iFixit just parted ways with Samsung over its wavering commitment to right-to-repair, but things may be worse than we thought. Samsung apparently forces independent repairers to provide your personally identifiable information – and to report you for using replacement parts.
404 Media has already obtained a leaked copy of a contract between Samsung and an independent service provider stating this for any repair, independent service should send Samsung Yours name, address, phone number, unique serial number and IMEI of your phone, your ‘customer complaint’ and all details of your repair.
What’s more, he tells service stations that they should remove all spare parts outside Yours phone – although it’s probably perfectly legal for you to use third-party parts, and companies have gotten in trouble for offering otherwise.
404 Media says he has “authenticated this contract” and I have personally seen a copy.
Samsung did not respond to 404 Mediarequest for comment; I have contacted Samsung for the past two hours and they have yet to confirm or deny the report.
By the way, these are not just independent workshops — Samsung can add you to a database every time you buy an official spare part. iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens confirms that his company shared some customer information with Samsung as well. If you purchased a genuine Samsung part, iFixit made you agree to give Samsung your email and a list of every genuine part you purchased:
“We do not require this information for any other partnerships and we do not share customer information with any other OEM,” says Wiens.
Wiens says he can’t verify whether Samsung’s independent service provider agreement is the current agreement Samsung makes independent servicers sign because Samsung never provided him with a copy, and the version I saw has the year redacted. (My source tells me it’s from 2023.) It’s possible that Samsung has already replaced its language — or will replace it before July 1, when California and Minnesota’s right-to-repair laws go into effect.
That’s because Minnesota law, in particular, likely wouldn’t allow Samsung to enforce such a contract — it not only requires manufacturers to provide parts on “fair and reasonable terms,” but also specifically prohibits “the part from being registered, combined with, or approved by the original equipment manufacturer.’
(It also prohibits “imposing a substantial obligation to use or restricting the use of the part” and “imposing an additional cost or burden that is not reasonably necessary.”)
Right-to-repair laws vary by state, however: California law, for example, is not as clear on what “fair and reasonable” means. And not every carrier knows its rights or is eager to fight Samsung, which controls 25 percent of the US smartphone market and is by far the top Android vendor in the United States.
Nathan Proctor, senior director of the Right to Repair campaign at the US Public Interest Research Group, says he doubts independent repairers are actually removing replacement parts from people’s phones, regardless of what Samsung wants. It’s a lot of work.
But he believes the shops are giving up customer information – because Samsung will usually know when its genuine parts have been bought and installed and thus be able to track which workshops are out of compliance.
It is not clear (i 404 Media doesn’t say) whether some independent stores make customers clearly acknowledge that Samsung will receive their personal information.
