Merge pull request 'adding news item on rooting' (#3629 ) from news-20230807 into master

Reviewed-on: #3629
adding news item on rooting
2023-08-07 11:18:57 +00:00 · 2023-08-07 13:20:32 +02:00 · 2023-08-07 13:15:16 +02:00
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 <?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>
Author	SHA1	Message	Date
anaghz	1e09d22d34	Merge pull request 'adding news item on rooting' (#3629 ) from news-20230807 into master All checks were successful continuous-integration/drone/push Build is passing Details Reviewed-on: #3629	2023-08-07 11:18:57 +00:00
Ana Galan	4ee51ed8c9	adding news item on rooting All checks were successful continuous-integration/drone/pr Build is passing Details	2023-08-07 13:20:32 +02:00
Ana Galan	0b2716a069	adding news item on rooting Some checks failed continuous-integration/drone/pr Build is failing Details	2023-08-07 13:15:16 +02:00