The Apple Self Service Repair program first launched for iPhone in November of last year is tomorrow being extended to M1 MacBook models – both MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
The company says that the program will also be expanding into other countries, beginning in Europe, later this year …
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New York state legislature has passed the first Right to Repair bill for electronics in the United States. According to The Verge, this measure called the Digital Fair Repair Act, requires all manufacturers in the state who sell “digital electronics products” to make tools, parts, and instructions for repair available to customers and independent shops.
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Apple has launched its self-service repair website, where you can order parts and tools for recent iPhones and access repair manuals. It’s a nice move to see, and the ability to buy original parts is something right-to-repair advocates have been asking for for a while, but some users seem disappointed by the limited offerings and see it as too little, too late. Let’s take a look at what’s there, what isn’t, and what it takes to get your iPhone fixed using genuine parts.
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Apple launched its new Self Service Repair program today, which allows iPhone customers in the United States to access parts and manuals that they can use to repair their own devices – starting with iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and iPhone SE 3. Are you going to use this new program?
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After months of waiting, Apple is finally rolling out its self-service repair program for selected iPhone models in the US. Starting now, users can buy parts of iPhone 12, 13, and SE 3 directly from Apple, but is it worth it? Here’s what iFixit has to say about the program.
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Update April 8, 2022: Google today announced a new partnership with iFixit, making Pixel displays, batteries, and other repair parts widely available. Apple has still not provided an update on its Self Service Repair program.
Apple last year announced a new “Self Service Repair” program, which for the first time would allow consumers to buy parts of iPhone, iPad, and other Apple products to repair them themselves at home. While the company had promised that the program would be launched earlier this year in the US, we haven’t heard about it since November 2021 – so what happened? Is it still coming?
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Today has seen another Apple PR fail as the company has, once again, waited until forced to act – this time over Right to Repair pressure. The company has finally now accepted that consumers should be allowed to repair their own Apple kit, including the very latest and most complex devices.
Apple’s previous resistance has been widely seen as both greedy, and inconsistent with the company’s environmental stance. Many repairs are simply not worth doing at official Apple prices, making it more likely that consumers will simply dispose of broken devices and buy new ones.
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Last week, 9to5Mac reported that Face ID stops working if you replace the iPhone 13 screen with a third-party repair. Now, a new video shows that it’s possible to replace the screen and make facial recognition work, but it’s not simple.
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Yesterday, we took a closer look at how the new iPhone 13 Pro Max handles drop tests. Now, another YouTuber claims that you’ll probably not be able to replace your iPhone 13’s screen with third-party repair centers without losing access to Face ID.
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An AAPL shareholder resolution calls for Apple to “cease its anti-repair policies” to avoid damage to the company’s reputation.
In particular, the resolution says that Apple making DIY and third-party repairs difficult contradicts the iPhone maker’s stance on the environment.
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A new environmental responsibility proposal from the German government to the European Union says Apple should require security updates and spare parts for iPhone for at least seven years. According to Heise Online, Germany’s Ministry of Economics also wants spare parts provided “at a reasonable price.”
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Back in May, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a report about “anti-competitive repair restrictions” in the US including concerns about Apple. Then, President Biden signed an executive order for the FTC to create new Right to Repair rules. Now that process has started with the FTC unanimously voting to approve a new policy statement that’s looking to restore “Right to Repair for small businesses, workers, consumers, and government entities.”
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A new President Biden executive order adds to the right to repair pressure on Apple. One of 72 initiatives in the order specifically calls on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to introduce rules against restrictions on DIY and third-party repairs.
While some of the text references the agriculture industry – and tractors in particular – there is a separate reference to “cell phone manufacturers” …
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Apple is often brought up when talking about right to repair, usually in reference to their anti-repair practices. In response to a Cameo request, Steve Wozniak spoke for almost 10 minutes on the importance of right to repair and how it has impacted his life.
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In May, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a report about “anti-competitive repair restrictions” in the US, including multiple concerns about Apple’s business practices around iPhone. Now the Biden administration is expected to ask the FTC to write up new rules that could expand the ability for individuals and independent shops to perform smartphone repairs and more.
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A British right to repair law comes into force today, requiring manufacturers to make spares available to both consumers and third-party repair companies.
However, despite claiming to cover “televisions and other electronic displays,”‘ the law somehow excludes smartphones and laptops…
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Last month, the ransomware group REvil breached Apple supplier Quanta, gaining access to detailed schematics of past and future Apple products. The ransomware leak revealed details of the forthcoming MacBook Pro update, including specific information about the addition of new I/O options on the side.
A new report from Motherboard today details how the leaked schematics are also helping repair experts learn more about Apple’s internal design.
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A Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report on “anti-competitive repair restrictions” specifically calls out Apple for a number of practices that hamper repairs by independent workshops.
The FTC says that repair restrictions hurt both consumers and small businesses, and argues for a combination of new right-to-repair laws and better enforcement of existing ones …
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Update: The problem was first discovered by Hugh Jeffreys – video below.
iFixit has found that an iPhone 12 camera repair or replacement cannot be made without access to a proprietary Apple tool which is only available to technicians authorized by the company.
The company says this appears to prevent DIY repairs at home, as well as those by third-party companies who do not have access to the online software tool …
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A new report tonight from Motherboard claims that an Apple spokesperson lobbied against California’s latest right to repair legislation by talking up consumer safety risks to lawmakers, an approach the company has used multiple times before.
Some eighteen states have now signed a Right to Repair bill, with California the latest to sign up. The bills say that manufacturers must facilitate DIY and third-party repairs by publishing repair information and making both replacement parts and diagnostic tools available to consumers.
I’m instinctively on the side of those who think that devices should be both repairable and expandable by their owners. But I do recognize the trade-offs that involves …
Amid Apple’s ongoing battery repair program, iFixit today reports that “Right to Repair” legislation is gaining traction. The site explains that so far this year, 17 states have introduced bills that would reduce repair costs by opening up parts and tools to independent repair shops…
New York state records reveal the sums Apple, Verizon, Lexmark and other tech companies have spent there on lobbying efforts against right to repair legislation.
We learned back in February that Apple was formally opposing a bill in Nebraska that would have given consumers and independent repair shops the legal right to buy spare parts and to access service manuals in order to carry out their own repairs. That opposition was successful, lawmakers backing down.
Apple is currently fighting attempts to introduce a Fair Repair Act in New York after successfully defeating similar bills in both 2015 and 2016 …