Oregon Passes Bill That Would Make iPhones More Repairable Everywhere

Update: 3/27/24 - Gov. Kotek has now signed the bill and it is now law.

Oregon’s legislature just passed a right to repair bill over the objection of Apple lobbyists, and which would require Apple to change an anti-repair design in the iPhone and other devices. If signed by the governor, it will become by far the strongest repair law in the nation. 

Gov. Tina Kotek will have five days to sign it into law. 

The key part of this legislation is that it forbids “parts pairing,” which is the artificial locking of repair parts to a specific device. This is something that Apple does with the iPhone: You cannot swap the screen from one iPhone 15 to another iPhone 15 without that part being paired to the new phone by proprietary Apple software. The use of parts pairing is the most critical way that Apple has managed to maintain a strong hold on the iPhone repair market. Under this legislation, Apple will have to find a way to do away with its parts pairing regime.

Notably, this legislation was supported by Google, which is the first time that Google has supported a right to repair bill. And it was opposed by Apple, who was a longtime opponent of right to repair, then lobbied for a right to repair bill in California that didn’t include parts pairing, then lobbied against this bill, which will impact its business practices. 

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