Italy's right to repair is a real win, if "reasonable price" means something

What good is a legal right to repair your phone if the quote makes you buy a new one? That is the question hanging over Italy this week, and it's the one that matters more than any headline about "mandatory repair."

Since October 22, 2026, Legislative Decree 176/2026 is in force. It transposes the EU's Directive 2024/1799 into Italian law. For eleven product groups, smartphones among them, the manufacturer must repair at the consumer's request for defects outside the seller's legal guarantee. Penalties for breaking the rules run from €5,000 to €50,000 per infringement, set by the competition authority, AGCM.

The law fixes the "no," not the "how much"

The best part of the text is that it closes the easy exits. According to Projet Celsius, a manufacturer can refuse only if repair is physically or legally impossible, and the cost of parts is not sufficient grounds. Makers also can't block repairs through contracts, hardware or software unless they have a legitimate, objective justification, and independent shops can use second-hand, compatible or 3D-printed parts. For anyone who has seen a perfectly good phone sidelined by a locked component, that is a meaningful shift.

There is also a time dimension. The same source says the Commission specifies that the obligation applies to products bought before July 31, 2026, and for a smartphone it lasts seven years after the last unit is placed on the market. We read that as good news for older phones: an aging handset is a candidate for a second life, not necessarily for the drawer.

But here is the catch. The Italian decree sets no amounts and no number of days for the "reasonable price" and "reasonable time." The EU framework defines reasonable by its effect: the price must not deter the consumer from asking for the repair. It's an elegant principle and, frankly, a slippery one. Who decides that a screen replacement at a given price is deterrent? In our view, the answer will come from AGCM decisions, not from the text.

Transparency is the quiet weapon

The less glamorous obligations may do the heavy lifting. The European Commission explains that manufacturers must publish indicative prices for typical repairs on a freely accessible website, and offer spare parts at reasonable prices. That matters because it turns a vague promise into something a reporter, a consumer group or a rival can screenshot and compare.

We think this is where the law will be won or lost. If a company lists a battery swap at a sensible figure, it competes on repair. If it lists a number close to the price of a new handset, it has handed regulators and consumer associations their evidence. Expect pricing pages to become the battleground, and expect the first complaints to point at parts, not at labor.

There's a sweetener for users too: when repair is chosen under the legal guarantee, the guarantee is extended by 12 months. Useful, but note it's tied to the seller's legal guarantee on contracts from July 31, 2026, and it's not a blanket extra year on every phone.

What to do, and what to be skeptical about

If your phone breaks, ask for the quote in writing, compare it with the manufacturer's published indicative prices, and remember you remain free to go to any independent repairer. If the quote looks designed to push you toward a new device, that is precisely what the rule is meant to catch, and it's worth a complaint.

Our skepticism is about two things. First, enforcement capacity: penalties are only as good as the speed of the authority applying them. Second, the platform meant to help you find repairers. The European Repair Platform is still on the way, so for now finding a shop is on you.

The verdict: this is a real step forward, and the ban on obstructing independent repair may prove more valuable than the repair duty itself. But "mandatory repair" without credible price discipline is a right on paper. The test isn't whether manufacturers say yes. It's whether the number on the quote makes you say yes too.