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I don’t think it’s surprising: It’s very easy and inexpensive to change oil in your car, yet what percentage of car owners do it?
In that case legal disposal of the waste oil is the main problem: unless your local dump doesn’t charge too much and isn’t too awkward to get to, the cost savings aren’t all that great once you value your time.
 
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People don't understand how dangerous laptop and phones batteries are too handle and extremely toxic to dispose of.

I once threw a malfunctioning wireless Magic Keyboard in the trash.

In the trash the keyboard bent and the battery developed a whole. It reacted with oxygen in the air and the reaction filled the apartment with potentially lethal white smoke.

I was just going to sleep at the time when I heard the hissing noise from the trash. If I had already been asleep when it happened I would have 100% died from inhaling the smoke.

The iPhone and iPad batteries are even more dangerous to handle than that one.
At least, they could bring their iPad Pro/Air to the Genius Bar, and make them change the battery for them. Just not replacing the device, but just the battery inside. By just replacing the battery, the consumers win (because they keep their original screen), Apple wins, and the planet wins.
 
If Apple stops shops who are part of the apple repair programs from charging to fix phones that users ordered the parts for themselves, they should definitely be sued heavily and made to allow such shops to repair phones people bring in with the parts they ordered from Apple.
 


Very few iPhone users will repair their own iPhone to postpone their next smartphone purchase, despite the Self Service Repair program, according to research by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).

apple-independent-repair-program.jpg

Earlier this week, Apple announced the Self Service Repair program, giving customers who are comfortable with the idea of completing their own repairs access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals, starting with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups. While the scheme has been met with praise from Right to Repair advocates, it seems that few iPhone users will take advantage of it in practice.

CIRP's research suggests that almost all iPhones in use have a display in "useable" condition and most iPhones have a battery in "useable" condition. 12 percent of iPhone displays are cracked but useable, and just six percent are unusable and in need of replacement. 26 percent of iPhone batteries are said to provide battery life lasting half a day without charging, and 14 percent need to be charged every couple of hours. Battery replacements are therefore likely to be among the most common repairs, but comparatively few active devices are in need of replacing either of these parts that are subject to a high level of wear and tear.

cirp-self-service-repair-charts.jpg

The small number of active devices in need of replacement parts, combined with the fact that many users will not be comfortable completing their own repairs, indicates that very few iPhone users will actually take advantage of the Self Service Repair program. CIRP Partner and Co-Founder Mike Levin said:Since most new iPhone buyers already have "more than adequately usable phones," "few owners would use the Self Service Repair program to postpone their next iPhone purchase," according to CIRP's Josh Lowitz.

The Self Service Repair program will be available to users starting early next year in the United States and expand to additional countries throughout 2022.

CIRP's findings are based on a survey of 2,000 Apple customers in the U.S. that purchased an Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, or Mac between October 2020 and September 2021.

Article Link: Only a 'Small Fraction' of iPhone Users Will Use Self Service Repair Program, Study Suggests
This move by Apple simply placates regulators and customers that don't understand the general difference between Android and iPhone customers. Android users are looking for the best value (get the best phone for the least amount of money) while Apple users appreciate value but care more about saving time than money while signaling that status to the world (spending a few hours to repair you iPhone is a waste of time since you probably earn much more in that time from your career). Of course there are other differences like the ability to customize, side load, jump between brands that Android users also enjoy but I've found that Apple users simply do not care about those things either.

I am over generalizing so do not reply with your exception to the rule examples. Nothing is 100% homogeneous.
 
I personally miss the era when schematics were included in the box that your radio, television set, or such came in.
Electronics were so much simpler then, though, and components larger and "easier" to replace. Like swapping a tube in an old radio is simple compared to the surface mount components in use today. As soon as manufacturing got to a certain point, the death knell for electronics shops like Radio Shack – and Fry's, to an extent – and even the specialty electronic supply shops started to see a decline. I know there are enthusiasts out there still who miss those types of places but I wonder if interest in tinkering with electronics is just on a massive decline in general. I see a lot of interest in higher level platforms like Raspberry PI where it is more about the software compared to the tinkering of the past.
 
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Electronics were so much simpler then, though, and components larger and "easier" to replace. Like swapping a tube in an old radio is simple compared to the surface mount components in use today. As soon as manufacturing got to a certain point, the death knell for electronics shops like Radio Shack – and Fry's, to an extent – and even the specialty electronic supply shops started to see a decline. I know there are enthusiasts out there still who miss those types of places but I wonder if interest in tinkering with electronics is just on a massive decline in general. I see a lot of interest in higher level platforms like Raspberry PI where it is more about the software compared to the tinkering of the past.
Wanna bet? Have you seen the rat's nest that's the underside of a tube-type chassis? What you see on top looks all neat and clean but underneath:

iu.jpeg

The lack of repairability is totally unsustainable long-term however. We cannot keep disposing and buying new over and over again. We literally cannot continue the cycle. We either have to get off the upgrade bandwagon or make longer-lasting products. There was once a time when a TV could be dropped from a plane and survive. Try this with a flat screen TV:


They truly don't make 'em like they used to. And before everyone hates me for being hateful towards flat screens, well, if all you watch is classic TV that never got an HD remaster (A-Team, original Mission: Impossible, Rockford Files, Star Trek TOS, MacGyver, Incredible Hulk, Night Gallery, etc) what's the point of UHD?

Also, you can't convince me digital TV was worth a crap either. Newer ain't always better. Digital TV sucks. It's all or nothing. A channel used to be capable of being picked up 60+ miles out and get a useable picture. Today, it's going to get all blocky and garbage if you so much as look at the TV the wrong way.


 
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I personally miss the era when schematics were included in the box that your radio, television set, or such came in. People used to teach basic skills like self-repair to their children, and no one would buy junk from a company producing things that fell apart after the warranty ran out. A company would EOL pulling stunts like that, and many folks bought Zenith or Curtis-Mathes based on the fact they literally lasted forever. Companies that produced long-lived goods stuck around, while 'made in China' was rare.

I don't understand what happened. I was taught basic repair from my great grandfather and it has served me well, but folks look at me working on my own car as if I have two heads "Why do you care so much about a freaking Saturn?!" They say. Well, I don't have tons of $$$ nor do I want to help ruin the planet any more than we already have. The disposable society is unsustainable. We can't live our lives tossing things and buying new over and over anymore.

I mean, there was a time when folks didn't buy a new PC until theirs literally let the magic smoke out! People were once interested in learning, and reading that thick manual served many people well. We actually got what we paid for. It's really quite a shame that folks such as myself, and YouTubers such as RadioTVPhonoNut and Shango066 are a dying species.

I hope you all look forward to living on Mars or the Moon soon, because that's where you'll have to, or your children have to, in order to keep living after we ruin Earth with e-waste. No one needs a brand new shiny phone anymore. Stop updating your apps and OS and nothing slows down. A smartphone can last over 10 years if taken care of! I mean the way we use phones has not changed since 2010. It's all Facebook, music, texting, browsing, and email. Maybe some mobile games. You don't need Quantum level computing for that!
That era had very few people being able to afford the devices your family could buy.

Today Zenith or Curtis-Mathe are husks of what they were half a century ago.

"Made in China" allowed 800 million Chinese citizens to level up from poverty.

PC replacement cycle in the 80s, 90s and 00s was <3 years.

Today it's <6 years largely due to the iPhone & Android.

I'm replacing my partially working Macs after >120 months of service because official Security Update versions stopped being sent.

Who wouldn't want upgrading from Macs with 32nm & 22nm chips to Macs with 5nm chips? Apple silicon has better everything over anything Intel or PowerPC. What I miss is Apple's Aperture.

Using patchers to have macOS Monterey on unsupported hardware opens you up to backdoors from unknown 3rd parties.

What will destroy the world is a world population of >7.9 billion where in the 2nd richest 1 billion tries to achieve the standard of living of the richest 1 billion.

We should strive for a world population number that existed the year vaccines were invented.

>10 years of smartphone use is very optimistic. Unlike desktops/laptops your phone is mostly in your pocket being jostled around increasing its wear and tear. Not to mention people do not drop their PCs to the ground as their phones.

At most it would survive >5 years use. Security Updates on OS & apps are needed if your personal data is worth keeping private.
 
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They truly don't make 'em like they used to. And before everyone hates me for being hateful towards flat screens, well, if all you watch is classic TV that never got an HD remaster (A-Team, original Mission: Impossible, Rockford Files, Star Trek TOS, MacGyver, Incredible Hulk, Night Gallery, etc) what's the point of UHD?

Blu-ray remasters
I've enjoyed the TOS, TNG, X-Files remasters and they are glorious! Makes me wish I skipped watching TV in the 80s, 90s & 00s and waited for the Blu-ray copies decades later.

It would have allowed student me to sleep from 6pm-6am, 7pm-5am then 8pm-5am. My mental health & academics would be way way better.

TVs should be replaced whenever content for a new video format. I've noticed that this occurs every ~120 months
 
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Also, even fixing a modern TV or piece of tech ain't that difficult. In fact it can be a ton easier than an old tube set. Sometimes the issue is just a bad capacitor:


The real issue isn't complexity, it's that we ain't teaching our children how to appreciate what they got and maximize their $$$ savings by learning how to repair the stuff they already own. We are so used to being disposable and buying on credit and we all wonder why we're in debt all the time.

I would be quite honored if HeathKit existed and made a kit for a smartphone, where not only can you put it together and appreciate building something, but also have your choice of OS.
 
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If Apple stops shops who are part of the apple repair programs from charging to fix phones that users ordered the parts for themselves, they should definitely be sued heavily and made to allow such shops to repair phones people bring in with the parts they ordered from Apple.
The shops can set their own labor prices. Trust me, they will charge for that labor to the point where your savings will be pennies. Not even worth it!
 
Hell ya. Nothing feels better than fixing something and saving cash.

First time I did brakes I fell over how simple it was. People pay $350+ to dealers for brake pads?

Same with alternators, thermostats, etc.
Yep, I’m the same with cars.

Once got quoted $500 for pads and machines disks.

Bought all new better brands and put it in myself for the same price.
 
Seriously, if I have the money to drop $1K+ on a smartphone, you think I would cheap out on trying to repair it myself? No way, i'd rather spend the money and have either Apple or Best Buy who have the proper tools to do the job right the first time and not make it look like an amateur did the repairs. And think about it. If you try and sell a phone back to Apple or anyone else and they see it has been visibly repaired, you think you're going to get top dollar for it?
This doesn't make any sense
 
No surprise here, most people weren't interested in repairing or upgrading their computers even before they started to be difficult to work on. The vast majority or users see their computer as a sealed box that they don't want to open, and they would rather replace it than work on it themselves. It's a tiny sliver of users today that will build their own computer or open one to upgrade it, which is why the iPad is so successful as it requires no thought after purchase.

Sure, there are people who would do the upgrades (myself among them, I installed upgraded RAM in my Mac Mini just last year), and odds are the people reading this site are more likely to be willing to open their computer and swap out or fix things. We're a tiny minority though...which actually makes it more surprising that Apple instituted a repair program at all.
The DIY PC market is not insignificant, and the people with broken iphones is not insignificant either. If not for the cost efficiency we should also consider the environmental cost of tossing phones that are 99% working. If it isn't something you would be interested in I don't know why you feel like its something that shouldn't exist. More options is always better, no one is forcing you to repair your devices.
 
I agree that few people will do their own repairs. But replacing a screen or battery is not hard at all. I’ve personally don’t a number of battery changes and a few screens and I’ve also repaired a LOT small appliances and gotten many more years of service from them where others would just throw them in a dumpster and buy new. It’s sad really how quick people are to just throw things away.
 
It amazes me how short people's memories are. Apple did the same thing 2 yrs ago.. and look how that turned out. They yanked the rug out from under people.

Rinse.Wash.Repeat.
 
Also, even fixing a modern TV or piece of tech ain't that difficult. In fact it can be a ton easier than an old tube set. Sometimes the issue is just a bad capacitor:


The real issue isn't complexity, it's that we ain't teaching our children how to appreciate what they got and maximize their $$$ savings by learning how to repair the stuff they already own. We are so used to being disposable and buying on credit and we all wonder why we're in debt all the time.

I would be quite honored if HeathKit existed and made a kit for a smartphone, where not only can you put it together and appreciate building something, but also have your choice of OS.
A lot of kit has just got smaller, squeezed onto chips and the chips, reduced space and power requirements and really has removed many people from the repair process and improved the experience however the cost of disposal is still an issue. I didn't dabble much with old TV's but certainly seemed easier to fault to a component when required. Biggest issue I had was cracked board or dry joint. But now its change a board and send it off.

When my existing TV was repaired, one of the three boards was changed. The board was then sent back to LG as it was a warranty job (service engineer visit). I glanced at it, there would be sod all I could do with that board at the home and not the kit to start to look at it (it was part of the 3D setup).

But size is important, it allows more into the package. What was the size of a small footlocker for a particular professional backhaul job was also being done by a small chip toward the end of analogue TV in the UK at the delivery end. That was NICAM. Stereo in standard delivery might be two circuit boards in an analogue unit and is now on a chip surface mounted. Shift some years down the line in the same vein and a Dolby E delivery from a 1U unit to a nice little chip sat on a board in the receiver under your telly. Not sure that could be done in old money components especially with timing.
Consumer facing hi tech goods gone the same way in a lot of cases.
 
I'm very much in favour of the availability of self repair, but I'm personally unlikely to use it as announced. My iPhone X is 4 years old, it works fine, I am not inclined to replace it. I however have no attachment to it and am more likely to just replace it with a physically smaller device if I can find one when the time comes. I *really* don't like iOS and as a result, the iPhone - only use one because it's currently the best option to talk with MacOS.

I *do* want self repair for Macs and would take full advantage of that. It would help get them some acceptance back into the business world as well.
 
I upgrade every year just to stay on top of battery life phone is cased and screen protected since day one and never had an issue knocking on wood things keep going that way.
 
This is me too. I started repairing my own screens after shattering my six month old iPhone 4 and balking at how much Apple wanted for the replacement. I got into replacing screens for others after a coworker mentioned their girlfriend had been without a phone for a week because she was saving up for enough to afford Apple’s replacement price.
Since then I’ve repaired everything from screens to batteries to ports and speakers, always just for the price of the parts themselves. I’ve never damaged a single item and have never had anyone unsatisfied with my work.
I evaluate my success on the thousands of dollars I’ve saved folks and the dozens of phones I’ve kept away from the garbage can over the last decade.
I have no idea if this new program will make sense until more specifics such as pricing are announced, but at least it’s a move in the right direction.
And think about the young person who is sparked into a life of computer engineering because of this!
 
People don't understand how dangerous laptop and phones batteries are too handle and extremely toxic to dispose of.

I once threw a malfunctioning wireless Magic Keyboard in the trash.

In the trash the keyboard bent and the battery developed a whole. It reacted with oxygen in the air and the reaction filled the apartment with potentially lethal white smoke.

I was just going to sleep at the time when I heard the hissing noise from the trash. If I had already been asleep when it happened I would have 100% died from inhaling the smoke.

The iPhone and iPad batteries are even more dangerous to handle than that one.
So because you don’t now how to handle a lithium battery no one should?

You shouldn’t throw anything with a lithium battery in the trash. Recycle it is what you should have done
 
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