Right to repair: what Minnesota, Colorado, Washington and Texas laws cover for TVs, speakers and appliances

Several states now require makers of electronics to offer owners and independent shops the parts, tools and repair documents they give their own repair networks. The newest of the four laws here, in Texas, took effect on September 1, 2026. The short answer for buyers is that these laws help you or an independent shop get what a repair needs, but what they cover depends heavily on the state, the product and when it first went on sale. As we read them, none makes a maker carry out a repair. This guide compares the official texts of the Minnesota, Washington and Texas laws, and the Colorado legislature's summary of its law as enacted, as they bear on TVs, audio gear, smart home devices and kitchen appliances.

The four laws side by side

What makers must offer

All four laws work the same basic way: an owner or independent repair provider can obtain parts, tools and documentation (in the Colorado summary's words, the resources needed to repair). Minnesota, Washington and Texas require fair and reasonable terms: documentation must be free unless you ask for a printed copy, when a maker may charge its reasonable costs, and the terms for parts are pegged to what the maker offers its authorized repairers.

There are shared limits. A maker need not supply a part it no longer has, or anything that would defeat anti-theft measures set by the owner, under the Minnesota, Washington and Texas texts. A maker can also opt out in some cases: Minnesota and Washington exempt one that offers an equivalent or better replacement product free. Texas lets a maker instead give the original purchaser a refund of the purchase price or, at the consumer's discretion, an equivalent or better replacement priced at no more than the replacement parts would cost.

How that plays out for TVs, audio and smart home gear

TVs, soundbars and smart speakers depend on digital electronics, so as we read the texts they fall within these laws unless an exclusion applies. Game consoles are out in Minnesota, Washington and Texas, and Colorado's summary also lists them among its exemptions. Washington also leaves out set-top boxes, modems and routers from a video, internet or voice provider when it offers free replacements.

Security gear is treated differently. Washington and Texas both exclude intrusion detection equipment with a security monitoring service, fire alarm and life safety systems, and access control equipment such as electronic keypads. Colorado's summary lists certain safety and security equipment among its exemptions. So a monitored alarm or a keypad may fall outside these laws in those states even where a smart speaker does not.

Kitchen appliances: a clear difference

Washington's legislature says its aim includes appliances, and it mentions the coffee maker, washing machine, vacuum, thermostat and doorbell as household items that may hold digital components. Texas draws a different line. It excludes home appliances with embedded electronics, naming refrigerators, ovens, microwaves, air conditioning units and heating units, but the exclusion stops short of “other countertop or stand-alone small appliances”. As we read that, a fridge is out in Texas, while a countertop air fryer or coffee maker with a wholesale price of at least $50 may be in. A microwave is named among the exclusions.

Parts pairing and software locks

Washington's law defines parts pairing as a maker's use of software to identify parts through a unique identifier. Colorado and Washington restrict it on products first made and sold or used after January 1, 2026, including misleading alerts or warnings about unidentified parts: in Washington, the bar applies to those an owner cannot immediately dismiss. Texas takes a different approach. Its law says nothing in it stops a maker from requiring remote authorization or an internet connection before a part or tool can be used, or from supplying parts such as integrated batteries preassembled with others, provided those assemblies or equivalents are also available to authorized repairers or owners. Minnesota's definition of tools includes software that can pair a part, and its fair-terms rule says a maker may not require that a tool be registered, paired or approved before the part or tool works.

What these laws do not do

As we read them, they do not extend your warranty or vouch for outside work. Washington says a maker does not warrant independent repairers' services, and the Minnesota, Washington and Texas texts all limit a maker's liability for damage from repairs done by others. Federal warranty law is a separate track: in 2022 the FTC issued final orders making three companies fix warranty terms and tell customers about their right to use outside repairers and aftermarket parts, and our warranty guide explains the federal law. In May 2021, the FTC told Congress in a report that it had found “scant evidence” for makers' reasons for restricting repairs, but a report is not a law.

Nor is this a full list of states. Washington's law also names New York and California as having enacted right-to-repair legislation. We have left those two out because we could not open their current texts at official sources when we prepared this guide, and other states may have laws too. Everything here on Colorado rests on the legislature's summary of the law as enacted, not the text of the act itself.

Enforcement in Minnesota, Texas and Washington sits with the state attorney general, so that office is the official body to ask about a particular repair. Colorado's summary does not name an enforcing office.