How would Purism have an article about repairing a device they still haven’t finished designing?
There are not that many companies in the US that provide longer than a 2 year warranty. The norm by far and large is 1 year.
For both of these answers I think their response to you is completely honest and you shouldn’t read into or put words in their mouths. I think people, just in general, are not familiar with how companies work when they are not at the Apple, Google, MS, etc. levels.
A small company without an unlimited amount of capital that establishes a RMA process and then through no fault of their own have a critical product failure could very easily go bankrupt if they are not able to navigate the way in which the fault is fixed. This does not make them dishonest or shady. To me it means they deeply care about what they are doing, they realize they are one of the few doing it, they understand that they are tiny compared to the giants encroaching around them, and they are doing what they can to live up to their philosophies while ensuring they are able to stay in a position to see it through.
Many of the compromises that are known about their products are the result of the way the industry works and the near impossibility to do any other way. They are opposing the industry in the way they are striving to function and the products they are designing and releasing. Show me another company going as far? Want to know why there aren’t any? Because it is nearly impossible to do.
Find me a phone that gives you even a fraction of what the Librem 5 does in the way of personal digital freedoms. There isn’t one. So here is the important part: You can’t have it all. You can’t have all the convenience and assurance that you’d get with a mega corporation because their profits absorb any such incidence, and all of the anti-industry freedoms that Purism encompasses.
As someone who has bought a Librem 13, Librekey, and pre-ordered the Librem 5 I can tell you that I’m impressed with their customer service, given their manpower levels, and just how willing they are to work with what must be a needy customer base. (Very few know how all of the security underpinnings work, and must rely on the forum and customer service for assistance.)
On top of this they are available in chat, social media, and here on the forums. I’ve talked to several of Purism’s staff to include the CEO, CSO, developers, and customer support. They are bending over backwards to be available despite the demands they are under to finish the monster load of work before them.
I can’t think of a company doing more to earn my trust and loyalty.