Smartphones & Co.: Online retailers still mostly ignore new update obligation

For goods with digital elements such as cell phones or laptops that a customer purchases from a retailer, an update obligation with updates or version changes (updates) has applied since the beginning of 2022. Sellers or equipment suppliers must therefore guarantee the functionality and IT security of the devices even after they have been handed over. In a non-representative sample of smartphones, the Lower Saxony consumer advice center investigated whether and how retailers make this transparent before a purchase. According to the results now published, only three of the ten online providers examined provide information about the special warranty rights. Not a single provider mentions a specific period in which consumers can expect updates.

Between October and December 2023, the consumer protection experts examined two randomly selected smartphones in different price categories at each of the online stores and marketplaces alternate.de, amazon.de, cyberport.de, euronics.de, expert.de, galaxus.de, lidl.de, www.mediamarkt.de, notebooksbilliger.de and otto.de to see whether they received relevant information from the ordering process to the checkout. They also included question-and-answer pages and terms and conditions. On the seven sites Alternate, Cyberport, Euronics, Galaxus, Lidl, MediaMarkt and Otto, they did not find anything at all. In most cases, these providers only referred to the validity of statutory warranty rights in their terms and conditions.

Lack of information may constitute a product defect

According to the testers, only Amazon, Expert and Notebooksbilliger provide information on their websites about the extended warranty rights and specifically about software updates. Only Expert bundled the information and made it comparatively easy to find. From the consumer's point of view, the results are annoying overall, emphasizes Tim-Oliver Tettinger, legal expert at the consumer advice center. "If you don't know your rights, you won't claim them. This applies in particular to newly introduced regulations." If providers do not comply with the regulations, this may constitute a product defect. Consumers could then also assert the range of traditional warranty rights. It is true that sellers are free to delegate the provision of updates to the manufacturer - as is usual with smartphones. However, this does not release them from the obligation to provide information or from liability after the purchase.

The organization reminds customers that they must install the updates provided to ensure the functionality of the devices. Otherwise, warranty rights could be rejected. However, the availability of the updates must be made demonstrably recognizable. Overall, the consumer advice center sees a need for retailers to catch up in order to "enable conscious purchasing decisions for more sustainable products". Politicians are also needed, as they have not yet defined the minimum duration for which sellers must provide updates. In a calculation as part of the amendment to the law, the Federal Ministry of Justice assumed that this would be the case for an average of five years.

(vbr)