Right to Repair Advocate on Apple's Program: 'Still Too Many Hoops to Jump Through' to Fix iPhones

[kuwxman]

Saw a comment about ifixit being mad because they're getting cut out here. I'd disagree. Access to the tools have never really been the issue. Anyone can pretty much buy those Wera micro-torque screwdrivers that guy has on the bench in the story's photo. They can be purchased from a place like KC Tool.

The bigger issue here is lack of access to OEM parts. And Apple's solution here continues to make that a roadblock by forcing everything sold to be tied to a phone's serial number. This service is dead on arrival and Apple knows it. The only reason it exists in the first place is to try and make the govt happy.

 

[nastysailboat]

Translation: It's still difficult and still costs money to fix them, so right to repair people will never be happy.

Right to repair is just a smokescreen for people who don't want to pay what Apple charges for repairs. Until they find out that buying OEM parts and renting the tools is still going to cost almost as much. Suddenly they won't want to repair them anymore.

Honestly I’m glad apple doesn’t allow you to use random parts. If I get a used iPhone I’m expecting it to have apple parts in it.

 

[sunny5]

This is bad. It costs only $3 less than what Apple Store charge. This is another stupid decision.

 

[turbineseaplane]

This is bad. It costs only $3 less than what Apple Store charge. This is another stupid decision.

Classic Apple move

Sort of a veiled “f u” to everyone.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Part of me thinks that Apple has purposefully made some decisions in order to make repairs harder for people to do on their own.

I’ll raise you…”all of me” thinks it….

 

[turbineseaplane]

For the grumpy people disagreeing, consider why they set this up to look like a low-effort scam website with no Apple branding and not even their own font. Surely if this was something they wanted people to use, it would be a part of apple.com.

Glad you mentioned this.
The garbage website was the first thing I noticed

 

[Jim Lahey]

More bluster and entitlement from folk who think the world owes them a favour. It’s completely rational that Apple want to control which parts are being put into the devices they design and manufacture. Two obvious reasons are firstly to discourage the circulation of stolen goods, and secondly to minimise the amount of malfunctioning franken-phones containing parts of unknown origin giving their brand a reputation of poor reliability.

I’m far from Apple’s greatest fan these days but there are legitimate reasons why they would want to do this. Some people just aren’t happy unless they’re whining about something or other. In the end, the number of consumers opting to use this service will always be minuscule anyway. Apple are only doing it to kowtow to the demands of meddling governments and two/three letter organisations. That is the bit that should really worry people.

 

[miniyou64]

While I think all products should be made with some level of repairability in mind, it’s all arbitrary anyway. You have a right to try to repair your property. You don’t have a right to dictate to the company that makes it how to make it repairable though. You have a right not to buy it in the first place.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Honestly I’m glad apple doesn’t allow you to use random parts. If I get a used iPhone I’m expecting it to have apple parts in it.

Not so great on older devices like iPads where people don’t want to spend £300 on a new screen when a local repair can be done for £40.

 

[LV426]

And thus auto-parts should have the same attitude? Or any parts, for anything?

Pretty much. 20 years ago, the United States was awash with cheap aircraft components used in service centres. People died. Many people died. Now, there is a strong chain of trust in that industry that forces the use of genuine parts. Aircraft are now much safer as a result, and you are less likely to be killed by a shoddy bolt.

I don’t want knock-off parts ending up in my auto. Could be dangerous for me and other road users. Who wants a 20-tonne truck bearing down on you that has a blown tyre from a dodgy manufacturer in Wuhan? Regulation is good.

OK, a phone is not going to kill you. Probably. But it might. Anyone who has seen the flame from a dodgy battery knows this.

There‘s also reputational damage. Apple have a legitimate interest in NOT having their fruity logo stencilled on the back of a device that features a substandard display.

 

[Egnat69]

Because that aftermarket/repro approach works so well in other sectors, right? Yes, sure… there are a lot of options if you need spares for your car but not even picking the pricey ones guarantees a proper fit or quality and you still have to buy or even build special tools yourself…

 

[Sophisticatednut]

You keep quoting the good parts someone says right before they say “but” and then say what the really mean.

Example: “We are really happy to see Apple making repair manuals available for everyone for free online” but Apple is requiring genuine parts and repair kits which cuts into our bottom line, so there should be more options for consumers to support our 500% markup on pentalobe drivers and plastic squeegees.

The issue is you must use OEM parts instead of being allowed to use 3d party parts. If I can buy 3d party break pads to my car, then I can buy screen or battery for 1/3 the price and be fine. You complain about eu being a nany state but Apple is the biggest many of them all. But apple just don’t like when you cut in to their repair margins that are outrageously big

I'm sorry that the 4 people that want to fix their iPhones are still unhappy. I understand the whole right to repair concept.....but in reality I don't want to spend all day taking an iPhone apart to fix something. How valuable is your time? Sometimes is just cheaper to replace or pay to fix than waste your own time. I would value my free time at a minimum of $200/hr....so after a couple hours I'd rather just pay someone/replace then spend my time messing around with tape and a million screws. Im sure some people like doing this or want to learn....but it's such a PITA and its going to just get harder as things get smaller. A car...sure....and Apple Watch...come on.

I’m sorry but why do you wish to prevent me from fixing my phone by replacing my glass backplate with a cheap knockoff in a different color untill the next iPhone is released instead of wasting a fortune on a phone who just need to last a few months extra.

Many times a 500$ repair is just a simple 2$ cost for replacing a cable or resistor of some kind and 10min fix.
Many times a replaced motherboard is just overkill because apple doesn’t do repairs on the spot, and associated repair centers can’t do anything as well but send it away for a 7 day repair instead of a 30min fix. What takes time is the need to pirate a blueprint to know what every resistor goes to does and “illegally” buying OEM parts because anything else is considered fakes parts and destroyed at customs because apple doesn’t allow independent repair shops buy spare parts.

 

[Sophisticatednut]

Pretty much. 20 years ago, the United States was awash with cheap aircraft components used in service centres. People died. Many people died. Now, there is a strong chain of trust in that industry that forces the use of genuine parts. Aircraft are now much safer as a result, and you are less likely to be killed by a shoddy bolt.

That was a us self made problem and lack of regulations. Today parts must fulfill known quality standards

I don’t want knock-off parts ending up in my auto. Could be dangerous for me and other road users. Who wants a 20-tonne truck bearing down on you that has a blown tyre from a dodgy manufacturer in Wuhan? Regulation is good.

Then don’t buy knockoff stuff. It’s just as safe to buy a non OEM part as an OEM part today. Regulators demand auto manufacturers release part specifications and manufacturing details for free so that 3d party parts meat the safety standards

OK, a phone is not going to kill you. Probably. But it might. Anyone who has seen the flame from a dodgy battery knows this.

Quite literally a non issue. We have more problem with mass manufacturing defects in OEM part such as the Samsung note days than the make believe 3d party batteries. 99% it’s just official batteries that are A- in quality rather than A+ quality sold of unofficially without apple’s aproval and margins

There‘s also reputational damage. Apple have a legitimate interest in NOT having their fruity logo stencilled on the back of a device that features a substandard display.

That is non of regulators and consumers business. And a made up issue needing zero respect. When a phone blows up because of ****** repair customers complains to the ****** repair place. If customers destroy their own devices because of incompetence, they blame themselves.

If consumers blame apple for something they literally didn’t do, then apple can say it’s an industry standard.

Because that aftermarket/repro approach works so well in other sectors, right? Yes, sure… there are a lot of options if you need spares for your car but not even picking the pricey ones guarantees a proper fit or quality and you still have to buy or even build special tools yourself…

Yes the aftermarket works perfectly, especially in the auto industry. You can buy OEM parts or a cheap knockoff. The thing is the cheap knockoff is by law required to fulfill the exact same minimum safety standards as the OEM parts. Or you go to a random mechanic or dealership and they fix your problem with their tools for a cheap price compared to the branded stores.

 

[Sophisticatednut]

Good grief. To replace the plugs in a 1986 Dodge minivan with the V6, you have to pull the motor to get to the back plugs. And that was an every 50k mile item with OEM plugs.

Your car is your second most expensive purchace - it’s not a clumsier grade device you upgrade every couple of years.

These “right to repair” groups never mention automobiles.

Because we already have right to repair automobiles. I recommend you actually look up how Free the car industry is when it comes to right to repair in EU. And how stifled the phone repair business is.

For example the John Deere tractor problem doesn’t exist in EU as that **** is straight up illegal

 

[RadioHedgeFund]

What is needed is legislation making sure products are designed with repairs in mind. The current issues are there because the phones were never designed to be dismantled by the end user.

A good design team would be able to put together a well-made smartphone with parts that can be easily swapped out if things break. No adhesives to pull apart, Torx screws, a battery that sits in place like the phones of yore and so on.

 

[LV426]

That was a us self made problem and lack of regulations. Today parts must fulfill known quality standards

Then don’t buy knockoff stuff. It’s just as safe to buy a non OEM part as an OEM part today. Regulators demand auto manufacturers release part specifications and manufacturing details for free so that 3d party parts meat the safety standards

Quite literally a non issue. We have more problem with mass manufacturing defects in OEM part such as the Samsung note days than the make believe 3d party batteries. 99% it’s just official batteries that are A- in quality rather than A+ quality sold of unofficially without apple’s aproval and margins

That is non of regulators and consumers business. And a made up issue needing zero respect. When a phone blows up because of ****** repair customers complains to the ****** repair place. If customers destroy their own devices because of incompetence, they blame themselves.

It was a worldwide problem, and indeed caused by a lack of regulation. Since addressed. Just as important as requiring components made to standards, the sourcing is regulated. The car market sourcing is poor by comparison: you can very easily obtain parts from eBay that could be made anywhere in the world to God-only-knows what standard. For iPhones, requiring the use of authorised Apple parts is different to saying you shouldn’t buy garbage parts.

It most definitely is an issue if your phone explodes or catches fire in an aircraft hold. Quite literally an issue. It happens.

Companies of all kind jealously protect their standing. Apple quite rightly do not want their product or product branding to be associated with rubbish displays. If that happens, the product is essentially a fake, and subject to trading standards.

 

[TopToffee]

I'm going to get downvoted all to hell on this, but that's fine :

MY GOD some people have a lot of time on their hands!

 

[Solidbilly]

Well, the idea behind locking parts to a device is to discourage phone stealing, if someone steals or tries to sell a stolen iPhone it shouldn’t be worth the parts.

Wouldn't Apple be able to accomplish the same thing by installing parts with serial numbers in all phones manufactured by Apple (I'm assuming they already do this)? If you stole a new phone, it still wouldn't be worth anything if you tried to strip the parts from it. The only chance you'd have of making money would be to steal a phone in hopes it has had third-party parts installed in it at some point. That doesn't seem like much of an incentive for thieves.

 

[wanha]

Even if Apple included repair instructions and tools with each iPhone sold, iFixit probably still wouldn't be happy with Apple.

 

[Wanted797]

I agree that serialising makes sense.

But Louis Rossmann has summed up this program will in his video. It’s purely to look like they’re doing something.

 

[BellSystem]

The issue is you must use OEM parts instead of being allowed to use 3d party parts. If I can buy 3d party break pads to my car, then I can buy screen or battery for 1/3 the price and be fine. You complain about eu being a nany state but Apple is the biggest many of them all. But apple just don’t like when you cut in to their repair margins that are outrageously big

I’m sorry but why do you wish to prevent me from fixing my phone by replacing my glass backplate with a cheap knockoff in a different color untill the next iPhone is released instead of wasting a fortune on a phone who just need to last a few months extra.

Many times a 500$ repair is just a simple 2$ cost for replacing a cable or resistor of some kind and 10min fix.
Many times a replaced motherboard is just overkill because apple doesn’t do repairs on the spot, and associated repair centers can’t do anything as well but send it away for a 7 day repair instead of a 30min fix. What takes time is the need to pirate a blueprint to know what every resistor goes to does and “illegally” buying OEM parts because anything else is considered fakes parts and destroyed at customs because apple doesn’t allow independent repair shops buy spare parts.

You can do whatever you want. I’m not trying to stop anyone lol. I’m just saying that I won’t be wasting my time trying to fix something that will waste several hours of my time and likely go sideways. I have fixed several phones in the past…but I tried to fix the broken rear glass on an 11 and that was a complete nightmare and I just bought a new device and sold some parts instead of wasting more time. I’m totally for people having access to parts, tools, and manuals. But everyone is getting that and they are still dissatisfied and won’t ever be happy because they need something to complain about.

 

[indychris]

Ideally Apple's role here would be to remove roadblocks to repair and make devices more repairable. Other companies should provide parts, tools, and so on. I'm a happy capitalist but this feels a little like a cynical attempt to seize another angle on device-related profits. There are legitimate concerns -- especially around price, my goodness -- that go beyond the knee-jerk "you can't please everyone" commentary.

What price should a phone be? If this is the problem, then shouldn't we simply implement fixed pricing on all cell phones?

If anyone should be able to make/sell parts, then that would mean that apple would need to provide information for secure firmware and other security measures provided in their hardware. It would seem to me that this would directory make the platform more vulnerable.

 

[H2SO4]

Anybody here moaning that Apple has the right to do this I have a question for you.
Have you always taken everything you own back to the OEM for service or repair?
Your boiler, your cooler, your car, your anything?
If the answer is yes to any of the above you’re a hypocrite.
If you’ve ever called a handyman or local serviceman ask your self if that applies to you.

 

[jimbobb24]

Plot twist: The right to repair advocate, Proctor, runs an underground iPhone chop shop and really just wants more parts available.

 

[audiohandyman]

Apple's new Self Service Repair program leaves iPhone owners with too many hoops to jump through to successfully fix their own devices, right to repair advocate Nathan Proctor said in a statement today. Proctor leads the U.S. PIRG's right to repair campaign, working to pass legislation that would allow consumers to repair their own electronics.

Proctor said that the program is encouraging because Right to Repair is "breaking through," but Apple is exerting too much control by locking parts to a specific device and requiring Apple verification during the repair process.Proctor believes that Apple and other tech companies should give consumers more options and better access to parts from different manufacturers rather than requiring parts supplied by the company itself.

Repair outlet iFixit expressed similar thoughts on the program, and said that it is a "great step" forward, but restrictive because of the part verification requirements that tie new components to serial numbers.

Apple's new Self Service Repair program launched this morning, and customers can currently opt to receive repair kits to fix the battery, bottom speaker, camera, display, SIM Tray, or Taptic Engine of an iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 device.

Initiating a repair requires a serial number or IMEI, and after some of the repairs are complete, customers will need to initiate System Configuration with Apple. Repairs can be done with the rental toolkit from Apple, which costs $49 to rent for a seven day period.

Apple's rental toolkit includes all of the tools necessary to get into an iPhone, but the actual replacement components are a separate charge. Apple's toolkit is massive at a total weight of 79 pounds, and kits must be returned to a UPS location when a repair is complete.

The toolkit rental and return process, the cost of replacement parts, and the verification may be more effort than some users want to put into iPhone repair, so it is unclear how popular Apple's program will be with iPhone users. On the plus side, repairs do not have labor costs associated, and all of the parts and tools are genuine Apple components, which isn't always the case with third-party repairs from companies other than Apple.

Article Link: Right to Repair Advocate on Apple's Program: 'Still Too Many Hoops to Jump Through' to Fix iPhones

With Apple verification, I assume that Apple provides warranty or warranty extension for the iPhone. Apple also monitors the parts used in its products to learn whether they are performing reliably and issues recalls when there are systemic problems with a batch of parts later found to be bad. This is all consistent with a high tech company and their use of formal Configuration Management. Hack repair people can't and wouldn't want to bother to do these sorts of work that ultimately protects the user, another aspect to the cost of a proper repair.