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Apple's Efforts to Block 'Right to Repair' Laws Highlighted in New Report
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As long as they are responsible for any future damage caused by the repair. I do not see any problems!!
Even HP, Toshiba, IBM, Epson, etc., required and still require techs to be properly trained and certified to work on their equipment. Unauthorized repairs would void the product warranty. Nobody ever complained about that, and it's been the case for decades.
Apple devices are very compact and easily to break during disassembly unless you are properly trained and have the right tools (most of which you can easily get online). I can imagine untrained people buying parts then mishandling them and wanting to return them as defective. A parts shop nightmare waiting to happen.
Yes, it's not Apple's fault someone dropped the devices and broke the displays (I dropped one).
This topic always amazes me with how the public themselves will advocate against their own best interests, and in favor of the megacorp bilking them.
I'm kinda on the fence on this one.
Apple isn't trying to make it illegal to repair and use your own device like John Deere is trying to sue farmers that repair their own tractors.
I repair tons of stuff myself. Dozens of iPhone, hundreds of Apple laptops and desktops. I would like to be able purchase genuine parts though. I've also seen first hand what people can do when they try to repair themselves without any prior experience. In trying to fix a screen, they'll mess up the camera. In trying to replace the SSD, they'll forget a screw and short the logic board.
I dunno... I feel like if Apple is required to sell parts they should be able to decide who to sell them to. But I'm afraid there would be an unintended effect that if Apple starts to sell parts, it will cause the 3rd party market quality to stumble and start producing more and more lower quality replacement parts to help increase their profit margin from the Apple competition of part selling.
I think the cost of repairs a just too high in general, and Apple is probably taking that stance to protect from losing their AppleCare income. Screens shouldn't cost $249 to replace. And the BACK GLASS of an iPhone which is merely a design aspect (yes, it helps with charging and antenna, but could be plastic) is enough for apple to consider having to replace the whole phone! It's just insane the high prices that keep users searching for cheap 3rd party options.
Apple isn't trying to make it illegal to repair and use your own device like John Deere is trying to sue farmers that repair their own tractors.
I repair tons of stuff myself. Dozens of iPhone, hundreds of Apple laptops and desktops. I would like to be able purchase genuine parts though. I've also seen first hand what people can do when they try to repair themselves without any prior experience. In trying to fix a screen, they'll mess up the camera. In trying to replace the SSD, they'll forget a screw and short the logic board.
I dunno... I feel like if Apple is required to sell parts they should be able to decide who to sell them to. But I'm afraid there would be an unintended effect that if Apple starts to sell parts, it will cause the 3rd party market quality to stumble and start producing more and more lower quality replacement parts to help increase their profit margin from the Apple competition of part selling.
I think the cost of repairs a just too high in general, and Apple is probably taking that stance to protect from losing their AppleCare income. Screens shouldn't cost $249 to replace. And the BACK GLASS of an iPhone which is merely a design aspect (yes, it helps with charging and antenna, but could be plastic) is enough for apple to consider having to replace the whole phone! It's just insane the high prices that keep users searching for cheap 3rd party options.
All very true, in fact automobiles have gotten so technically complex that a lot of small shops will no longer be able to handle some of the repairs due to the expensive equipment and space requirements. There is also some crazy liability......imagine if you as a tech, miss align the lasers used to stop the car before it rear ends another car....and it doesn't work?
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For sure. Sycophants, fanboys, zealots or whatever the term of the day is, theres a retail version of the Stockholm Syndrome and MR is thick with it.
Thats correct.
It was fully on display when apple removed the wall warts from the iphone boxes claiming it was for environmental reasons. But included a charging cable that had usb-c connector which a low percentage of people had at the time. So it just drove people to go buy a usb-c wall wart to plug their new cable into. (and before anyone says the customers should have just used their existing cables which would still work fine, if everyone has cables already then why is apple including THOSE in the box as well????)
I own a LOT of apple stock. I want them to do good. But want them to do things that make sense as well. Fighting right to repair doesnt make sense. I hate that so much stuff ends up in the landfill because people will not repair stuff these days. Just throw it away and buy new.
The reason why the third party one stopped working was because they have to use Chinese 3rd party screens since Apple won't supply them with one.
It's a mutual benefit. Imagine how things would be without Apple, Google, Amazon, etc.
And of course, nobody is in business to be a charity, money needs to be made, otherwise it's not a business.
And if these companies make a ton of money, it's because they know how. Remember, like most companies, Apple started small, two dudes in a garage; had their struggles through the years and finally got to the top.
So if they now provide us with useful devices and services, how come they became the evil megacorp bilking you?
They are not taking money out of anyone's pocket by force. Each person is free to chose whatever they want.
And you must have Apple devices, otherwise how do you explain why you spend your time in this forum.
It seems you are just repeating what other people say just to get attention.
I think anyone should be able to take their Apple device anywhere they want to get it repaired. The same as taking your Mercedes to Joe's Garage...you are taking that risk but you should have that right.
There’s a rather glaring problem with your argument, you assert without proof that so called “right to repair” laws are in people’s best interests. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t, but simply assuming they are is putting the cart before the horse.
That doesn't justify the fact the repair tech didn't seal the display properly and also scratched the chasis of the iPad. And didn't seal it right.
I’ll let someone else fix my devices. I’m too old and can’t see the tiny parts. 
True... and once Joe screws it all up, don't expect MB to repair that mess for free.
You do realize there is a dramatic difference between repairing a car and repairing a phone right? Like these two things are orders of magnitude different in size, which, whether you admit it or not, has a significant impact on repairability. To compare the two situations without acknowledging that is to render your argument null and void.
Or if you make $100/hr at what you do best, it's worth paying $100 to someone else who's a repair professional to repair your screen, instead of spending 4 hours trying to do it yourself, don't you think?I’ll let someone else fix my devices. I’m too old and can’t see the tiny parts.
And true, not every person can deal with tiny parts, specially without the proper equipment (which is expensive). Or simply don't have the patience to do it. I truly don't. I repaired a screen before, it was fun, but I have better things to do instead.
So if your washing machine breaks down, you or an independent repair company are not allowed to fix it, and the manufacturer is not obligated to fix it either.
What world do you live in?
When did you last hear about a house burn down as a result of an iPhone issue?
This sounds like the kind of experience I'd expect.
Apple Stores generally don't perform low level repairs.
For the most part the device is either swapped outright on the spot and the customer walks out the door with a working device or a part is replaced (e.g. screen, entire logic board, etc.) if the replacement is relatively easy in terms of labour and necessary knowledge.
No one in the Apple Store is going to solder/desolder things.
This has a couple of benefits for me as a consumer.
The two most obvious ones are that I as a consumer can either walk out the door rather quickly with a working device that, in my anecdotal experience, looks as new (although I believe technically Apple warns about minor signs of usage in their fine print) and went through QA, when the device is replaced, or that the device is repaired with a new component that was mass produced in the manufacturing plant and went through QA.
This makes it so I don't have to worry about the soldering skills of the person doing the repair.
The defective components and devices are send back to Apple, and repaired or recycled on the backend to be turned into new components or the next refurbished device that's handed out to the next customer.
There are of course also downsides to this, some that come to mind are (but not an exhaustive list):
- If I didn't have a prudent backup policy, either by not using the built in iCloud backup, not using the "iTunes" backup option or something goes wrong with the backup, then you lose all the data that is not automatically synced to iCloud/that's not enabled to sync with iCloud, if the device is replaced outright
- This raises the cost of repairs that are not covered under warranty or the Apple Care+ plan if applicable, because you're either paying for 1) an entire new component/device 2) a refurbished component/device. In the case of the latter you essentially pay, in part, for the cost of the whole process of repairing/refurbishing the component/device. It's unclear to me how the cost of labour compares to low-level repairs, on one hand intuitively simple replacements would seem less labour intensive and thus cheaper, but the difference might be negligible compared to someone skilled in soldering and being able to diagnose and get the work done in 5 minutes.
- If you have a specific attachment to your specific device for whatever reason (e.g. engraving, handed down by a loved one, a gift, etc.) replacing the device might be considered an issue in an emotional sense
- The process of doing the repair/refurbishment off-site can incur additional environmental harm, which can be problematic if not mitigated or offset one way or another
Ideally, Apple would provide components to independent repair shops to assure quality of the repair, so they don't necessarily have to resort to low-level repairs that carry a higher risk of problems down the line than replacing the component.
That said, I don't know if, in absence of Apple doing that on its own volition, Apple, or any other party for that matter, should be legally forced to engage into sales contracts.
Similarly, some people that have looked at the Independent Repair Program seem to be unhappy of the price of the components that are offered, I'm not sure if legally forcing a certain price point is something I'd be comfortable with.
However, from a broader perspective, I think it's a good idea to see if the price that is charged for those components makes sense in terms of average cost to produce at similar production quality and quantities + average profit rates in the industry and determine if its in the realm of reasonable numbers.