Colorado state bans parts pairing from Apple and other companies

Parts pairing, a controversial practice, is now banned in Colorado by the Right to Repair legislation, following a similar ban in Oregon in March. Apple has been scrutinized for using the practice, which makes it difficult to carry out repairs using parts from scrapped devices.

Parts pairing is basically the practice in which the serial number of a component (let's say a screen) is digitally paired to the serial number of the iPhone. This means even if you swap a genuine Apple part for another, the repair won't be fully functional.

For example, if you swap the screen on the iPhone 13, Face ID will stop working. Having specific parts that Apple has designated makes repairing harder and less cost-effective.

Oregon was the first US state to ban the practice as it violates the Right to Repair bill. The law will be enforced from January of next year. Now,  Colorado has done the same, as reported by PIRG (Public Interest Group). State governor Jared Polis stated that the law would save money and reduce waste.

It's highly likely that other states will follow this example. This could potentially force Apple and others to abandon parts pairing altogether, which should generally be a good thing, and allow for more economic repairs.

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