Apple Announces Self Service Repair Program, Starting With iPhone 12 and 13

[Kierkegaarden]

How about look at any apple device with an iFixit repair score < 2?

Less glue?
Common screw types?
Better gaskets?
More connectors, less soldering?

How do you know what the right amount of glue is? If using less, would this compromise the integrity?

A screw being common is subjective. I have never had a problem finding drivers for the screws they currently use.

What makes a gasket “better”? What is wrong with the gaskets they currently use? Maybe there is a specific reason they chose the gasket they use.

Maybe they chose soldering over connectors for integrity and stability? Wouldn’t a solder joint have less chance of potential issues over a movable connector?

 

[shplock]

Apple today announced the "Self Service Repair" program, allowing users to complete their own repairs via a new online store dedicated to parts and tools.

The Self Service Repair program will give customers who are comfortable with the idea of completing their own repairs access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals, starting with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups. The scheme will be introduced in phases, adding more repairs and supported devices over time. Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams said:

The first phase of the program will focus on the iPhone's most commonly serviced parts, such as the display, battery, and camera, but more kinds of repairs will become available later next year. Apple silicon Macs with the M1 chip, including the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and 24-inch iMac, will be next to join the scheme.

The Self Service Repair program will be facilitated by a new Apple Self Service Repair Online Store, offering more than 200 individual parts and tools to complete iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 repairs at launch.

Customers who want to perform a repair will first be encouraged to consult the Repair Manual before placing an order for parts and tools using the Apple Self Service Repair Online Store. After the repair has been completed, customers who return their used or broken part to Apple for recycling will receive credit toward their purchase.

Apple cautioned that Self Service Repair is intended for "individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices," and encouraged "the vast majority of customers" to visit a professional repair provider with certified technicians for "the safest and most reliable way to get a repair."

The company also highlighted the significant global expansion of service locations with access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and training, as well as the growing number of Independent Repair Providers that sit alongside Apple Authorized Service Providers.

The Self Service Repair program will be available to users starting early next year in the U.S. and expand to additional countries throughout 2022.

Article Link: Apple Announces Self Service Repair Program, Starting With iPhone 12 and 13

Before everyone celebrates this I offer the following words of wisdom.
I can promise you that some dweeb off a so and so will attempt to fix a broke iPhone etc and completely mess it up then launch a lawsuit blaming Apple for their mistakes and incompetence!
Then you all will be baying for Apple's blood at how dare Apple not pay for some muppet's stupidity.

 

[SpotOnT]

Oh wow! Never saw this coming.

Wish this policy had been just a few years earlier though. I still need a good quality battery for my old 2012 Macbook Pro.

 

[Xiaojohn]

Good move by Apple though a bit late to the movement party.

Soon you will see a lot 3rd party China parts, with cheap price, flood to America

 

[cnnyy20p]

Make your products easy to repair too Apple.

 

[MrMojo1]

Many people use Apple products because it's simple to use without thinking.

Don't see many Mac users wanting to fix their computers considering that Apple it nearly impossible to fix them, esp. the newer models (computers, iphones, ipad) when almost everything is SoC, you'll need to replace the entire thing! But if you need a new keyboard or screen, it's doable.

There are those who are handy with their hands and don't mind fixing their tech gear, but many people are not and don't want to be, whether it's Mac or Windows.
Many don't want to know how to fix things themselves.
It's no different than many Windows PC users. At least many PC components are still upgradeable, except for some PC laptops, which are unfortunately following Apple's lead in soldering RAM as part of the motherboards.
That's why people pay someone to fix their computers/tech gear.
This should help the computer repair shops.

 

[andycarver]

This might just shut up that whinger on YouTube.

 

[dgdosen]

There has got to be a catch. Apple wouldn't allow customers to service their own devices if it didn't provide an alternate stream of revenue in its place. I'm expecting that now only parts purchased through their store will work inside devices.

Side note, this also somewhat explains the updated ease of service on the batteries included in the new MacBook Pro...

... and modular ports...

 

[SpotOnT]

How do you know what the right amount of glue is? If using less, would this compromise the integrity?

A screw being common is subjective. I have never had a problem finding drivers for the screws they currently use.

What makes a gasket “better”? What is wrong with the gaskets they currently use? Maybe there is a specific reason they chose the gasket they use.

Maybe they chose soldering over connectors for integrity and stability? Wouldn’t a solder joint have less chance of potential issues over a movable connector?

———-

I don’t know the answers to these questions, because I’m not an engineer.

If you’re not an engineer, then you should keep your mouth shut on the topic, because you don’t know what is or isn’t possible.

As a legally licensed engineer, complete with PhD, I can add, I will be happy to help education you (since you mentioned that you don't know).

Apple could easily use less/no glue and use more screws and modular parts in nearly the same form factor with the same performance and integrity, if they wanted to make things easier to repair. And no a screw being "common" is not at all subjective (if you don't know, Apple likes to design new and unique screws for their devices, which no one else uses).

These facts are, also, essentially common knowledge at this point...as it has been well pointed out by industry experts over the last half decade or so.

PS. From Apple's perspective, the downside to using screws and modular parts is that they increase production costs and they increase user repairability. In some very specific and rather rare cases, they might also change device dimensions ever so slightly.

 

[Xiaojohn]

Many people use Apple products because it's simple to use without thinking.

Don't see many Mac users wanting to fix their computers considering that Apple it nearly impossible to fix them, esp. the newer models (computers, iphones, ipad) when almost everything is SoC, you'll need to replace the entire thing! But if you need a new keyboard or screen, it's doable.

There are those who are handy with their hands and don't mind fixing their tech gear, but many people are not and don't want to be, whether it's Mac or Windows.
Many don't want to know how to fix things themselves.
It's no different than many Windows PC users. At least many PC components are still upgradeable, except for some PC laptops, which are unfortunately following Apple's lead in soldering RAM as part of the motherboards.
That's why people pay someone to fix their computers/tech gear.
This should help the computer repair shops.

You should look at China, how the people play the magic and restore the Apple Products until it looks new.

 

[Xiaojohn]

This is a lost to American.

Think who will produce the parts? Do you know this will encourage the counterfeit parts and less quality part flood into market?

A good example will be the iPhone OLED glass.

Now China “Hua Qiang Bei” can legally fix your iPhone and this is the best news ever for them.

 

[docinbc]

This was not on my Apple bingo card.

(but RIP poor iFixit. Getting Sherlocked suuuucks)

iFixit just got a blessing. They now have parts from Apple, the skills to do the work and they will be inundated as a repair service - if that is what they want. I am glad Apple is doing this but I would never crack into an Apple product. I did that once many years ago with an expensive camera lens and ended up taking a bag of parts to a real camera repair shop. Thank-you Apple for acknowledging “Right to Repair”.

 

[MrMojo1]

You should look at China, how the people play the magic and restore the Apple Products until it looks new.

That's China not America.

 

[Xiaojohn]

That's China not America.

Their parts will come to America for sure. They are already have all the parts now.

Moreover, now they can do it legally.

 

[Xiaojohn]

That's China not America.

You have no idea how hard Apple work towards genuine original parts, and fighting the counterfeit parts in China repair, and their efforts just down to drain now. China will easily get the detail and manual now.

 

[KermitF]

Apple love this - customers think they're awesome for opening up. Apple are like "OK, we're going to sell them tools and parts at a mark up, then MOST will break their phone and bring it in for repair and we get to charge them all over again". Excellent business model - bravo.

 

[madrigal77]

I guess all the independent repair shops will be happy to see this news, since they're here to defend the customer and the right to repair, no?

I own an independent repair shop, and I think this is great. The type of people that were willing to attempt their own repairs were already doing so with stuff from iFixit, etc.. Now they just get to use genuine parts. I think it will effect the parts suppliers more than anything. On my end, now I can just offer genuine parts as well. Good for everyone except the 3rd party parts suppliers haha.

 

[Shirasaki]

Or.. Apple fixes it, actually recycles the old iPhone and parts and materials and nothing ends up in a landfill anyways?

Why you are so confident apple will recycle it properly? According to news solely from apple?

 

[Xiaojohn]

I own an independent repair shop, and I think this is great. The type of people that were willing to attempt their own repairs were already doing so with stuff from iFixit, etc.. Now they just get to use genuine parts. I think it will effect the parts suppliers more than anything. On my end, now I can just offer genuine parts as well. Good for everyone except the 3rd party parts suppliers haha.

Well, many ppl don’t realized this. But maybe you will have hard time if your customer only pay cheap fee

 

[buckwheet]

How will that help the environment lol

Hmm... while I don't think it deserves a "lol", I also don't quite see it. It seems to me individual consumers have much less incentive to properly dispose of/recycle the failed parts—particularly small ones they could easily sneak into the bin. Probably safe to say that actual repair shops could be assumed to follow proper guidelines (and I suppose those will make up the majority of cases). But again, I think Apple themselves have much more to lose from poor recycling practices than individual shops, so I'd just as soon have Apple remove/replace anything that's failed (from an environmental perspective).

 

[Xiaojohn]

Why you are so confident apple will recycle it properly? According to news solely from apple?

At least they should and every company should responsible to their products. They need to handle the waste after they sell it.

 

[thecombatwombat]

How will that help the environment lol

By extending the life of devices. It happens a lot at Apple stores, every time I've had to use the genius bar, I've overheard multiple appointments that go like this:

"Well we could repair that for $300, or you could trade in and get a new one for $600, you should probably just do that."

"Oh well OK"

Every time someone goes with "or you can buy the parts and do it yourself for $30" when they would have gone for the new device, that'll be a win for the environment lol.

 

[Xiaojohn]

By extending the life of devices. It happens a lot at Apple stores, every time I've had to use the genius bar, I've overheard multiple appointments that go like this:

"Well we could repair that for $300, or you could trade in and get a new one for $600, you should probably just do that."

"Oh well OK"

Every time someone goes with "or you can buy the parts and do it yourself for $30" when they would have gone for the new device, that'll be a win for the environment lol.

You forget the actual cost behind to produce the parts just for you, in case it broken….this is a waste

 

[Xiaojohn]

By extending the life of devices. It happens a lot at Apple stores, every time I've had to use the genius bar, I've overheard multiple appointments that go like this:

"Well we could repair that for $300, or you could trade in and get a new one for $600, you should probably just do that."

"Oh well OK"

Every time someone goes with "or you can buy the parts and do it yourself for $30" when they would have gone for the new device, that'll be a win for the environment lol.

The combinations of parts to stock up is beyond your imagination. Remember, the part is not born by your drawing, it need a factory to do that one small things.

 

[dgdosen]

The combinations of parts to stock up is beyond your imagination. Remember, the part is not born by your drawing, it need a factory to do that one small things.

You make a great case for apple/the industry to build more modular parts.