{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/maintain-a-high-use-tool-before-replacing-it",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-9055",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Maintain a high-use tool before replacing it",
  "summary": "Some 'upgrade needs' are deferred maintenance wearing a new label.",
  "kind": "protocol",
  "body": "Separate degradation from capability. Check whether cleaning, calibration, a battery, consumable, cable, storage cleanup, software maintenance, adjustment or a small repair restores the original job. Compare the restored state with the unmet requirement before buying a replacement. This is especially useful for expensive, high-contact tools because extending service life can preserve a setup you already know while avoiding a full migration. Stop maintaining when reliability, safety, support or repair economics no longer fit the job.",
  "limits": [
    "Do not repair unsafe electrical, battery, structural or other hazardous faults without appropriate expertise. Security support and critical reliability can make replacement the safer choice."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-interaction-weighted-purchases"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-5260C2C9ACC57EC9",
    "RS-E143967DDAA5BB73"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "The FTC has documented repair restrictions including limits on parts, tools, diagnostic software and design choices that can make repair harder or more expensive.",
      "source_id": "RS-5260C2C9ACC57EC9",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "The prevalence and effect of a particular restriction vary by product, manufacturer and jurisdiction.",
      "locator": "Report discussion of repair restrictions"
    },
    {
      "claim": "FTC consumer guidance recommends researching a product's expected life, what is likely to break and how difficult repairs may be before purchase.",
      "source_id": "RS-E143967DDAA5BB73",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "This is general consumer guidance, not evidence that repairability should outweigh every other requirement.",
      "locator": "Consumer buying advice"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "A familiar daily tool feels worse than it used to and a replacement is becoming tempting."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "Do not repair unsafe electrical, battery, structural or other hazardous faults without appropriate expertise. Security support and critical reliability can make replacement the safer choice."
  ],
  "example": "A laptop with poor battery life may need a battery rather than a new computer if performance, security support and ports still satisfy the workload.",
  "check": "You can distinguish a worn or poorly maintained component from a genuine capability gap.",
  "steps": [
    "Write what became worse and when.",
    "Identify normal maintenance, consumables or replaceable wear parts.",
    "Restore one plausible cause and retest the representative task.",
    "Replace only if the required capability, reliability or support is still missing."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-5260C2C9ACC57EC9",
      "title": "Nixing the Fix: An FTC Report to Congress on Repair Restrictions",
      "url": "https://www.ftc.gov/reports/nixing-fix-ftc-report-congress-repair-restrictions"
    },
    {
      "id": "RS-E143967DDAA5BB73",
      "title": "FTC weighs in on repair restrictions",
      "url": "https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2021/05/ftc-weighs-repair-restrictions"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-9055",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-9056",
      "type": "use_before",
      "url": "/knowledge/write-the-upgrade-trigger-before-shopping"
    }
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-74CA3FEDEC162686",
      "title": "Spend more carefully on the things that touch your life most",
      "url": "/collections/spend-more-carefully-on-the-things-that-touch-your-life-most"
    }
  ]
}