Coloradans will soon have an easier time fixing their broken cell phones, gaming systems and other electronic devices under a “right-to-repair” law signed by the governor Tuesday that puts the state on the leading edge of a national movement.
Under the new law, tech companies like Apple and Amazon will be required to provide software and physical tools to third-party repair shops and to individual consumers to fix cracked phone screens and malfunctioning equipment. The goal, supporters say, is to make it easier to fix broken gear while lessening the need for replacement purchases and preventing repairable equipment from ending up in landfills.
The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
“Cell phones are a part of our daily lives. We should have more choices on how to fix them when they break,” said Rep. Brianna Titone, an Arvada Democrat who was one of the bill sponsors, in a news release after Gov. Jared Polis signed the legislation into law. “This new law will give consumers more options to fix their broken electronics, saving them money and time on costly repairs.
The law will require that tech companies provide software tools for free, though they can charge for physical equipment. The statute also prohibits companies from programming their equipment to work only with certain components, which limits third-party and at-home repairs. Though a few other states have passed versions of the state’s new law, only Oregon has a similar prohibition on “parts pairing,” according to Consumer Reports.
With Polis’ signature, cell phones and other personal electronic gear will become the latest piece of technology that can more easily be fixed by Colorado consumers or independent repair shops, thanks to a steady stream of “right-to-repair” legislation passed in recent years.
Last year, lawmakers approved a bill requiring manufacturers of tractors and other farm equipment to provide information and tools to farmers. The year before that, Polis signed a bill making it easier for people who use motorized wheelchairs to fix their equipment themselves. Titone sponsored all of those bills.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, lawmakers in 33 states — plus Puerto Rico — considered right-to-repair legislation last year, more than a decade after Massachusetts passed an early such law related to vehicle repair. The movement broadly seeks to loosen companies’ control over tools and software and to give consumers the ability to fix their broken gear on their own, without fully replacing it or shipping it off to the manufacturer.
More than 400,000 cell phones are thrown away every day in the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and 160 million new smartphones are purchased in the country every year. They require millions of tons of raw material to build.
Manufacturers and industry groups generally have opposed the right to repair and have argued it would hurt consumers.
The policy has found uniquely fertile ground in Colorado. Out of the 33 states that considered right-to-repair laws last year, only the Centennial State and three others actually passed legislation.
CoPIRG, the Colorado chapter of the Public Interest Research Group, hailed the state’s recent right-to-repair work and described it as a national leader Tuesday.
“This action makes Colorado the Right to Repair state — we will be able to fix more of our stuff than people in any other state,” CoPIRG executive director Danny Katz said in a news release. “… Coloradan consumers are now empowered with more options on when, where and how we fix our stuff. Having these options saves us time and money while reducing the amount of waste that we produce.”
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