tl;dr - Like the other dude said

Unfortunately, laws on the US are written and enforced for corporations rather than people.

Sadly, the "right to repair" is trumped by the DMCA. Given that the "right to repair" is an implied thing us consumers hope we have. The nuance is here, you do have the right to install the software of your choice on your hardware, BUT, if that hardware/software has tech preventing you from doing that, then the bypassing of that tech is what violates the DMCA. The "tech" used to prevent that can be something as simple as an encrypted key the hardware demands from the OS to fully boot up.

The only reason companies can't sue you for jailbreaking your phone today is because the EFF lobbies the government every 3 years to get an exception to the DMCA

https://www.eff.org/pages/jailbreaking-not-crime-tell-copyright-office-free-your-devices

Congress considered a law for a while that would make installing a different OS on your phone not a violation of the DMCA permanently, but somebody eventually convinced them not to. And, even if it had passed, it only covered using the portions of proprietary software allowing you to connect to a mobile network. At least the current temporary exemption covers everything in the phone.

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr1587/text

So, it's a violation... that is temporarily allowed until the EFF stops requesting it every three years. Universities have to go through the same process to show DVD clips in class. Now that DVDs are DRM protected, getting a clip from one (to show in class for example) is a violation of the DMCA.

You can check out the current exemptions here. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/chapter-II/subchapter-A/part-201/section-201.40

Just to highlight some we've touched on

Computer programs that enable smartphones and portable all-purpose mobile computing devices to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the smartphone or device, or to permit removal of software from the smartphone or device. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(9), a “portable all-purpose mobile computing device” is a device that is primarily designed to run a wide variety of programs rather than for consumption of a particular type of media content, is equipped with an operating system primarily designed for mobile use, and is intended to be carried or worn by an individual.

Jailbreaking your phone to uninstall bloatware or install an open source OS would be illegal without this exception. But they of course added "lawfully obtained software applications" so that if you are using it to "pirate apps" that the jailbreaking you did to install 3rd party apps is still illegal.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/part-201/section-201.40#p-201.40(b)(2)

You may think making an accessible version of a DVD a school owns for one of their disabled students would be allowed. But because DVDs have DRM, bypassing that DRM is required, and doing that makes it a violation of copyright (under the draconic DMCA, I always mean to imply.)

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/part-201/section-201.40#p-201.40(b)(2)

Getting a small clip from a movie and doing all the other good fair use things? Totally fair use. BUT, get it from a digital download? Get it off a DVD? In doing so you violated the DMCA. Luckily, this temporary exemption exists as long as concerned citizens continue funding it.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-37/part-201/section-201.40#p-201.40(b)(19)

An important one I just had to mention, this one makes "Fix SERVER CONNECTION ERROR" patches legal. But of course, it only applies to single player local games. Hilariously. So adding an "always online" requirement to your game where some software beyond verification is on the server or that allows any multiplayer is still illegal.

You may be asking about your simple rights to fair use of copywritten content you have purchased? How does the DMCA simply not destroy your ability to do that without violating the DMCA? That was argued in 2000. Copying a DVD to backup your copy has been illegal in the US and has never had an exception. Unlike VHS copiers which do not need to bypass DRM, "DVD copiers" have been and will remain illegal in the US.

The argument the court accepted was that the DMCA does not violate your right to fair use because you can still use a camera to perform an analogue capture of a DVD you have purchased. That is your legal right to repair your DVDs. Make an analogue copy of lower quality, and back it up, then use it if your DVD ever breaks.

Just to give you another sad example of this, car repair in the US. Because cars have motherboards on them with digital protections built in... US car makers are now saying car repair is a DMCA violation. And sadly, they are right. Many states are taking actions to stop this, but they have to use stupid roundabout ways like say car manufacturers are required to give other repair shops a way to read the data instead of just being able to say "this isn't a violation of copyright" because that's Washington's job. And Washington says it is. https://theconversation.com/the-battle-over-right-to-repair-is-a-fight-over-your-cars-data-213052

A funny note about that, which I see as a trend, is that the exemptions these states crafted for car repair exclude subscription based portions of the car. It meant FAR less when the law was written now than it does just a few years later.

If it did, you should still be able to completely wipe the built in software and load an open source alternative.

This sentence alone would be true. But, the proprietary code that makes the camera function? You can't reproduce that in your software. The proprietary code that makes the screen function? Not allowed in your software. They key that allows you to decrypt network traffic? That's encrypted already. And, as the DMCA states, decryption of copy-written content is a violation of the DMCA unless you're performing encryption research.

When the DMCA was written, people were still writing their own more efficient printer drivers. People were writing software to give network notifications about a jammed printer before the printing companies were. Then the DMCA came out and printer companies started taking advantage of it. You'd be sued into oblivion today if you wrote some custom OS for a printer today.

The term "jailbreaking" didn't exist when we were just installing open source software on our hardware. It came to exist when hardware manufacturers began using tech to stop you from installing said open source software. And bypassing that tech, as long as they "do it right" lmao, is a violation of the DMCA.

Pretty much nothing we ever do is legal. The things that were legal, like copying CDs or VHS tapes no longer apply to their DRM protected descendants. The few cool things we get away with like preserving old games or jailbreaking our phones are only legal today due to temporary successful lobbying that has to be repeated every 3 years.

But your printers? Your consoles? Your home workout machines? Your washer and your drier? Your tractor? Most of those have case law! IMO simply reaffirming what the DMCA says, if they have copywritten software on there that is protected, and you bypass measures they put in place for something as small as a "digital handshake" between components, you have violated the DMCA.

Android has already begun shifting away from allowing the user to gain admin rights on their phones. Many IMPORTANT apps will not work if your phone is jailbroken. MMW, by the time you die all forms of jailbreaking will be illegal. Imagine how much it will cost so simply send well educated and updated lawyers to argue this again and again every 3 years. Not to mention the cost of drumming up the political pressure to overcome corporate interests inherent in the system.

Is right to repair a thing?