John Deere owners can finally fix their own machines. The US Federal Trade Commission and five states have reached a settlement with the tractor giant that forces it to share the software and tools needed for repairs, the Associated Press reported. It is the largest right-to-repair win in the US so far.
The fight was never about wrenches. Modern tractors are computers. As Deere built electronic control units into its machines, a broken part often could not be fixed without a software tool that only Deere held. A farmer with decades of mechanical skill could be locked out of their own harvest.
What the settlement does
The order is blunt. Deere must give farmers and independent shops the same diagnostic and repair tools it gives its authorised dealers. It cannot let dealers retaliate against people who fix their own gear. The deal brings ten years of oversight, and Deere pays $1m to the five states. It does not admit wrongdoing.
The FTC and the attorneys general of Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin filed the case in January 2025. They argued that Deere's grip on the full repair tool was a monopoly. It steered work into Deere's dealer network and let the company charge a premium. “The settlement will help lower costs for American farmers,” said the FTC's Daniel Guarnera. It is Deere's second repair climbdown this year, after a $99m class action in April.
The tractor was the test case
Strip out the crops and this is a story about every device with a chip in it. The same lock-in that trapped farmers shows up in phones, games consoles, and medical kit. Years of pressure have forced some makers to open up. The advocacy group US PIRG called the Deere deal “a win for farmers and all of us who want a more fixable world”.
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That matters more as new gear gets pricier. A memory shortage is pushing up the cost of phones and laptops. When a replacement stings, the right to fix what you own stops being a hobbyist's cause.
Europe already wrote it into law
Here the US and Europe part ways. Washington fixes this one company at a time, through lawsuits. Europe legislates. The EU set repair rules for appliances years ago. In 2024 it adopted a right-to-repair directive that member states must turn into national law by 2026. Germany has pushed for phones that last up to seven years.
The gap is the point. A European maker already has to design for repair by rule. A US one waits to see if a regulator comes knocking. The Deere case shows the American route can work, but only slowly, and only after years of complaints.
Why it matters
Deere says it was already widening repair access, and frames the deal as innovation rather than defeat. Maybe so. But the bigger signal is simple. As software creeps into tractors, cars, fridges, and everything else, “who is allowed to fix it” becomes a question of control. The tractor was just the loudest test case.