Most new smartphones still ignore EU repairability disclosure rules while claiming top repair scores

More than 80 percent of smartphone models launched in the European Union over the past year fail to meet the bloc's repairability disclosure requirements, according to findings by Right to Repair Europe reported by The Register. Many of the same manufacturers still assign their devices the highest available repairability grades.

The rules, which cover smartphones and tablets sold in the EU and took effect in June 2025, require manufacturers to publish a self-assessed repairability score and to give owners access to repair information, including spare parts prices and repair instructions. Manufacturers are supposed to record in the European Product Registry for Energy Labelling the web address where that information can be found.

What the review found

Right to Repair Europe examined 2,334 registry records covering smartphone models brought to market over the past year. Only around 18 percent listed a website where spare parts prices or repair instructions could actually be found. Roughly half of the records left the URL field blank, while another 19 percent pointed to a product or support page containing no relevant repair documentation. Some entries redirected buyers to Temu or AliExpress listings for parts and instructions.

Where prices are published at all, they are often unhelpfully broad. The campaign group found replacement batteries listed in a range spanning €14 to €128. Even technically compliant entries rarely offer a direct path to the information: for major brands such as Apple and Samsung, locating parts prices can take considerable navigation, the group says.

Self-graded scores and missing labels

Despite these gaps, some manufacturers that clearly have not published the required information still claim the top class A rating for their repair documentation. The repair score and the link to repair details are meant to appear on a product's energy efficiency label, but that label is missing for a significant number of devices on sale, both in physical stores and online.

Right to Repair Europe argues the problem is enforcement, not the rules themselves. No public authority appears to have checked the declared data, since thousands of empty fields in the registry have gone unchallenged, the group notes. The Register says it asked the European Commission for a response to the findings and had received none by the time of publication.

Thomas Opsomer, iFixit's EU policy spokesperson, speaking for the Right to Repair Europe coalition, said the obligation to publish spare parts prices and repair manuals is a meaningful step forward but needs stronger enforcement. Because repairability scores are self-assigned, he argued manufacturers should be required to publish the documentation behind their scores so anyone can verify them, and reporting non-compliance should be made easier for consumers and repairers.

What comes next

Further EU rules take effect in February 2027 requiring new mobile devices to ship with batteries users can replace themselves, with exemptions for product categories such as wearables. That requirement will push changes in hardware design regardless of how the disclosure regime performs.

Why it matters

For device owners, the shortfall has direct consequences. Without published parts prices and repair instructions, it is difficult to judge whether a repair is worth the cost, compare repair options, or attempt the work independently. The self-reported scores that shoppers are supposed to rely on when choosing a phone may overstate how repairable a device actually is. The episode also illustrates a wider risk with disclosure-based regulation: obligations that no authority verifies tend to be ignored, and registries full of blank fields offer consumers little protection.