Microsoft has agreed to increase consumers’ options to repair Surface devices

In response to a resolution filed by shareholders regarding “right to repair” movement, Microsoft has agreed to increase consumers’ options to repair their devices by the end of 2022. In exchange for withdrawal of the shareholder resolution, Microsoft will do the following:

• Complete a third-party study evaluating the environmental and social impacts associated with increasing consumer access to repair and determine new mechanisms to increase access to repair, including for Surface devices and Xbox consoles;

• Expand the availability of certain parts and repair documentation beyond Microsoft’s Authorized Service Provider network; and

• Initiate new mechanisms to enable and facilitate local repair options for consumers.

Microsoft provided the following statement regarding their response to As You Sow:

Microsoft has a longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability. We also have a longstanding commitment to building high-quality, innovative, and safe devices that customers love. We have been taking steps for years to improve device repairability and to expand the available choices for device repair. As You Sow asked us to investigate the connections between our sustainability commitments and device repairability. It was a productive discussion, and we have agreed to undertake that important study, the results of which will be used to guide our product design and plans for expanding device repair options for our customers. For more information on our work around sustainability, including repairability, please consult the Microsoft Devices Sustainability Report.

“This is an encouraging step by Microsoft to respond to the upswell of federal and state activity in the right to repair movement,” said Kelly McBee, waste program coordinator at As You Sow. “Excitingly, this agreement will begin to allow consumers to repair their Microsoft devices outside the limited network of authorized repair shops.”

Source: AsYouSow