Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I just watched a documentary about John Deere making repairs impossible without software just like this. I don't like this idea. I think its reasonable on an iPad or an iPhone but I expect to buy a MacBook and have it last a while with me being able to repair it when it is out of warranty. Just changed the battery out on my 2011 MacBook Pro because it swelled up, I may be able to do that on a future MacBook.

I saw that Mother Jones report. Sure enough, Apple's legal staff was in attendance to discourage State lawmakers from preserving consumer liberties.

Hopefully, Ukrainian hackers will steal/copy/sell the diagnostic tool for compromised persons, like they did with John Deere.
 
*Sigh* This does not bode well for future Macs. :(

And that stinks for anyone who has purchased either of those machines. I understand Apple wants to lock down certain aspects of their hardware, but this measure seems a bit much.

While I’ve always known about the walled garden, I began to experience it recently and the actions Apple are taking now are a huge turn off to me. It is becoming much easier to consider alternatives.

I am not surprised by this. :oops:
 
This is ridiculous. Apple, the moment i pay you for one of your products, it's MINE; and I reserve the right to have ANYONE I CHOOSE repair it. This is authoritarian, and anti-freedom. Shame on you.

The practical reality is that you are renting the software and hardware from them for a limited unspecified amount of time.

The only real solution to this is open source software AND hardware.

It's the only real pathway to freedom from these jerkwipes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: andre.olive
Honestly?! I have spent 3500 EUR on a 13 inch MBP that is not as fast as a Dell XPS that costs 1/2 as much. The storage is not upgradable. The memory is not upgradeable. Everything is glued together inside the case - if anything breaks I might as well throw away the laptop and buy a new one.

Now compare to my previous laptop - a 2011 MacBook pro. Everything was upgradeable. I bought it with 4GB RAM and upgrade to 16. It came with 256GB hard disk - I upgraded to a 1TB SSD. I replaced the keyboard when I spilt liquid on it - it cost 30 EUR in parts and I fitted it following an ifixit guide.

Look at where we are!! Out of principle, I honestly don't think my next laptop will be a Mac.

Im with you on the frustration. Makes it even more frustrating that the only other option is not MacOS. Have a Windows machine that I use from time to time and it isnt long before I realize why I hate that experience.
 
Enough is enough!!! i was deciding to buy a new mac, but at some point I asked myself. Really? Are you going to spend that money on one of these macbook pro or imac models??? So I decided to build my own rig again (I've already built it), after 15 years.

I want to upgrade my own storage (SSDs), I want to upgrade my own RAM memory. I want to upgrade my CPU and my GPU. I own my **** and I'll be the one repairing it whenever I want. Oh my dear MacBook Pro Retina mid 2012, you are my last one. I am gradually saying goodbye to facetime, imessage, icloud, I won't miss it. And I am happily welcoming my old passion back as my official Soho OS, Linux (Debian and Mint). I couldn't be more happy!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Good ol Apple, milking that money tree as much as possible, despite being fined for blocking third party iPhone repairs..

http://fortune.com/2018/06/19/australia-fines-apple-millions-for-refusing-to-repair-bricked-iphones/

Remember error 53? Which it blamed on users and repair shops...

I can see anti competition commissions and consumer laws not seeing eye to eye with this new policy either.
I bet the new iMacs and Mac Mini and Mac Pro will be exactly the same..

The new Surface Studio 2 is more repairable and the base config has a better GPU then the iMac, not sure about the iMac Pro, but their is a £1300 price gap between the base spec Studio and iMac Pro..
 
Last edited:
The practical reality is that you are renting the software and hardware from them for a limited unspecified amount of time.

The only real solution to this is open source software AND hardware.

It's the only real pathway to freedom from these jerkwipes.

OK sure. As soon as you come up with a business model, I'm game.
 
You are thinking too much like an actual user.

This isnt a real problem to Apple.
Where I can relate to this situation, data is the property of the consumer, and is the sole responsibility of the consumer to have backups of that property. Apple simply provides the tools in their hardware to protect the consumer's data from being accessed by unauthorized parties.
 
Call me crazy, but I'm starting to think that those security features that Apple added recently to their products are just "a side effect" of Apple trying to control everything and making their products unrepairable by unauthorized service centers. I always choose the authorized repair center, but with those insane prices of some repairs (iPhone X back etc.) I really don't like how is Apple treating their customers.
 
Last edited:
The practical reality is that you are renting the software and hardware from them for a limited unspecified amount of time.

The only real solution to this is open source software AND hardware.

It's the only real pathway to freedom from these jerkwipes.
I’ve built my own machine using a processor i designed myself and built my own Linux kernel to run on it.

It may be freedom, but it’s not that great. I’m happily imprisoned by Apple now.
 
Sounds futuristic and all, but considering I still regularly use technology from 20 years ago which sometimes requires maintenance and repair, this sounds like a horrible ecological choice on Apple's part.
It's not just the future that is going to be dystopian it's the present too, and I am not even talking about ecology here. It has already started ...
 
Everyone who just purchased a $10,000 iMac Pro better get on it and make a ton of dough quick cuz in a blink of an eye it'll be vintage and EOL.
I think it can safely be said that a $10,000 iMac is probably the worst computing solution anyone could possibly dream of.
Hopefully if you can afford a $10,000 computer you can afford another one 7 years later.
[doublepost=1538680800][/doublepost]
*Sigh* This does not bode well for future Macs. :(

And that stinks for anyone who has purchased either of those machines. I understand Apple wants to lock down certain aspects of their hardware, but this measure seems a bit much.

While I’ve always known about the walled garden, I began to experience it recently and the actions Apple are taking now are a huge turn off to me. It is becoming much easier to consider alternatives.

I am not surprised by this. :oops:

So Apple has 7 years to offer a solution to this problem but wait, no, whine about it NOW :rolleyes:. We don't know if they will or will not make concessions to third parties, but it's awfully early to complain about it IMO.
 
And remember, before any service can be done, the drive must be wiped and cleared or Apple won’t accept it for repair. They’re serious about privacy. I love the T2 system.

Back, back, back, back-it-up!

What kind of stupid policy is that? It’s basically claiming do not Trust us at Apple, we will not abide by the Data Protection Act and our staff will steal your data...

But you’ve managed to flip it around and claim it’s great for security o_O
 
  • Like
Reactions: dabotsonline
As you can see in my signature ... I own both of these devices. How am I handling this news? It barely phases me.

Why? Because I will likely end up replacing my iMP in ~5 years, and my laptop in 3. That's just how it goes with technology, especially when you have to stay developing for the bleeding edge, and security testing the bleeding edge.

I will end up reselling it, within it's warranty period, to another user, and put the money towards my next system. They however will be the ones affected by this change, as they will likely hold onto it until it dies, and is just a paperweight.

Alternatively, the diagnostic test might be made available to third party repair shops. Bam, problem solved.
 
What kind of stupid policy is that? It’s basically claiming do not Trust us at Apple, we will not abide by the Data Protection Act and our staff will steal your data...

But you’ve managed to flip it around and claim it’s great for security o_O
I am unsure how you extracted that from my post. Are you okay? Is there anything you'd like to share that may be bothering you? Is your home life doing well? Feelings of mistrust and defensive attitudes can be detrimental to one's wellbeing!

There is no flipping. It is what it objectively is, contrasted to your personal, subjective point of view. At the end of the day your point of view is most important to yourself, so roll with it. As a professional who has unbelievable amounts of proprietary data on my MacBook Pro, I erase my device before any hardware servicing anyways. As Freud has said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
 
Hopefully if you can afford a $10,000 computer you can afford another one 7 years later.
[doublepost=1538680800][/doublepost]

So Apple has 7 years to offer a solution to this problem but wait, no, whine about it NOW :rolleyes:. We don't know if they will or will not make concessions to third parties, but it's awfully early to complain about it IMO.


I think differently about it because knowing this now effects any future purchase I may make.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sinfonist
MacBook Pro's are getting to be a harder and harder sell. I've enjoyed them and currently use a 15" 2018 MacBook Pro. Had a 2016 that had numerous keyboard problems that a returned for a 2017 that had more keyboard problems, that I sold for my 2018 that is now having key repeat issues (with multiple keys) now so back to the store again. Really used to have 0 issues before the touchbar models arrived.

This coupled with these complex repair procedures have me really wondering if these are really things that I should be investing in. I enjoy Apple's ecosystem but this is getting to be a tough pill to swallow, security reasons or otherwise.
 
I am unsure how you extracted that from my post. Are you okay? Is there anything you'd like to share that may be bothering you? Is your home life doing well? Feelings of mistrust and defensive attitudes can be detrimental to one's wellbeing!

There is no flipping. It is what it objectively is, contrasted to your personal, subjective point of view. At the end of the day your point of view is most important to yourself, so roll with it. As a professional who has unbelievable amounts of proprietary data on my MacBook Pro, I erase my device before any hardware servicing anyways. As Freud has said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

Fair enough, seems to me you don’t trust Apple staff.. thankfully here in the U.K. we have strong data protection laws. Well supposedly anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dabotsonline
Damn. You can either go with the 2016/2017 T1 machines with a keyboard some may have problems with or go with the superior 2018 T2 machine that may be a paperweight after Apple refuses to service it.

I guess this means T2 and later MBP owners should dump these as soon as AppleCare is up just like people typically ditch high-end luxury cars right around the 3 year mark. This will be terrible for resale values regardless.
[doublepost=1538682542][/doublepost]If Apple chooses to add this T2 or T2+n chip on every Mac going forward then they should introduce some sort of Mac upgrade program or a 2-3 year leasing model. Unrepairable Macs costing thousands of dollars are really bad news.

I could tolerate the soldered RAM and NVMe but this is just ridiculous! And what about the iMac Pro?!! Since they’re dumping OpenGL/OpenCL what the hell will people do once their iMac Pro no longer supports the latest version of Metal? I guess they will be forced to use eGPUs for as long as they own the machine but at some point TB3 will no longer be sufficient!
 
Last edited:
Fair enough, seems to me you don’t trust Apple staff.. thankfully here in the U.K. we have strong data protection laws. Well supposedly anyway.
Again, confusing how that is extrapolated from my post. Many companies, government entities and creative departments have policies requiring the removal of business related data before servicing. It has nothing to do with trust.

This forum is full of peaches today!
 
  • Like
Reactions: dabotsonline
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.