The FTC is investigating PC manufacturers who scare you away from your right to repair

Ever seen 1 of those “warranty void if removed” stickers covering the screw holes connected a gadget? Today, the FTC is reminding ASRock, Gigabyte, and Zotac that they’re illegal.

In fact, the FTC sent letters to ASRock, Gigabyte, and Zotac that suggest the FTC’s concerns aren’t conscionable tegument sticker-deep. Each missive tells the shaper to alteration its warranty and reappraisal its lawsuit enactment practices to marque definite they aren’t illegally threatening your warranty.

“Staff would beryllium acrophobic if GIGABYTE, successful practice, denied warranty sum based connected the warranty provisions quoted supra oregon immoderate akin provision,” reads portion of 1 of the letters.

As of today, each of these companies’ warranties does see specified a threat. The precise archetypal enactment successful ASRock’s warranty reads, “Manufacturer’s warranty volition beryllium null and void if products are modified, damaged oregon different tampered with, for example, the outer lawsuit is opened oregon further optional parts/components are installed/removed.”

Gigabyte includes: “If the manufacturing sticker wrong the merchandise was removed oregon damaged, it would nary longer beryllium covered by the warranty.”

The peculiar right-to-repair instrumentality the FTC is invoking present isn’t 1 of the state-by-state ones that are present taking effect — it’s the national Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act that attempts to support companies from making atrocious warranties and misrepresenting them successful the archetypal place.

“The Warranty Act prohibits warrantors of user products costing much than 5 dollars from conditioning their written warranties connected a consumer’s usage of immoderate nonfiction oregon service, specified arsenic repair service, which is identified by brand, trade, oregon firm name, unless (1) the warranty states the nonfiction oregon work volition beryllium provided to the user for free, oregon (2) the warrantor has been granted a waiver by the Commission,” the FTC writes.

“FTC investigators person copied and preserved the online pages successful question, and we program to reappraisal your company’s written warranty and promotional materials aft 30 days,” the bureau is telling each firm.

iFixit has a blog connected however “warranty void if removed” stickers whitethorn beryllium ineligible successful different parts of the world.