iPhone 13 Screen Replacements Can Break Face ID, a Repair Restriction iFixit Calls 'Completely Unprecedented'

[jlc1978]

If Apple were truly as consumer-friendly and environmentally conscious as they pretend to be they'd design their products with easy repairability in mind from the ground up.

True, but with the move to thins anything to save space will be done. Of course, they don't need to glue in stuff but that may save production time and costs. But even a design for repairability doesn't mean it can be repaired with non-OEM parts. Customized chips, for example, may not be available fro non-OEM parts.

 

[avatuar99]

No, Apple did this so you can't spoof FaceID.

Apple doesn't give a **** about third-party repair services, they care about ensuring the security of their devices.

Security of their devices? Then how come whenever I tell my wife we need new shoes or diapers for the kids hours later I get ads for shoes and diapers on my iphone and mac? Apple tells you they care about privacy but for them as long as it’s not a human listening but a computer that’s fine. I think if Steve Jobs were with us today he would not like it at all what they did with his company.

 

[Mockletoy]

No. It really is simple. If I were as outraged with Apple as some here professed to be, I'd drop them like a hot potato and reward another company with my dollars.

Why anybody would reward a company that causes some such personal and continuous outrage is bewildering.

It tends to be Apple’s most fervent defenders who display the frothiest outrage, generally because they consider even the mildest of criticisms directed at Apple as heresy.

I say, “Apple should really do better in this one particular area” and suddenly I have half a dozen people shrieking at me to GTFO of the Apple ecosystem and never return.

It’s by turns darkly amusing and depressing.

 

[boss.king]

No. It really is simple. If I were as outraged with Apple as some here profess to be, I'd drop them like a hot potato and reward another tech company with my dollars. There are loads of choices out there.

Why anybody would repeatedly reward a company that causes some such personal and continuous outrage is bewildering.

It’s like you don’t even read what you’re replying to sometimes.

 

[LogicalApex]

I'd like you to explain why there is a 'right to repair' (how do you arrive at the notion of repairing something you buy being a 'right') and how you logically come to expect that it should be a law and even described as a 'right'. I think the people who use the term 'right' as in 'human rights' are misusing the language and I also think you know that but are being obtuse in your comment.

The terminology is accurate and people aren't misusing the term "right" in this case...

A basic fundamental right of society is property ownership. Property ownership should confer in you an absolute right over your property. Meaning, you should be able to buy a muffin and eat it, burn it, give it away, sell it for 5x your purchase price, etc. as it is your muffin to do what you like with...

Warranties were added to offer buyers some assurances by a manufacturer that their product is sound and you won't buy, say, a wheel barrel and get it outside the store and the wheel fall off and your recourse is to buy another wheel barrel. In 1975 in the US congress cleaned up sneaky stuff manufacturers would do in their warranties in the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act to end practices like "breaking the seal voids your warranty" and voiding a warranty on any third party repairs. Hence why you won't void your car's warranty by using wiper blades from Auto Zone. The OEM is required to keep the warranty in tact unless they can attribute the specific failure to the use of a third party part.

Apple and other companies are doing an end run around the rules by using the DMCA to undo the basic protections afforded in the law. You down own your device and instead you're granted a "license" to it. Furthermore encryption keys are used to tie components together and since reversing that encryption is a DMCA violation you're not able to buy products off the shelf that bypass or disable these checks. The OEM is also not required to sell you repair parts or enable you to disable these checks in any capacity...

It is being heavily abused as well. Such as farmers who aren't allowed to repair the John Deere farm equipment they own due to these tactics.

Farmers Fight John Deere Over Who Gets to Fix an $800,000 Tractor

The right-to-repair movement has come to the heartland, where some farmers are demanding access to the software that runs their equipment.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[Pezimak]

This is verging in forced obsolescence. Because Apple won't repair your screen but most likely try and sell you a refurbished phone or a new one. I'd also argue this is illegal practice in some countries? This obsession Apple has with blocking you from having your Apple device repaired by anyone but Apple, or for you to do it is quite disgraceful. It's why they solder all their RAM and SSD in their computers. Unless you spend several thousand in the Mac Pro and even then it's OS drive is linked to the security chip and I understand cannot be upgraded?

 

[GrumpyCoder]

Security of their devices? Then how come when ever I tell my wife we need new shoes or diapers for the kids hours later I get ads for shoes and diapers on my iphone and mac?

Because receiving ads is not about security, it's about privacy.

 

[TheLinkster]

Nah, spending time amongst Apple’s most fervent worshippers is one of the things driving me away from them. It’s a little too cult-adjacent for my tastes at times.

So then why are you here?

 

[Mockletoy]

True, but with the move to thins anything to save space will be done. Of course, they don't need to glue in stuff but that may save production time and costs. But even a design for repairability doesn't mean it can be repaired with non-OEM parts. Customized chips, for example, may not be available fro non-OEM parts.

The problem is that it’s not just Apple. Microsoft, for instance, is taking baby steps toward building more repairable devices (SSDs, so far), but the Surface lineup has been a bunch of glued-together abominations for years.

 

[Analog Kid]

On the other side of that coin, it is your right to purchase whatever you want and if you don't agree with the way Apple does repairs, don't use Apple products.

I agree with this unreservedly.

And when did having the most capable, compact, lowest cost and most reliable products technology can build become a right?

I guess I’m confused by your response here. Codified rights vary by jurisdiction, for sure, but this is a fundamental component of capitalism and free markets. In the US, it comes close to the individual rights of “liberty and pursuit of happiness”, but those aren’t actually in the legal code anywhere.

My point was more theoretical though. You laid out a hypothetical right to repair. I asked which right wins when that conflicts with the right to produce, sell, and purchase products that are optimized around capability, form factor, cost and reliability.

 

[TheLinkster]

It says right there in the article that Apple’s contracts are draconian and they charge small, independent shops exorbitant prices that make doing work on Apple products unprofitable, thus driving the business (and profits) to …

… I bet you can guess who, if you really try.

So someone who didn't want to go through a contract tells macrumors said contract is "draconian." Hard evidence if I ever heard it, as if no spin could be put on that statement. All contracts are draconian; anyone who's taken the time to read through EULA they blindly click out of, from anyone, would find it draconian.

If you don't want to tow the line, don't. But don't complain about it.

 

[citysnaps]

It’s like you don’t even read what you’re replying to sometimes.

Nope. You posed a simple scenario regarding Apple's ecosystem. I responded with a direct answer. No one is beholden to an ecosystem for life. Unless you want to be. I certainly am not. I could dump it all tomorrow if I was as outraged as some here profess to be.

 

[CubeHacker]

in all fairness though, who else would Apple look out for if not themselves? Amazon?

The consumer? The small businesses that have been helping to repair the millions upon millions of iphones that are currently in use. That would be a good start.

 

[Mockletoy]

So then why are you here?

Anthropological studies?

Actually it’s because I’ve been a huge fan of Apple devices since I was a little kid. I saved and saved to buy my first Mac, which was a beat-up piece of outdated crap, but I was proud of it just the same.

That’s part of why seeing them lose their “Think Different” ways and become just another soulless, money-grubbing corporate machine has been so unpleasant to watch.

They were so much better off as the scrappy underdog, which forced them to prioritize the satisfaction of the few customers they had and keep their worst impulses in check.

 

[boss.king]

Nope. You posed a simple scenario regarding Apple's ecosystem. I responded with a direct answer. No one is beholden to an ecosystem for life. Unless you want to be. I certainly am not. I could dump it all tomorrow if I was as outraged as some here profess to be.

I gave an example of how it’s not as easy as you’re saying it is to switch. You somehow don’t understand or are simply choosing not to.

I swear Apple could set fire to your house and you’d be telling everyone about how they’re doing it for your own good.

 

[Seend1983]

The consumer? The small businesses that have been helping to repair the millions upon millions of iphones that are currently in use. That would be a good start.

according to their financial results and income statements, Apple is doing just fine looking after the consumer. Whether that continues going forward is another matter, but so far they're doing fine. They don't need to make everybody happy to be successful.

 

[BootsWalking]

in all fairness though, who else would Apple look out for if not themselves? Amazon?

I dunno, maybe its users?

 

[Analog Kid]

I swear Apple could probably set fire to your house and you’d be telling everyone about how they’re doing it for your own good.

You somehow can extrapolate from authenticated displays to arson just based on where people see the pain point in switching platforms?

If they were arguing “I don’t care how horrible it is, or how easy it is to switch, you never ever should or you‘re a technology traitor!”, then I’d see your point. But saying “switching platforms is always an option” somehow doesn’t align with your let-Apple-burn-your-house-down conclusion…

 

[Mockletoy]

I have an example of how it’s not as easy as you’re saying it is to switch. You somehow don’t understand or are simply choosing not to.

I swear Apple could probably set fire to your house and you’d be telling everyone about how they’re doing it for your own good.

It’s a heck of a thing to watch, that’s for sure.

I dunno. My brain just isn’t wired that way. Apple is a giant corporation that makes tools I generally enjoy using. That’s the extent of my relationship with them.

You could climb on a soapbox and preach their virtues or castigate them for their failures every day and it would mean nothing to me. I have no personal stake in what anyone thinks of them, because they’re just a company, not my best friend or mom or something.

Some folks, though, they act like you just slapped their mama in church if you say a cross word about Apple.

 

[NT1440]

Security of their devices? Then how come whenever I tell my wife we need new shoes or diapers for the kids hours later I get ads for shoes and diapers on my iphone and mac? Apple tells you they care about privacy but for them as long as it’s not a human listening but a computer that’s fine. I think if Steve Jobs were with us today he would not like it at all what they did with his company.

Care to lay out what other “smart” devices are in your home?

 

[DrRadon]

When you talk about saving the environment but actually like money today way more....

 

[Wanted797]

No, Apple did this so you can't spoof FaceID.

Apple doesn't give a **** about third-party repair services, they care about ensuring the security of their devices.

They can do that by pairing just the FaceID module to the phone. Which is what they have done for years and started with TouchID.

How in the world for pairing the FaceID module to the display assembly make the phone “more secure”?

 

[boss.king]

You somehow can extrapolate from authenticated displays to arson just based on where people see the pain point in switching platforms?

If they were arguing “I don’t care how horrible it is, or how easy it is to switch, you never ever should or you‘re a technology traitor!”, then I’d see your point. But saying “switching platforms is always an option” somehow doesn’t align with your let-Apple-burn-your-house-down conclusion…

This isn’t my first time talking to citysnaps. There’s a definite pattern in what they find acceptable (everything) and where they think Apple might have made a mistake (never).

 

[Pro Apple Silicon]

I really don't understand why people need unauthorized repairs. Or think Apple should somehow prioritize this in product design.

1. Stop breaking your phones.
2. If you can't, get it fixed the right way.

Sorry. Zero sympathy for this argument.

 

[dwaite]

While I personally would prefer Apple to do repairs, I can see some people wanting a cheaper option, especially on older devices they may not care as much about.

Which means this is a non-issue. Nobody sane should be going to an uncertified third party to replace an iPhone 13 screen, and the third party that offers to do so is likely associated with a scam operation chop-shopping stolen iPhones. They simply can't get the parts. Apple can't even get the parts.