Apple to Allow Independent Repair Shops to Service Out-of-Warranty iPhones With Genuine Parts

[Expos of 1969]

Personal insults aside, that article on Apple’s website was last updated April 2019, so it’s outdated with respect to the program announced today.

Maybe the article dated today that says:

“The process for certification is simple and free of charge —but is not an immediate process, and requires passing an exam and completion to the course material to Apple's satisfaction”

is actually accurate. What do you think?

I apologise for the lazy slur. However, that info I quoted is from what the Apple announcement today linked to. I would hope a company with the resources Apple has would be able to update all pertinent links prior to releasing an announcement involving new policy, but perhaps they are preoccupied with the iOS 13 problems etc.

 

[Khedron]

Rossman, et al will still complain this doesn't go far enough.

Because it doesn't.

 

[varsity]

Apple's attempt to KILL the Right to Repair Bill!

AASP Requirements:
- Restrictions on everything a shop repairs after it's approved
- Very small margins on repairs (less than minimum wage on some repairs)
- Tens of thousands of dollars minimum inventory required to be kept at all times.
- Only offer repairs on devices that are out of warranty
- All parts that were replaced must be returned to Apple at business owners expense (normally these are resold to refurbishers to increase profit margins)
- Fines up to $10,000 on each "compliance violation" which is not defined or clarified in any way

This is horrible news for the DIY community. Head over to repair.org and contact your local representative to urge them to support the right to repair act!

It's rumored that Apple will resell their parts to approved business's only at a 7% less than the actual repair cost ($10 margin on a $149 repair). Minimum inventory limits changing at any time, this restricts who can even be approved, not everyone has funds like Bestbuy or Staples. With Apple pushing their Out-Of-Warranty repairs to 3rd party shops they are distancing themselves with a large % of devices over 1 year old.

 

[H2SO4]

The argument that Apple is doing whatever they can to get you to buy a new phone every year really doesn't seem to hold up when they create a free program businesses can join that makes getting an out-of-warranty repair much easier.

False equivalence. So what if they are letting third parties do a repair. It doesn’t preclude the use of substandard components or software with a timer in it.

 

[alex2792]

Lawyers must have told Tim that their BS repair policy was unlikely to hold up in court.

 

[Hazmat401]

10/10 louis rossmann won't be accepted LOL, too much beef between him and apple

He’s more into the Mac repairs than iPhones

Plot twist.... what if they do accept him?

 

[realtuner]

No, I’m applying past behavior to the future in a reasonable fashion instead of stringing together a bunch of if-thens that aren’t actually likely to occur. There’s a difference.

Sorry, your post is logically equivalent to mine. If mine is fear mongering then so must be yours.

 

[PickUrPoison]

I apologise for the lazy slur. However, that info I quoted is from what the Apple announcement today linked to. I would hope a company with the resources Apple has would be able to update all pertinent links prior to releasing an announcement involving new policy, but perhaps they are preoccupied with the iOS 13 problems etc.

Apology accepted. I have no personal knowledge of the pricing, I’m just quoting another site’s article. But I did google to try to find the exam pricing.

Two Tests
You need to pass two tests (with a score of at least 80%) to get your ACMT Certification:

1. Apple Service Fundamentals Exam
2. Apple Certified Macintosh Technician (ACMT)

You must pass the Apple Service Fundamentals Exam before you can take the ACMT Apple Certified Macintosh Technician. Currently, prices for the tests have been reduced to $15! This is a huge discount, as they were previously $150 a test.

https://www.macmasters.net/acmt/


Even the AppleInsider article is wrong, it still seems the exam fees are reasonable but ymmv.

 

[Expos of 1969]

Apology accepted. I have no personal knowledge of the pricing, I’m just quoting another site’s article. But I did google to try to find the exam pricing.

Two Tests
You need to pass two tests (with a score of at least 80%) to get your ACMT Certification:

1. Apple Service Fundamentals Exam
2. Apple Certified Macintosh Technician (ACMT)

You must pass the Apple Service Fundamentals Exam before you can take the ACMT Apple Certified Macintosh Technician. Currently, prices for the tests have been reduced to $15! This is a huge discount, as they were previously $150 a test.

https://www.macmasters.net/acmt/


Even the AppleInsider article is wrong, it still seems the exam fees are reasonable but ymmv.

I was not implying that the exams were expensive (no cost was indicated on the Apple site), just pointing out that they were not free. Early days, time will tell how this goes.

 

[HacKage]

It isn't really changing much. You will be beholden to Apple's rules and parts availability. For instance, the resolution for a broken charging port from Apple is a replacement handset at anything upto £589. The resolution in almost every other service provider would be to replace the charging port at a cost of around £30. This won't change anytime soon.

 

[jonblatho]

Sorry, your post is logically equivalent to mine. If mine is fear mongering then so must be yours.

One post is extrapolating that businesses which were previously not committing fraud will suddenly begin doing so, despite the fact that the financial consequences would likely put them out of business, easily, between fines from Apple and/or a lawsuit(s) from customers. The other is assuming that this service provider program will have similar artificially stringent requirements to those of other programs (see @varsity’s excellent post above detailing those) except those which have been explicitly provided as different.

So no, they’re not “logically equivalent.”

 

[PickUrPoison]

He’s more into the Mac repairs than iPhones

Plot twist.... what if they do accept him?

I think they’ll accept him for two reasons:

1) they don’t really care much. Apple may live rent free in Rossmann’s head, but I’m thinking Apple spends approx zero time thinking about Rossman.

2) he’s a good tech and I’m sure Apple will be happy to have him use genuine parts. Bonus: Rossman doesn’t have to worry about Customs seizing any more orders of counterfeit parts.

 

[Cosmosent]

Fine, but give us a Co-Processor "socket" on the motherboard, & that will change alone would trigger SIGNIFICANTLY more enthusiasm ... a wave of third-party smartphone "Tuners" !

Just like in the high-end Auto Industry !

 

[GoodWheaties]

You don't find this odd? So the batteries came from Apple devices. Why? What was wrong with these devices that they had to be scrapped for their spare parts? Surely, according to Rossman, almost anything can be fixed. So why weren't these laptops fixed as opposed to being scrapped for parts? Further they came from China. I find it quite amazing that whoever had these devices in China didn't simply attempt to repair them. And if they couldn't repair them, then they scrap them and keep all the parts for themselves. Seems highly suspicious to me that they'd bother to ship spare parts halfway around the world (and have to deal with US Customs) instead of just finding a local buyer/repair shop to sell them too. Have you been to China/Asia? There are repair shops on almost every street corner. Even fairs/night markets are littered with repair shops. The whole thing seems very strange.

I think they were genuine Apple batteries that were refurbished. You can actually take old lithium batteries batteries and, with special equipment, hit them with enough voltage to break up the crystals that have formed inside, returning them to near new condition. I think he sourced them from someone who was doing this but I could be wrong. The supplier neglected to remove the Apple logo from the batteries.

 

[mi7chy]

Louis Rossmann should be certifying Apple on component level repair and Jessa Jones on data recovery since Apple is inept at both and/or scamming customers.

 

[jonblatho]

I think they’ll accept him for two reasons:

1) they don’t really care much. Apple may live rent free in Rossmann’s head, but I’m thinking Apple spends approx zero time thinking about Rossman.

2) he’s a good tech and I’m sure Apple will be happy to have him use genuine parts. Bonus: Rossman doesn’t have to worry about Customs seizing any more orders of counterfeit parts.

I’d bet that he’s not interested because they would presumably restrict him from what he does now, which is not simply replacing logic boards (which is what Apple allows for), for example, but actually repairing logic boards. Go beyond what Apple’s willing to allow you to do and that could be a compliance violation, which results in a hefty fine.

Who’d sign on for that?

 

[cmwade77]

Hmm, the problem is that while they claim there is no cost to join, that isn't completely true if they have to have an Apple Certified Technician on staff, that costs money to accomplish.

 

[guzhogi]

Hmm, the problem is that while they claim there is no cost to join, that isn't completely true if they have to have an Apple Certified Technician on staff, that costs money to accomplish.

Yup. I find it's kinda like applying for a job that requires a college degree. Sure, applying to the job is free, but you need to get a college degree first, which isn't free.

 

[cmwade77]

I’d bet that he’s not interested because they would presumably restrict him from what he does now, which is not simply replacing logic boards (which is what Apple allows for), for example, but actually repairing logic boards. Go beyond what Apple’s willing to allow you to do and that could be a compliance violation, which results in a hefty fine.

Who’d sign on for that?

Yeah, there is that and Apple claims they want to be environmentally friendly, well repairs are always more environmentally friendly than replacing something that can be made fully functional.

 

[jonblatho]

Yeah, there is that and Apple claims they want to be environmentally friendly, well repairs are always more environmentally friendly than replacing something that can be made fully functional.

Apple in 2019 will always put Services revenue — which this revenue would fall under — before the environment.

 

[1146331]

Yeah, there is that and Apple claims they want to be environmentally friendly, well repairs are always more environmentally friendly than replacing something that can be made fully functional.

Apple only cares about their cash environment. They could care less about the world environment.

 

[nvmls]

What legal pressure?

None clearly, my bad.

https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/30/apple-right-to-repair-consumer-harm/

https://www.classlawgroup.com/apple-right-to-repair-class-action-lawsuit/

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/04/13/apple-lawsuit-repair-shop-norway/

 

[MrUNIMOG]

So... hold on.

iPhone must be out of warranty. If you have an XS/XR, that still is not the case. Meaning that battery still needs to be swapped at an Apple Authorized shop.

How about some movement on the computer side as well please?

Unless I'm reading that wrong?

You're reading it wrong. Or rather, the phrasing of the article is a bit unclear.

Apple clearly states out-of-warranty repairs, not out-of-warranty devices. So if you break your iPhone screen or wear out your battery passing 500 cycles while it's still under warranty, you can get it replaced there.

This just means Apple won't let independent repair shops handle their warranty-covered repairs. Which should be expected.

 

[realtuner]

One post is extrapolating that businesses which were previously not committing fraud will suddenly begin doing so, despite the fact that the financial consequences would likely put them out of business, easily, between fines from Apple and/or a lawsuit(s) from customers. The other is assuming that this service provider program will have similar artificially stringent requirements to those of other programs (see @varsity’s excellent post above detailing those) except those which have been explicitly provided as different.

So no, they’re not “logically equivalent.”

Where did I claim businesses not committing fraud would start committing fraud? I gave a generic example at the beginning and followed it up with this:

Currently there are lots of repair shops using counterfeit Apple components to do repairs. Not all shops, but a lot. Now they'll be able to say they're "certified" but still continue using counterfeit parts. And by saying they're certified it's logical to assume that their business will go up meaning fraud will increase.

Pretty clear what I meant. Shops already committing fraud will be able to increase fraud due to them seeing (presumably) increased business by being certified (customer trust). Further, they can also increase fraud because they'll have access to Apple documentation/tools (for example, having the ability to "pair" batteries to iPhones without the warning message popping up).

 

[ElectricPotato]

They shouldn’t be giving their secret documents to random hobos in the street!

Only authorized hobos have the necessary skills. Just head to the nearest tent city in your favorite US urban center for the quality service your gadget demands.