The right to repair and your TV
· 2 min read
Directive (EU) 2024/1799 on common rules promoting the repair of goods has applied since 31 July 2026. It is very recent and worth understanding properly.
This is not legal advice.
What it establishes
It obliges manufacturers and distributors to prioritise repair over replacement where technically and economically viable, and introduces repair obligations extending beyond the legal guarantee period.
In Spain it is transposed through the reform of the consolidated Consumer Protection Act.
What it means for a television
What it does cover: defects and breakdowns. If the panel fails, if the power supply goes, if there is a manufacturing defect.
What it does not cover: software being slow, carrying advertising, or no longer receiving updates. The directive is about repairing things that are broken, and a television with adverts is not broken in the legal sense.
We say so plainly because we have seen this point oversold, and we would rather not do it ourselves.
Why we mention it anyway
Because it marks a direction. European law is moving towards products that last, that get repaired, and that are not thrown away when the manufacturer loses interest in them.
A television whose panel works perfectly and which becomes unusable through software is exactly the problem that direction is aimed at. That no specific article covers it yet does not change the substance.
The other front: ecodesign
More significant in the medium term is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, which introduces requirements on spare-part availability, software updates and support duration.
That is where a real obligation to maintain a television's software for a minimum number of years could eventually appear. It is not there yet, and it is the route by which it would arrive.
In the meantime
Law moves slowly and your television is slow today. What you can do now is in the rest of this site, and it starts with seeing what you have installed.