Minnesota's right to repair law, in plain English
Minnesota's Digital Fair Repair Act took effect on July 1, 2024. It requires makers of many electronics to offer parts, tools and repair documents on fair terms to independent shops and to owners like you. Game consoles are one of the exceptions.
For a long time, fixing your own electronics was harder than it needed to be. Parts weren't for sale, repair manuals were kept private, and some repairs needed software that only the manufacturer could use. Minnesota passed a law to change that, and as a local repair shop, we think it's worth knowing about.
This is our plain-language summary and it isn't legal advice. For the official version, read the Minnesota Attorney General's page on the right to repair or the law itself, Minnesota Statutes section 325E.72.
What the law does
According to the Attorney General's office, the Digital Fair Repair Act took effect July 1, 2024. It requires manufacturers of certain electronic products to make documentation, parts and tools for diagnosis, maintenance or repair available to independent repair providers and to product owners, on fair and reasonable terms.
In practice, that means the people who make your laptop or phone can't simply reserve all those repair supplies for their own service network. You and shops like ours are supposed to have access as well.
What it covers, and when
The law applies to equipment sold on or after July 1, 2021. So if you bought your phone or laptop in 2019, the law doesn't require anything of its manufacturer, even though you may still have good repair options.
Phones, tablets and computers are the types of everyday products most people think of, and they're the ones we see most often.
What it leaves out
The Attorney General's office lists several exclusions, including motor vehicles, medical devices, off-road equipment like farm machinery and tractors, and video game consoles.
That last one surprises people. So a PS5 or an Xbox isn't covered, and the manufacturers aren't required by this law to supply parts for them. That doesn't mean a console can't be repaired, or that repairing yours is illegal. Independent shops repair consoles all the time. It's just that this law doesn't help us get the parts, so we rely on the wider parts market.
The law also has some limits. It doesn't require a manufacturer to provide a part that it can no longer get itself, and it doesn't require it to give up trade secrets. If you're fixing something older or more unusual, parts can still be hard to find.
What this means for you
You have choices. You don't have to go back to the manufacturer for every repair. If your device is out of warranty, an independent shop is a perfectly reasonable place to go.
Ask questions. A good shop will tell you where a part came from, what it means for your device and whether a repair is worth doing. We certainly try to.
Mind your warranty. A manufacturer's warranty is a separate issue from this law. If your phone or console is still covered, check its terms before any repairs, so you don't lose anything by accident.
Do it yourself, if you like. The law helps owners too. If you've got steady hands and a free afternoon, more manuals and parts should be available to you. If you get in over your head, you won't be the first person to bring us a phone in a sandwich bag.
Why a small shop cares
We've been repairing devices in downtown Anoka since 2014. A phone that gets repaired is a phone that doesn't go in a landfill, and a family that doesn't have to buy a new one. We're glad that Minnesota took a stand on it. If you've got a device you'd like to keep going, bring it by and we'll give you our honest opinion.