Right to Repair... Is it Safety or something else?

[BridgeTroll]

It isn't just your iPhone...

Why American Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors With Ukrainian Firmware
Jason Koebler
Mar 21 2017, 4:17pm

A dive into the thriving black market of John Deere tractor hacking.

To avoid the draconian locks that John Deere puts on the tractors they buy, farmers throughout America's heartland have started hacking their equipment with firmware that's cracked in Eastern Europe and traded on invite-only, paid online forums.

Tractor hacking is growing increasingly popular because John Deere and other manufacturers have made it impossible to perform "unauthorized" repair on farm equipment, which farmers see as an attack on their sovereignty and quite possibly an existential threat to their livelihood if their tractor breaks at an inopportune time.

"When crunch time comes and we break down, chances are we don't have time to wait for a dealership employee to show up and fix it," Danny Kluthe, a hog farmer in Nebraska, told his state legislature earlier this month. "Most all the new equipment [requires] a download [to fix]."

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/why-american-farmers-are-hacking-their-tractors-with-ukrainian-firmware

"Right to Repair" Is About a Whole Lot More Than iPhones
Apple is preparing to do battle with "Right to Repair" legislation in Nebraska, but there's more than just phones at stake.

The Right to Repair movement is getting a major opponent in the form of Apple, according to reports from Vice's Motherboard. And while the battle over repairing phones may take the forefront, there's much more at stake.

"Right to Repair" is legislation would require Apple and other electronics manufacturers to sell repair parts to consumers and independent repair shops. On top of that, the laws would require manufacturers to make diagnostic and service manuals available to the public.

Backed by the lobbying group Repair.org, Right to Repair legislation is currently working its way through eight state-level legislatures across the country: Nebraska, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, Kansas, Wyoming, Illinois and Tennessee. Apple appears to be focusing its efforts on the Nebraska efforts at first, perhaps because Nebraska's unique unicameral legislature (the state has no House or Senate, just one body known as "the Legislature") makes it easier to consolidate lobbying efforts.

According to Motherboard's source, an Apple representative will testify against the bill, LB 67, at a hearing in Lincoln on March 9, alongside AT&T. Collectively, the two companies will argue against the legislation as a matter of safety, saying that consumers who repair their own phones could cause lithium batteries to catch fire. It's a danger that's been in the news regularly, most recently when a fire broke out in a Samsung factory in China.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a25246/right-to-repair-legislation-under-fire-in-nebraska/

[Adam White]

That's very interesting, BT. Thanks for posting that. I wasn't aware of the "right to repair" movement, though I had heard people moaning about iPhones - particularly when lots of them were bricked after a recent software update. The tractor thing is almost funny, though I totally get where the farmers are coming from. I'd never have realised that was an issue.

Would be interested in hearing your take on this. I think it seems reasonable to require manufacturers to allow people to repair their own property. Of course, I assume there would be warranty implications.

[BridgeTroll]

I think more is coming soon... How about being forced to take you car to the dealership... no more DIY or Pep Boys or Bubba's auto repair.  Any computer or electronic devices...

[Jim]

Rather interesting.  The hacker community meets the heartland.

I support the right to repair.  I build my own computers.  I cannot imagine being forced to buy and repair through Dell or HP only.

[Adam White]

I think more is coming soon... How about being forced to take you car to the dealership... no more DIY or Pep Boys or Bubba's auto repair.  Any computer or electronic devices...

It's kind of like the next step in planned obsolescence or something. I guess companies have to figure out ways to make more money. Or new income streams in order to maximise earnings potential or something like that.

What's particularly galling is that you have to pay way over the odds for Apple products as it is. Then you'll need to pay them their inflated prices for repairs. I reckon John Deere tractors aren't too cheap, either.

[remc86007]

Although I generally support the right to repair, forcing manufacturers to produce replacement parts and sell them seems like an overreach.

[BridgeTroll]

https://repair.org/

[BridgeTroll]

Check this out... https://www.ifixit.com/

Never knew this existed but looks like good DIY stuff...

[Steve]

Although I generally support the right to repair, forcing manufacturers to produce replacement parts and sell them seems like an overreach.

I would tend to agree. The other issue is warranties. For example, let's say I open up my iPhone to repair Part A. I fix Part A, but in doing so I damage Part B. Am I under warranty for Part B?

I would say warranties aside, I'm all for consumers truly "owning" an item they bought.

[Jim]

Check this out... https://www.ifixit.com/

Never knew this existed but looks like good DIY stuff...

One of my favorite sites.

I love watching their tear downs of new electronics products.

[TimmyB]

Although I generally support the right to repair, forcing manufacturers to produce replacement parts and sell them seems like an overreach.

I would tend to agree. The other issue is warranties. For example, let's say I open up my iPhone to repair Part A. I fix Part A, but in doing so I damage Part B. Am I under warranty for Part B?

I would say warranties aside, I'm all for consumers truly "owning" an item they bought.

My opinion only but in your scenario, you'd be out of luck.  If you have something under warranty and decide to crack into it yourself, you've made that choice.  No difference (for me) between vehicles or technology. 

That said, I 100% support this right-to-repair movement.  I saw a story (I believe on 60 Minutes) a couple of years ago about these tractor owners and the crap they were going through with the software that ran their machines.  There is no need for that info to be proprietary and confidential, other than to force you to spend more money with that company.

[remc86007]

^Just fyi, vehicles are different under the Magnuson-Moss warranty act. For instance, if you repair or upgrade the intake on your car, the manufacturer can't refuse to fix an issue with the fuel pump as they are unrelated.

[BridgeTroll]

That act seems to apply to all warranties and not at all specific to cars...

[remc86007]

^You are correct, it does apply to things other than cars, my previous post incorrectly implies that the act just applies to cars. I was trying to say that cars, unlike tractors (to my knowledge), have had specific rulemaking from the FTC as a result of Magnuson-Moss.
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0138-auto-warranties-routine-maintenance

[TimmyB]

^Just fyi, vehicles are different under the Magnuson-Moss warranty act. For instance, if you repair or upgrade the intake on your car, the manufacturer can't refuse to fix an issue with the fuel pump as they are unrelated.

I understand that. In his scenario above, however, he was saying he damaged Part B because of his work on part A. In that case I think he'd be out of luck.