this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2026
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The products covered by the obligation to repair currently include:

  • washing machines and washer-dryers
  • dishwashers
  • refrigerators
  • electronic displays
  • welding equipment
  • servers and data storage products
  • mobile phones, cordless phones and tablets
  • tumble dryers 
  • e-bikes and e-scooters batteries (from 18 February 2027)
  • local space heaters
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[–] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 0 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah but if you're opening high power stuff while it's plugged in thats on you. I get tamper protection on power supplies and stuff where you could get shocked by a capacitor. But a big heater not plugged in is harmless

[–] Pika@sh.itjust.works 3 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (1 children)

Even if it's unplugged first, I strongly disagree with the insinuation that since it's unplugged it's harmless. This is a device that uses the same amount of power draw as a stove top and has water contact as part of it's daily use. If someone who doesn't know what they're doing decides they want to access it, and does it incorrectly, it has the capability of burning your house down.

Having a standard screw on it like a Phillips or a regular screwdriver significantly lowers the barrier of entry in allowing someone who doesn't know what they're doing to work on the equipment, which is why I think it's fair that a component that has that capability has a something like a hex or a p bit. Those are both something that are not hard to obtain, but also something that you likely won't find just randomly laying around in your house unless you already regularly work on devices or equipment.

[–] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Sorry but as long as it's unplugged it's literally just a bunch of wire. Wire by itself even a heating coil has no way of burning your house down while unplugged.

[–] Pika@sh.itjust.works 1 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

I think you may have misread or misinterpreted the comment. Probably my fault for not making it clear, the "harmless" nature is removed when its plugged back in again, not during the repair. It's a different point of the repair process.