That's a lot to work through. Comments on Figure 6.2 on Page 203 of the long report:
Figure 6.2 Examples of claimed planned obsolescence
Design prevents repairs or upgrades
• Using rare or proprietary screws that require specialist tools
- "Security" screws are endorsed in some cases by applicable safety standards.
- Disassembly may result in a malfunctioning unit that requires specialized fixtures for reassembly.
• Gluing, soldering or welding components together to prevent disassembly
- These are fast and durable methods of assembling pieces together. The alternative, screws, requires multiple additional parts and operations, and may not be compatible with automated assembly.
• Non-removable batteries
- Agree, if otherwise functional.
- Note how to deal with "Dallas" memories with built-in batteries.
• Sealing screws on washing machines to hinder repair
- Thread locker materials like Loctite are endorsed to prevent screws from loosening during operation. Washing machines in particular tend to have operating modes that work well to loosen screws.
Limiting access to spare parts
• Restricting or discontinuing supply of parts for electronic devices
- It's hard enough these days to get modern parts for production. Maintaining a stock of replacement parts is costly. It may be impossible to get new parts used for the sub-assemblies.
- The programming methods for old assemblies are lost to failed programmers and computers, loss of personnel, etc.
Software reduced performance
• Releasing software updates that slow down older smart phones
- Feature upgrades often require additional memory and processing bandwidth and capacity.
• Discontinuing software updates
- Software engineering resources are limited, and are generally allocated to upcoming or existing production. Only limited capacity is available to update older product lines.
• ‘Software doping’ that prevents products from functioning with third-party spare parts or refills
- Business cases often trade appliance initial revenue for continuing consumables revenue.
• Programming printers to shut down after a certain number of prints
- Agree, if otherwise functional.
Design includes structural weaknesses
• Appliances and white goods made with low quality materials
- Market demand has strong price signals.
- High quality materials are often more expensive.
- Use-cases may not always be completely explored by the manufacturer.
• Thermal fuse placed to cause overheating
- It is unclear what this statement means. An illustration would be instructive.
-- Thermal fuses are placed such that overheating failure modes force a shutdown of the system.
• Electrical cables wear under normal use
- It is unclear what this statement means. An illustration would be instructive.
- That said, Apple is notorious for failed USB cables.
- That said, replacements are not that reliable either.
Limiting compatibility across products
• Changing connections of chargers and peripherals for electronic devices
- Maintaining the same connector that supports multiple voltages may cause safety or damage issues unless both the load and the supply are guaranteed to be compatible with each other.
- That said, it would be nice if otherwise similar chargers used the same connector.
• Changing page references when textbooks are updated
- Is the alternative to encounter incorrect references?
Restricting refurbish and resale
• Requesting online sales platforms to remove ‘unauthorised’ sellers of refurbished phones
- It may be that quality can't be guaranteed. Distribution channels are often authorized for several reasons, including:
-- Maintaining a business relationship between the manufacturer and the distributor.
-- Enforcing sales territory which generally includes a responsibility on the distributor for services.
• Forcing recyclers to shred old phones and laptops rather than reuse
- There may be personal data liability issues.