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Over the past year, there’s been some indications that consumer electronics companies have given into consumer and regional government demands to support the Right-to-Repair movement in electronics. However, recent events show these companies are not quite fully aboard with Right to Repair, yet.
In a recent video posted by You Tuber Louis Rossman, Rossman noted Samsung is filing a lawsuit against several third-party mobile phone repair companies, which supply screens for Samsung and other mobile phone vendors. According to the video, Samsung is apparently using the suit to block these vendors from importing aftermarket parts to repair phones. Screens commonly crack on mobile phones, and many customers have opted to use third-party repair shops to replace the screens instead of paying higher prices to have Samsung replace them.
Rossmann pointed out that such a regulation would be harmful to do-it-yourself repairers and third-party repair shops and force customers to either replace their phones altogether, or ante up more money for OEM replacement parts. Rossman takes umbrage at Samsung’s contention over the fact designed much of the patented display technology the company designed for these phones would be infringed upon by allowing third-party vendors to operate in the market.
Moreover, Rossman contends it would be difficult if not impossible to enforce by customs officials checking screens.
The Samsung action is odd considering that the consumer electronics giant previously indicated it is supporting the right-to-repair movement. According to a Techcrunch article, Samsung reportedly launched a self-service repair program last March for its Galaxy devices. The article said Samsung would partner with iFixit on the program.
While Rossman makes strong assertions in his video, two other recent YouTube videos hints that Samsung’s design practices are also putting a crimp on self-repair. In the first video, by You Tube user Riki Baker, found that replacing the screen on the Samsung’s A51 phone disables the fingerprint sensor altogether. Baker asserted that unless one has access to proprietary Samsung calibration tools, a new screen would not work with the fingerprint sensor..
Noted You Tube teardown expert Hugh Jeffreys also performed a teardown on Samsung’s A51. Jeffreys noted that the fingerprint sensor in Samsung’s A51 phone stops working altogether due to a recent OS security patch. Jeffreys said reverting that while reverting back to an older OS solves the issue, he said it is unlikely phone users would risk avoiding security patches and make their phones more vulnerable to security breaches.
In his teardown, Jeffreys also found that trying a factory reset and attempting a recalibration does not get the fingerprint sensor working, with the security patch. The problem occurs whether a Samsung or aftermarket display is used. Jeffreys confirms Baker’s assertion that Samsung is now serializing parts so that swapping out one part would disable the fingerprint sensor. He also noted that only authorized repair channels or Samsung can properly calibrate the sensor to get it working properly again.
Samsung’s rival Apple has also touted right-to-repair programs, but their experience in promoting easy repairability has so far been mixed, such as with the Apple iPhone 14.
Spencer Chin is a Senior Editor for Design News covering the electronics beat. He has many years of experience covering developments in components, semiconductors, subsystems, power, and other facets of electronics from both a business/supply-chain and technology perspective. He can be reached at [email protected]
