Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Fights Proposed Right to Repair Legislation With Warnings of Consumer Harm

Rogifan said:
I have Apple Care. Last week I dropped my XS and cracked the screen. In less than 2 hours I was out of an Apple Store with the screen replaced. Cost me $30 + tax.

The only people who care about this are the very tiny percentage of DIYers out there.
Click to expand...
... and, in addition to the $30, how much did you pay for Apple Care? It's not only DIYers who care about this. It's about having the right to take or mail in your Apple device to a qualified independent repair shop for repairs. I have complete confidence that Louis Rossmann of Rossmann Repair Group can repair a Mac, or that Jessa Jones of iPad Rehab can repair my iPhone or iPad without puncturing a battery or some such. I mention them, as they are high profile advocates for the Right to Repair movement. Generally, I would trust folks like them over most of the "geniuses" at Apple to deliver an honest repair. When Apple restricts access to schematics and parts it isn't for safety issues. If Apple wants to restrict repairs on their products, they should just lease the devices rather than sell them. Lease the devices for a specified period with restrictions that only Apple can swap or repair the devices if they fail or the lease expires. Don't pretend that customers truly "own" their expensive Apple hardware if they don't have the right to repair as they wish.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: rocknblogger, LCC0256 and Heineken
Does Samsung have this setup already? Can I buy phone parts directly from Samsung? Just curious...
 
This thread demonstrates why customer rights in the US are so poorer than in, e.g., Europe.

People actively argue against having individual rights just because they don't personally feel like using them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dave.UK and Lone Deranger
Apple should be required by law to place a large warning on the iPhone that it is dangerous to the consumer to use it or to repair it. Many people have been injured while using the iPhone while walking or driving.
 
Glockworkorange said:
It's a great point---Apple doesn't want any competition from independent repair shops. I think a lot of it is also because Apple doesn't trust indy shops to do the job right with the right parts and think it will somehow diminish its brand. Pretty arrogant.
Click to expand...
Agreed, and the reason shops sometimes have to resort to ordering third party parts and schematics from Asia and other remote sources is that Apple restricts access to those resources. I think that Right to Repair laws should include specifications for qualifications necessary to enter the independent repair business, much in the fashion that carpenters must be licensed to ply their skills.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MrBat
mannyvel said:
Having changed a lot of screens and batteries, i can say that it only takes one slip to poke a hole in the battery. And as you probably don't know, you can't use water to put out a li-ion battery that's on fire.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your concern but I successfully changed the battery on my iPhone 5S.

But maybe people such as yourself who can't handle responsibility believe it's better not to have rights in the first place.
[doublepost=1556715719][/doublepost]
jimbobb24 said:
why pass a law for the 1%
Click to expand...

Wow.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LCC0256 and curtvaughan
mannyvel said:
Having changed a lot of screens and batteries, i can say that it only takes one slip to poke a hole in the battery. And as you probably don't know, you can't use water to put out a li-ion battery that's on fire.
Click to expand...
There are plenty of good technicians not working for Apple that know what they are doing. Or do you think Apple genetically engineries people to work for them?
 
  • Like
Reactions: freedomlinux, LCC0256 and oldoneeye
I can see both sides of this. While I believe the consumer should have the right to order parts and attempt (and maybe even succeed in) the repair themselves, all it would take is one person getting shocked to hell and back from the power supply inside the iMac Pro (which doesn't have any shroud over it) for Apple to end up in court. Capacitors can hold a charge for a very long time, and most people don't know how to discharge them properly to prevent bodily harm. Remember all those kids running around with the disposable cameras that they used the flash capacitor as a taser?

Do what you will, just be prepared to accept responsibility for your actions. So if Apple says "Sure we'll sell you this part, please sign this waiver that absolves us of all responsibility. . . . ." Problem solved.
 
  • Like
Reactions: oldoneeye
sevoneone said:
This is getting ridiculous. People have been repairing and maintaining their own cars for nearly a century. Crawling under a 1- to 2-ton hunk of steel and aluminum and having it come crashing down on you is a lot more dangerous than poking a hole in a LiIon or LiPo battery and having it put on a light and smoke show...
Click to expand...
Especially when it happens during a flight. (There was one exploding iPhone on an Airplane, and they found a screw going right through the battery).
[doublepost=1556716298][/doublepost]
oldoneeye said:
So much for their much vaunted green credentials .... window dressing !
Click to expand...
Do you have any problems getting your iPhone repaired?
 
csurfr said:
I can see both sides of this. While I believe the consumer should have the right to order parts and attempt (and maybe even succeed in) the repair themselves, all it would take is one person getting shocked to hell and back from the power supply inside the iMac Pro (which doesn't have any shroud over it) for Apple to end up in court. Capacitors can hold a charge for a very long time, and most people don't know how to discharge them properly to prevent bodily harm. Remember all those kids running around with the disposable cameras that they used the flash capacitor as a taser?

Do what you will, just be prepared to accept responsibility for your actions. So if Apple says "Sure we'll sell you this part, please sign this waiver that absolves us of all responsibility. . . . ." Problem solved.
Click to expand...

Agreed - but having fixed my car, recently fitted a kitchen and now my iPhone, I'd argue that the danger of getting a fright from a little battery is a second order issue. If they're that worried, they shouldn't sell anything ... what if I drop my phone onto my foot ? Its a dangerous world out there ...
[doublepost=1556716509][/doublepost]
gnasher729 said:
Especially when it happens during a flight. (There was one exploding iPhone on an Airplane, and they found a screw going right through the battery).
[doublepost=1556716298][/doublepost]
Do you have any problems getting your iPhone repaired?
Click to expand...

Only the inflated cost - which is an obvious good revenue stream to Apple
 
hick9 said:
I worked as a repair tech for a 3rd party Apple Authorized repair shop. More than half the iPhones that used to come in were phones that people tried to repair on their own and damaged parts trying to open the device. Usually Digitizer cables, LCD flex cables and connectors.
Click to expand...
That may be true, but they supposedly own their devices and should be able to do as they wish for repair. If they mess up their own devices, it's on them. Apple can then void any warantee and the owners can choose their own repair options. As others have mentioned, the auto industry has operated like this for ages.
 
oldoneeye said:
Agreed - but having fixed my car, recently fitted a kitchen and now my iPhone, I'd argue that the danger of getting a fright from a little battery is a second order issue. If they're that worried, they shouldn't sell anything ... what if I drop my phone onto my foot ? Its a dangerous world out there ...
Click to expand...
Yep! That's exactly why I mentioned the iMac Pro and not the iPhone. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: oldoneeye
Quu said:
Ridiculous. This right to repair law isn't just about consumers being able to repair their own products it's about repair shops that don't want to be affiliated with Apple being able to obtain parts to do repairs on the behalf of consumers.

And I want to also add, I changed the battery in my own MacBook Pro 15" - The kind that is glued in. Really wasn't that difficult, consumers aren't as thick as Apple wishes they were.
Click to expand...
Of course they think they are thick. That was their main selling point over the complicated DOS-days, and cumbersome Windows of yesteryear. It just works, right? Because computers are magical boxes with elves pulling levers in them and only Apple engineers are able to dumb it down enough.

It is time for them to stop thinking that!
 
csurfr said:
I can see both sides of this. While I believe the consumer should have the right to order parts and attempt (and maybe even succeed in) the repair themselves, all it would take is one person getting shocked to hell and back from the power supply inside the iMac Pro (which doesn't have any shroud over it) for Apple to end up in court. Capacitors can hold a charge for a very long time, and most people don't know how to discharge them properly to prevent bodily harm. Remember all those kids running around with the disposable cameras that they used the flash capacitor as a taser?

Do what you will, just be prepared to accept responsibility for your actions. So if Apple says "Sure we'll sell you this part, please sign this waiver that absolves us of all responsibility. . . . ." Problem solved.
Click to expand...
Perhaps I'm wrong, but clauses like this are generally written into warranty agreements. Here's one of Apple's documents addressing this:

https://images.apple.com/legal/sales-support/terms/repair/docs/Retail_Repair_US_Terms_Conditions.pdf
 
Freonpsandoz said:
Like most people, I replace some auto parts. Do you actually go to the dealer to have a taillight bulb replaced?
Click to expand...

The last mini-van I owned practically required a degree in mechanical engineering to replace a tail light bulb. It required disassembling a good portion of the rear of the vehicle, including removing many panels held in by those idiotic easily broken push tabs. I'm not sure that's the best analogy to your point. Or maybe it really is?
 
jamezr said:
yeah....Apple lost more than anyone else

idcsmartphoneshipments-800x437.jpg


https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-36-million-iphones-shipped-q1-2019.2179816/
Click to expand...
Except those numbers aren’t from Apple. Take that shipment number and the revenue number Apple reported and you get an average selling price that makes no sense (too high). Clearly IDC’s shipment figure is wrong.
 
ifxf said:
It cost you more like 180, since you need to include the cost of apple care.
Click to expand...
But that’s why I choose to pay for Apple Care. I was in and out of an Apple store in I hour and I know I got a quality repair.
 
H2SO4 said:
MUCH easier to have a big steel box, (that could KILL you AND others), on the road due to bad repairs but they allow it. Come on man, get a grip. Making a unit closed like that hikes prices and lessens competition.
[doublepost=1556690190][/doublepost]
Twice as often my A**.
As a bit of anecdotal evidence the devices I've seen in use for the longest amount of time are PCs. Far longer than Macs - like night and day difference, (usually in business institutions). The reason for this may be software but the difference is there nonetheless.
Click to expand...
It's indeed anecdotal. What's not anecdotal is the secondary market for iPhones. Look at the prices of an iPhone 8 versus a Galaxy S8. Case closed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back