Can we trust the repairability index? The Halte à l’Obsolescence Programmetée (HOP) association has published the conclusions of a report aimed at evaluating the first year of implementation of this index. This device aims to inform consumers of the possibilities of having an electronic device repaired before purchase, via the display on the product of a score evaluating its repairability out of 10.
HOP nevertheless believes that this is not enough. In its study, the association sought to verify the ratings of six products affected by the display: three models of smartphones, two laptops and a television. The association has sought to independently assess the score attributed by manufacturers to their products based on the various criteria used to assign this index: documentation, the possibility of dismantling the product, the availability of spare parts at the sale, the price of spare parts and finally a last special category which includes criteria ranging from the existence of remote support to the possibility of resetting the software installed on the device.
And in five cases out of the six studied, the association believes that the score given by the manufacturers is higher than the score they assessed. For the iPhone 7 Plus, Apple gives itself a repairability index of 6.4/10, while HOP estimates it at 5.8. The Samsung A40 is awarded the score of 8/10, while HOP’s analysis places it at 6.6/10. The Philips 50PUS8546 television receives a score of 5.5/10 when its manufacturer gave itself a score of 7/10.
A nuanced opinion
HOP’s conclusions and recommendations are nuanced. The association would obviously like an independent check of the reliability of this repairability index to be put in place so that it can fully play its role. But the association also believes that the Ministry of Ecological Transition should better specify the criteria and the clarity of the calculation grids proposed to arrive at a rating index, and adapt them more finely to the products concerned.
Nevertheless, the report finds that the indicator is perceived favorably by consumers, and that it is useful to consumers when making purchases. The association therefore invites the government to go further with this index, by extending it to new categories of products, or by proposing a site giving details of the scores of the various repairability indices, the details of the calculation grids as well as manufacturers’ commitments in this area.
This is not the first time that a consumer association has expressed reservations about the new repairability index: in December 2021, UFC-Que Choisir published its own conclusions on the subject. Rather, the association pointed to the low number of products that actually complied with the regulations requiring them to display the score, or the low effort required for certain product categories to be able to obtain a high score.