43 votes

Cellphone unlocking, jailbreaking and repairing now legal in US

Posted by bemuzed
Tags: jailbreak, dmca, drm, unlocking, usa, telecoms, right to repair, law, consumer electronics, rights.consumer, maintenance, phones.smart, author.kyle wiens, source.ifixit
https://ifixit.org/blog/11951/1201-copyright-final-rule/

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Title
Copyright Office Ruling Issues Sweeping Right to Repair Reforms
Authors
Kyle Wiens
Published
Oct 25 2018
Word count
2080 words

14 comments

  1. [3]
    bemuzed
    Link
    Highlights: You can now jailbreak Alexa-powered hardware, and other similar gadgets—they call these ‘Voice assistant devices.’ You can unlock new phones, not just used ones. This is important for...

    Highlights:

    • You can now jailbreak Alexa-powered hardware, and other similar gadgets—they call these ‘Voice assistant devices.’
    • You can unlock new phones, not just used ones. This is important for recyclers that get unopened consumer returns.
    • We got a general exemption for repair of smartphones, home appliances, or home systems. This means that it’s finally legal to root and fix the Revolv smart home hubs that Google bricked when they shut down the servers. Or pretty much any other home device.
    • Repair of motorized land vehicles (including tractors) by modifying the software is now legal. Importantly, this includes access to telematic diagnostic data—which was a major point of contention.
    • It’s now legal for third-parties to perform repair on behalf of the owner. This is hugely important for the American economy, where repair jobs represent 3% of overall employment.
    22 votes
    1. [2]
      StellarV
      Link Parent
      Also important to note:

      Also important to note:

      The ruling was not without some bad news:

      • Our game console repair petition was denied, meaning repairs of PS4 and Xbox One systems are going to stay expensive.
      • Products that are not ‘smartphones, home appliances, or home systems’ or ‘motorized land vehicles’ are excluded. So boat and airplane owners are still out of luck.
      • An exemption request by Bunnie Huang and EFF to bypass HDCP, the copy protection on HDMI for the purposes of expanding the TV ecosystem was denied.
      15 votes
  2. [4]
    alexandre9099
    Link
    wait, was it ilegal to repair your own stuff at home?

    wait, was it ilegal to repair your own stuff at home?

    11 votes
    1. [3]
      bemuzed
      Link Parent
      Yes. Still is. If I understand things correctly, only recognized third-party services are permitted to do repairs, not device owners.

      Yes. Still is. If I understand things correctly, only recognized third-party services are permitted to do repairs, not device owners.

      12 votes
      1. teaearlgraycold
        Link Parent
        Right to repair still has a long way to go. At least we're making progress.

        Right to repair still has a long way to go. At least we're making progress.

        7 votes
      2. alexandre9099
        Link Parent
        well, in portugal (not sure if all EU) if you modify/try to repair your device, your warranty may get refused, not sure if that is the same as in USA

        well, in portugal (not sure if all EU) if you modify/try to repair your device, your warranty may get refused, not sure if that is the same as in USA

  3. [5]
    alessa
    Link
    Copyright news that's actually a bit uplifting, that's pretty nice. I'd read about the issues farmers had repairing their own stuff and it was downright depressing. That's a picture of classic...

    Copyright news that's actually a bit uplifting, that's pretty nice. I'd read about the issues farmers had repairing their own stuff and it was downright depressing. That's a picture of classic Americana - a farmer covered in grease patching up his old tractor with his kid holding the flashlight and passing him tools. Be a shame to legislate that away just because they're patching software nowadays.

    8 votes
    1. [3]
      Akir
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      It's not actually copyright rules, it's idiotic American law news. The DMCA has an absurdly broad coverage that prevents people from breaking any sort of DRM. The copyright office was given power...

      It's not actually copyright rules, it's idiotic American law news. The DMCA has an absurdly broad coverage that prevents people from breaking any sort of DRM. The copyright office was given power to create exemptions but this has to be redone every three years.

      6 votes
      1. [2]
        json
        Link Parent
        So is it possible that in 3 years this decision will be reversed/expired?

        So is it possible that in 3 years this decision will be reversed/expired?

        4 votes
        1. cos
          Link Parent
          Unfortunately, yes, it is. Hopefully, the opposite occurs and the right to repair is further expanded rather than destroyed.

          Unfortunately, yes, it is. Hopefully, the opposite occurs and the right to repair is further expanded rather than destroyed.

          4 votes
    2. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. alessa
        Link Parent
        Touche... not a pretty picture. I hadn't and didn't want to consider that. I've read a bit recently on the environmental impacts of modern farming, among other societal and environmental ills, and...

        Touche... not a pretty picture. I hadn't and didn't want to consider that. I've read a bit recently on the environmental impacts of modern farming, among other societal and environmental ills, and yikes. It's easy to lose sleep if you're taking a hard look at how our human world functions, and how it interacts with the natural world.

        3 votes
  4. [2]
    Paradox
    Link
    When it is legal to unlock smartphones, how would I go about doing that?

    When it is legal to unlock smartphones, how would I go about doing that?

    1. bemuzed
      Link Parent
      I wonder if this law affects most carrier policies to only unlock phones for those not on contract, but that’s how I’ve unlocked phones in the past. There are online “services” that will give you...

      I wonder if this law affects most carrier policies to only unlock phones for those not on contract, but that’s how I’ve unlocked phones in the past.

      There are online “services” that will give you an unlock code for a fee. Seems sketchy to me.

      Maybe cell repair shops will start doing it.