Compare commits
3 Commits
06b9946f7b
...
1e09d22d34
| Author | SHA1 | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1e09d22d34 | |||
| 4ee51ed8c9 | |||
| 0b2716a069 |
150
news/2023/news-20230807-01.en.xhtml
Normal file
150
news/2023/news-20230807-01.en.xhtml
Normal file
@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
|
||||
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
|
||||
<html newsdate="2023-08-07">
|
||||
<version>1</version>
|
||||
|
||||
<head>
|
||||
<title>Unleash the potential of your phone: Rooting your device does not void its warranty</title>
|
||||
</head>
|
||||
|
||||
<body>
|
||||
|
||||
<h1>Unleash the potential of your phone: Rooting your device does not void its warranty</h1>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>As users we sometimes face the issue of rooting our devices. We may
|
||||
want to <a href="/fsfe.org/activities/android/">regain control of our
|
||||
device</a> or we may want to <a
|
||||
href="/activities/upcyclingandroid/upcyclingandroid.html">keep using a
|
||||
device with an outdated operating system</a>. But we are afraid of losing
|
||||
our legal warranty. Let’s be clear: Just rooting your device and
|
||||
installing new software will not void the statutory warranty.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<figure>
|
||||
<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/53/e1/dbab450c6284ac9ec94d85fbafce.jpg"
|
||||
alt="An illustration about the right to repair"/>
|
||||
<figcaption>CC-BY-NC-SA BY <a href="http://rahak.net/work.html">Rahak</a></figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>EU law stipulates that consumers should have a minimum 2-year
|
||||
guarantee (statutory warranty) when acquiring a new device. However,
|
||||
in the past few years, vendors have tended to include specific clauses
|
||||
stating that if the consumer changes the device, the warranty will be
|
||||
void. That is why the question of whether rooting or flashing a device
|
||||
voids the statutory warranty is quite recurrent. <strong><u>The answer is no</u></strong>.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>The FSFE has previously addressed this <a
|
||||
href="/activities/android/flashingdevices.html">issue</a>. In short, if
|
||||
you
|
||||
acquire a device as a consumer in the European Union, the mere fact
|
||||
that you have modified or changed the software of your device by
|
||||
rooting or flashing it is not a sufficient reason to void your
|
||||
statutory warranty. </p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>Since our previous discussion of this topic, the <a
|
||||
href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019L0771">Sale
|
||||
of Goods
|
||||
Directive 2019/771 (the SGD)</a> was enacted, repealing the previous
|
||||
1999/44/CE Directive, which provided the original statutory warranty.
|
||||
The SGD deals with the contract of sale between a consumer and a
|
||||
seller, and it entered into force on June 11, 2019, applying its
|
||||
provisions to any contract concluded after January 1, 2022.<a href="#section1">[1]</a> </p>
|
||||
|
||||
<h3>Reasons to root your device</h3>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>Rooting the phone and installing Free Software <a
|
||||
href="/activities/upcyclingandroid/upcyclingandroid.html">extends the
|
||||
lifespan of the device</a>. Most phone devices are not controlled by the users, but by the manufacturer
|
||||
and the operator of the telephone network. The software that runs on them is not entirely Free Software.
|
||||
Even Android phones ship with non-free software and proprietary add-ons
|
||||
that often work <a href="/activities/android/android.html">against the full interest of the user</a>.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Through rooting or flashing a device, the user can take complete
|
||||
control over it. When consumers buy a phone they buy the physical
|
||||
aspects of the phone. They should be free to choose which
|
||||
software should be on their phone without having the fear of losing
|
||||
the warranty. Monopolies hurt fair competition and consumers.
|
||||
Companies/vendors regulating operating systems which provide critical online
|
||||
services, results in limiting user choice and freedom. <a
|
||||
href="/activities/deviceneutrality/index.html">The devices
|
||||
should therefore be neutral</a> so as to enable the users to freely choose
|
||||
any software on their phones without any conditions.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<h3>The SGD is on your side</h3>
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
<p>At the FSFE we have already analyzed <a
|
||||
href="/activities/upcyclingandroid/is-flashing-legal.html">the
|
||||
changes brought in by the SGD</a> and how they impact rooting and
|
||||
the statutory warranty.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>The SGD covers goods with digital content, including smartphones,
|
||||
smart TVs, smart watches, and fitness trackers<a href="#section2">[2]</a>. All such goods covered
|
||||
under the SGD must have a <strong>mandatory two-year warranty</strong><a
|
||||
href="#section3">[3]</a> from the seller
|
||||
that the product will meet the purposes for which products of the same
|
||||
type would normally be used. One of the main changes enacted by the SGD
|
||||
is the reverse burden of proof. This means that if your device becomes
|
||||
defective <strong>within one year</strong><a href="#section4">[4]</a>,
|
||||
it is presumed that the defect was present
|
||||
all along, and you do not need to prove anything; instead, it is the
|
||||
seller who has to prove that this is not the case. This period was six
|
||||
months under the previous 1999/44/CE Directive. </p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>There are currently no instances of litigated cases about warranty
|
||||
issues when rooting, flashing, or jailbreaking smartphones in Europe,
|
||||
nor has there been a rule or provision on this issue. This makes the
|
||||
legality of such acts unclear. So, you can root your phone, but if you
|
||||
wish to keep the warranty intact without any problems, then reverse the
|
||||
root to the stock operating system and check if everything was undone.
|
||||
If the stock OS functions as it should, then you do not have an issue.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<h3>Future Updates to Keep An Eye On</h3>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>Lastly, you should know that the SGD is relatively new as it came
|
||||
into effect in January 2022. The European Commission, under the
|
||||
Sustainable Consumption of Goods-Promoting Repair and Reuse Programme,
|
||||
has already introduced a proposal for a directive to make some changes
|
||||
to the SGD to accommodate repairing obligations on the producers and to
|
||||
encourage consumers to choose repair over replacement if there is a
|
||||
possibility. This can also have an impact on the subject matter of this
|
||||
article.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>The FSFE will keep you updated on this issue as and when there are more developments.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
<footer>
|
||||
<hr style="width:50%;text-align:left;margin-left:0"></hr>
|
||||
|
||||
<p id="section1"><small>[1] Article 23 of Directive 2019\771</small></p>
|
||||
<p id="section2"><small>[2] Recitals 12, 13, 14, 15 and Article 2 of Directive 2019\771</small></p>
|
||||
<p id="section3"><small>[3] Article 10 of Directive 2019\771</small></p>
|
||||
<p id="section4"><small>[4] Article 11 of Directive 2019\771</small></p>
|
||||
|
||||
</footer>
|
||||
|
||||
</body>
|
||||
|
||||
<tags>
|
||||
<tag key="front-page"/>
|
||||
<tag key="legal">Legal</tag>
|
||||
<tag key="upcyclingandroid">Upcycling Android</tag>
|
||||
<tag key="sustainability">Sustainability</tag>
|
||||
<tag key="deviceneutrality">Device Neutrality</tag>
|
||||
|
||||
</tags>
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
<discussion href="https://community.fsfe.org/t/1058"/>
|
||||
<image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/53/e1/dbab450c6284ac9ec94d85fbafce.jpg"
|
||||
alt="An illustration about the right to repair"/>
|
||||
|
||||
</html>
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
Loading…
x
Reference in New Issue
Block a user