop) asking for a written repair quote on the standard form. Then decide: repair if the quote undercuts a replacement, because it also adds cover; replace if it does not, and keep the quote as proof of the price you were given.