Medtronic
Medical & mobility · Last assessed 6/9/2026
Score breakdown
Why this grade
Medtronic is one of the large medical-device OEMs operating under the service-contract model that PIRG and biomedical technicians (BMETs) document as broadly repair-restrictive: refusal to release full service manuals, password/service-key gating of diagnostics, and calibration software required to activate spare parts but withheld from independents. Medtronic does run a public manuals portal (manuals.medtronic.com), but those are largely device/clinical manuals rather than the board-level service documentation and calibration tooling independents need, and its implantable/surgical/pump lines are heavily software-locked. Grade rests mainly on category-wide evidence; Medtronic name-specific public evidence is thinner than for Philips, hence low confidence.
Methodology & version
Five dimensions — parts availability, schematic access, repairability, OEM pricing, and software freedom — are scored 0–100 and weighted equally; the letter grade is the average (A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60). This assessment is current as of 6/9/2026 and cites its sources below. It covers the Medical & mobility category and is not a claim about every device the maker ships.