- 7 yrparts availability
- 5-10working days
Your Right to Parts
European requirements. Outside the EU these are not your law, though several jurisdictions have their own repair legislation. This is not legal advice. No affiliate links on this site, and nothing here is ranked.
Under the EU ecodesign rules, spare parts for phones and tablets must be available for at least seven years after the model stops being sold, delivered within five to ten working days. (Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2023/1670.) For a separate workplace perspective on top remote companies, this resource provides additional context beyond device reliability itself.
That is a considerable change, and most people do not know it applies to them.
What the rule actually says
Availability to professional repairers and to end users — the second half matters, because it means parts cannot be restricted to authorised service alone. For broader repair and consumer-rights context, ASUS is another useful reference.
Seven years from the end of placement on the market of the model, not from your purchase. A model discontinued in 2026 has parts obligations running to 2033, regardless of when you bought yours.
Five to ten working days as the maximum delivery time.
Published indicative prices, on a freely accessible website, in euros excluding VAT.
Repair and maintenance information available from the same point.
And non-discriminatory access for professional repairers to any software or firmware needed for a replacement — which is the provision that decides whether an independent shop can complete a job at all, and was the practical obstacle before.
Which parts
The regulation specifies a list, and it centres on what actually fails: battery, display assembly, back cover, charging port, microphone, speaker, hinges and mechanical fasteners among others.
Not everything is covered. A part outside the list is at the manufacturer's discretion, and the mainboard is generally not a serviceable item in this sense.
Which is why the failure order matters — the covered parts are the ones you are statistically likely to need.
Using it
Look up the published price first. It is on the manufacturer's site and it is the number that makes the repair-or-replace arithmetic possible before you speak to anybody.
Then decide who does the work. An independent shop or manufacturer service, which is a separate decision and now a genuine choice for more repairs than before.
And note the model's end-of-sale date where you can find it, since that is what starts the seven-year clock.
When it is refused
Establish what was actually refused. A part being out of stock is different from a part not being supplied, and different again from a repair not being offered.
Ask in writing. A written request produces a written answer, and the answer is what any subsequent step rests on.
Where a manufacturer will not supply a listed part within the stated period, that is a compliance matter for the national market surveillance authority — and this is the point at which advice from somebody qualified in your jurisdiction is worth having, because the route differs by country.
This site does not advise on that route. It tells you the obligation exists and is documented.
Outside the EU
The obligation is not yours, and two things follow.
Manufacturers frequently apply one parts policy globally rather than running two supply chains, so the practical availability often extends beyond the EU.
And several jurisdictions have their own repair legislation with different scopes and different covered products. Check what applies where you are rather than assuming either that the European rule reaches you or that nothing does.
What the seven years does not guarantee
A price you find reasonable.
The obligation is availability and transparency, not affordability. A part priced at most of a replacement device satisfies the rule entirely — which is the gap the repairability score also cannot close.
Nor does it guarantee that a repair is authorised. Parts pairing can mean a genuine part fits and does not function fully, which is a separate question the availability rule does not address.
And it does not cover every device. The rules apply to phones, cordless phones and tablets in defined size ranges — not to laptops, headphones, watches or anything else, each of which sits under different rules or none.
Why this matters more than it sounds
Before this, a repair was possible only while a manufacturer chose to make it possible.
A model discontinued three years ago could simply have no parts, and the device became unrepairable by decision rather than by design.
Seven years of guaranteed availability changes what "keeping a device" means — it makes a five-year phone a realistic plan rather than a hope, and it is the single provision on this site with the largest practical effect.
Finding the published price
On the manufacturer's own site, and it is frequently not easy to locate.
Search for the model name with "spare parts" or "repair", and look for a page listing components with prices excluding VAT.
Where it cannot be found, that is worth noting — the obligation is to publish on a freely accessible website, and a price list behind a login or a support request does not satisfy the description.
Keep a note of what you found and when. If a quote later differs substantially, the published figure is the reference point.
What to keep
Three things, from the moment of purchase.
The receipt, which establishes when the device entered service and is what any warranty or consumer rights claim rests on.
The model identifier, precisely — not "the 2024 one" but the model number, because parts and support dates attach to models rather than to marketing names.
And a note of the end-of-sale date if you find it, which starts the seven-year clock and is the thing nobody records.
All three fit in one line in whatever you use for records, and they are the difference between a claim you can make and one you can only assert.
The short version
- In the EU, parts must be available for at least seven years after a model stops being sold, delivered in five to ten working days
- Availability extends to end users, not only to authorised service, and indicative prices must be published on a free website
- Professional repairers must get non-discriminatory access to the software needed for repairs, which was the practical obstacle before
- The covered list centres on what actually fails: battery, display, back cover, port, microphone, speaker and fasteners
- Look up the published price first, since it makes the repair-or-replace calculation possible before you contact anybody
- Outside the EU the obligation is not yours, though manufacturers often apply one policy globally and other jurisdictions have their own rules