Samsung wants independent repair shops to take apart phones with non-original parts

Consumers who have had their Samsung phones repaired with third-party parts may get their phones destroyed if they bring them to independent repair shops. Samsung also requires the shops to provide their customer's private data.

The South Korean phone manufacturer wants independent repair shops to "immediately disassemble all products that are created or assembled out of, comprised of, or that contain any Service Parts not purchased from Samsung," according to a leaked contract obtained by 404media.

It also states that Samsung requires independent repair shops to "immediately notify" the company that the customer has had a phone repaired using third-party parts.

It means that Samsung phone owners who repaired their phones with third-party parts or paid for it may get their phones destroyed instead of fixing them in an independent repair store.

However, it seems that such requirements are not in line with certain legislation. According to an expert quoted by the channel, users have the right to use third-party parts under the Magnuson-Warranty Act.

Besides, under the right-to-repair legislation passed in New York, Minnesota, and California, which go into effect this year, the manufacturer wouldn't be allowed to require consumers or repair shops to sign contracts like this in order to get repair parts.

This isn’t the only requirement from Samsung that may anger users. According to the leaked contract, the company also wants independent repair shops to provide the personal data of Samsung's phone users and upload it to Samsung's database, G-SPN.

The data includes address, email address, phone number, details of complaint and phone IMEI number, according to the contract.

On Thursday, The Verge announced that global repair community iFixit is parting ways with Samsung after it said that the company isn’t serious about embracing repairs.