Right to repair in the EU: what manufacturers must now fix

What changed on 31 July 2026?

Directive (EU) 2024/1799 of 13 June 2024 sets common rules to promote the repair of goods. Member states had to bring their national laws into line by 31 July 2026 and apply them from that date. Because a directive works through national law, the timetable is not the same everywhere.

It brings three separate changes:

• During the legal guarantee: if you choose repair, the seller stays liable 12 months longer, once, for all goods from bicycles to laptops.
• After the legal guarantee: for ten product groups, the manufacturer must repair at your request.
• More transparency: manufacturers publish information on repair services and indicative prices. A European online repair platform is due by 31 July 2027.

Which products must manufacturers repair?

The obligation covers only product groups for which an EU regulation sets repairability requirements. The directive lists them in Annex II:

• household washing machines and washer-dryers
• household dishwashers
• refrigerating appliances such as fridges and freezers
• electronic displays, including TVs and monitors
• vacuum cleaners
• mobile phones, cordless phones and slate tablets
• household tumble dryers
• goods with batteries for light means of transport, such as e-scooters
• welding equipment, servers and data storage products

The European Commission adds groups when new product rules with repair requirements are adopted. According to the European Consumer Centre Germany (EVZ), coffee machines, toasters and headphones are not covered, and laptops are not listed either.

The age of the model matters too, because the obligation only reaches as far as the relevant product regulation. According to the EVZ, the EU spare-parts rules apply to models on the market since 1 March 2021; for phones and tablets, to devices first placed on the EU market from 20 June 2025.

The period runs from when the model is no longer sold in the EU. According to the EVZ, parts should normally arrive within 15 working days at most, and within 5 to 10 working days for phones and tablets. New phones and tablets must also get at least five years of software updates.

What must a manufacturer offer when it repairs?

The manufacturer's duty applies to faults outside the seller's liability, for example after the legal guarantee has ended or when you damaged the device yourself. The rules are:

• Price: free of charge or at a reasonable price. Outside the guarantee you usually pay, but not an excessive amount.
• Time: within a reasonable period from when the manufacturer has the device; the directive sets no fixed number of days.
• Loan device: the manufacturer may lend you one during the repair, free or for a reasonable fee, but does not have to.
• Refusal: if repair is impossible, there is no obligation, and the manufacturer may offer a refurbished product instead. It may not refuse just because someone else repaired the device before.
• Spare parts and prices: parts and tools at a reasonable price that does not discourage repair, and indicative repair prices on a freely accessible website.
• No blocking: contract clauses and hardware or software techniques that impede repair are only allowed for legitimate, objective reasons, such as protecting intellectual property.

If the manufacturer is based outside the EU, its authorised representative takes on the duty, otherwise the importer, and finally the distributor. You remain free to use any repairer you choose. What to check with a refurbished device is covered in Buying a refurbished phone: check condition, battery and guarantee.

The European Repair Information Form

Repairers may give you this standard form setting out price, duration and conditions. It is voluntary and free, though a needed diagnosis may be charged if you are told in advance. The conditions stay fixed for at least 30 calendar days; accept within that time and the repairer must carry out the repair on those terms.

Tip: Ask before handing over a device whether the diagnosis costs anything. For a phone, back up your data first, as described in Handing your phone in for repair: prepare your data.

Legal guarantee: how does choosing repair add 12 months?

If a fault appears within two years of purchase, the seller is liable everywhere in the EU. In principle you can choose between repair and replacement. The new rule: if repair is the remedy, the seller's liability period is extended once by 12 months. Member states may set longer periods.

The extension does not apply to sales contracts concluded before 31 July 2026. According to the Verbraucherzentrale Niedersachsen, Germany applies it to all goods bought from 31 July 2026, from phones and laptops to bicycles and cars. Austria applies it to purchases from 1 October 2026.

Before fixing the fault, the seller must tell you about your right to choose between repair and replacement and about the possible extension. It may lend you a replacement free of charge during the repair, including a refurbished one, but does not have to. A refurbished product can replace yours only if you explicitly ask.

A lack of repairability that buyers can reasonably expect, such as a laptop battery that cannot be replaced, may itself be a defect, says the Verbraucherzentrale. If the repair fails, you keep further rights, such as a price reduction.

Sample wording for the seller

“Hello, the [model, serial number] I bought from you on [date] has the following fault: [short description]. Under the legal guarantee, I choose repair. Please confirm in writing when the repair will be completed and that the guarantee period is extended by 12 months as a result. Kind regards”

How the legal guarantee differs from a voluntary manufacturer's guarantee is explained in Faulty device: tell the legal guarantee and a commercial guarantee apart.

An example: Aoife chooses repair

Fictional example: Aoife, an Irish nurse living in Graz, buys a fridge-freezer in mid-October 2026. In December the freezer stops getting cold. The shop offers a new appliance or a repair and tells her that a repair extends the guarantee by one year.

Aoife picks the repair because she likes the model and wants to avoid a second delivery, and asks for her choice to be confirmed by email. As Austrian law covers purchases from 1 October 2026, her guarantee now runs until October 2029 instead of October 2028.

Her phone, bought in 2023, has a screen she cracked herself. The EU phone requirements apply to devices first placed on the market from 20 June 2025, so her model is unlikely to be covered. She compares quotes from the manufacturer and an independent repairer.

Country overview: when the rules apply and what differs

Start dates and details vary because the directive works through national law. Switzerland is not an EU member: there, neither the manufacturer's duty nor the 12-month extension applies.

For disputes with a seller or manufacturer, national consumer organisations can advise you. This guide explains the rules in general and is no substitute for legal advice on your individual case.