The problem is that almost every new device now includes these hidden contractual strings. Your phone will only run software signed by the developer, same with your smart tv, chromebook, your car, many new refrigerators, etc.

As a consumer, it is very hard to determine the restrictions that this imposes on ability to fix as it varies widely between devices.

I haven't seen any manufacturer label these items as a lease nor be upfront with the support lifetime.

agreed. But when they purchased the machines, they should have looked at the services terms and taken that into account when making their purchases. If there's competition in the market (no idea) then presumably someone would try to beat its competitors by offering a better service option (such as unlocked diagnostics).

This issue went to the supreme court on the question of whether a manufacturer could "monopolize" its aftermarket. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastman_Kodak_Co._v._Image_Tec....

Link is missing the trailing period:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastman_Kodak_Co._v._Image_Tec....

FWIW, I had to add an extra period at the end to get the original one to get included as part of the link.

another possible trick is urlencoding the dot as %2E: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastman_Kodak_Co._v._Image_Tec...

Thanks