#ONEWHEEL XR INSTALL#
#ONEWHEEL XR UPGRADE#

While we can’t expect a manufacturer to make replacement parts and perform repairs on older models forever, we can at least expect that they won’t actively install countermeasures to prevent others from making repairs. We know that old vehicles, especially electric ones, have a huge environmental cost when they are tossed into the landfill instead of being repaired or used for parts. I’m sure this sounds familiar to anyone who owns a high-tech gadget, but Onewheels are relatively low-tech, really more vehicle than gadget, and even the very first model released in 2014 is still a great vehicle for getting around on.

As with the auto manufacturers, there is little to no evidence to support this safety claim and, were there valid evidence, the liability would not fall on Future Motion, so the courts have ruled that safety is not a valid concern for manufacturers to interfere with consumer rights to repair their products.Īs with other manufacturers who have tried this before, the evidence indicates that Future Motion is motivated to kill off the DIY and third-party repair community in order to corner the market on profitable repair services and to drive sales of their newer models, while the older models end up in the landfill. Like the auto manufacturers tried in the early days before courts guaranteed consumers the right to get their vehicle serviced wherever they wished, Future Motion claims their desire to control repairs is all about safety. The more you unpack the short-sighted lengths to which Future Motion has gone to control the market, the worse the situation gets and the implications to the greater Right to Repair movement are the major concern. As a mechanical engineer, I am all for the appropriate use of patents, but it appears that Future Motion is engaging in anticompetitive practices and operating beyond their legal rights as a patent holder.

#ONEWHEEL XR UPGRADE#

Due to Future Motion’s patents, no one else can sell a competing self-balancing skateboard, but there is a thriving DIY and aftermarket upgrade community because the technology is fairly basic by today’s standards. Self-balancing vehicle technology, first brought to market by the Segway in 2001, has been around for a long time, and Future Motion wasn’t the first to build a self-balancing skateboard, but they were the first to patent some novel aspects and the first to market a workable product in 2014. Attorney Leonard French analyzes the frivolous Future Motion lawsuit against JW Batteries from a legal perspective, but both miss some important points that are spelled out below (Leonard French’s video can be found here: ). Right to Repair advocate Louis Rossman has posted several videos on the matter from a repair service provider and consumer advocacy perspective (here’s the latest from Louis Rossman: ). A small company called JW Batteries reverse-engineered the battery communications system to develop a chip that restores the ability to upgrade the battery, and they are being sued by Future Motion for this legal act. These are not cheap throw-away toys, but sophisticated, durable PEVs costing thousands of dollars, capable of long range and high speed, with many of the older models still getting used daily, some with over 20,000 miles on the odometers and at least one that has nearly 34,000 miles on it, according to the online leaderboards that track recorded Onewheel mileage.įuture Motion just discontinued their older flagship model, the Onewheel XR, whose more recent firmware versions had made many people upset due to electronic countermeasures put in place to prevent battery upgrades that were once possible on previous models and firmware versions. San Jose, California-based company Future Motion sells a line of high-end personal electric vehicles (PEVs), used by many for commuting to and from work, in addition to recreation, and is doing everything they can to prevent third-party repair. What if a company took it one step further, beyond simply refusing to sell parts or support third-party repair, and made it impossible to even use spare parts from one used vehicle to repair another? Well, it’s happened.

We’re all familiar with companies like Tesla and John Deere that want to control the repair market for their products. The original article below was written for those outside the Onewheel community, because Future Motion’s approach to stifling competition has greater potential impacts beyond our fun little toys. The funny thing is, just about all of the wounds seem to be self inflicted.īelow is a guest article from butoursgoto11 which was posted on Reddit. 2022 has been a dumpster fire for Future Motion, the makers of the Onewheel.

Onewheel xr