Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit To Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery (theverge.com) 219
An anonymous reader shares a report: Last month, Apple launched its Self-Service Repair program, letting US customers fix broken screens, batteries, and cameras on the latest iPhones using Apple's own parts and tools for the first time ever. I couldn't wait. I'd never successfully repaired a phone. This time, armed with an official repair manual and genuine parts, I'd make it right. That Apple would even let me buy those parts, much less read its manuals and rent its tools, is a major change of pace for the company. For years, Apple has been lobbying to suppress right-to-repair policies around the country, with the company accused of doing everything it can to keep customers from repairing their own phones. It's easy to see this as a huge moment for DIY advocates. But having tried the repair process, I actually can't recommend it at all -- and I have a sneaking suspicion that Apple likes it that way.
The thing you should understand about Apple's home repair process is that it's a far cry from traditional DIY if you opt for the kit -- which I did, once I saw the repair manual only contains instructions for Apple's own tools. (You can just buy a battery if you want.) I expected Apple would send me a small box of screwdrivers, spudgers, and pliers; I own a mini iPhone, after all. Instead, I found two giant Pelican cases -- 79 pounds of tools -- on my front porch. I couldn't believe just how big and heavy they were considering Apple's paying to ship them both ways. I lugged those cases onto a BART train to San Francisco and dragged them down the streets to our office. Then, I set everything out on a table and got started.
The thing you should understand about Apple's home repair process is that it's a far cry from traditional DIY if you opt for the kit -- which I did, once I saw the repair manual only contains instructions for Apple's own tools. (You can just buy a battery if you want.) I expected Apple would send me a small box of screwdrivers, spudgers, and pliers; I own a mini iPhone, after all. Instead, I found two giant Pelican cases -- 79 pounds of tools -- on my front porch. I couldn't believe just how big and heavy they were considering Apple's paying to ship them both ways. I lugged those cases onto a BART train to San Francisco and dragged them down the streets to our office. Then, I set everything out on a table and got started.
See? (Score:5, Funny)
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It does have the air of "malicious compliance."
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Indeed it absolutely is malicious compliance. The total cost of renting the tools from apple, buying the replacement battery, going through the process including getting apple to remote control your computer in order to authorize the new battery is almost exactly the same cost as they charge you to get it done at an apple store. They want to guarantee that either way you do it, they get to cash your check, and of course keep things proprietary. This flies in the face of the intention and spirit of all rig
Maybe it's a second language issue? (Score:2)
Perhaps the person in charge of repairs is of Slavic extraction? Difficult, hard and heavy tend to be synonymous in Slavic languages.
And while 35.83 kilograms may not be a lot to bench press, even for an Apple employee, it IS a bit much to lug around just to fix a 31.18 gram battery.
Like, about thousand times too much.
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35.83 kilograms may not be a lot to bench press, even for an Apple employee, it IS a bit much to lug around just to fix a 31.18 gram battery
But was it a European repair kit, or an African repair kit?
Re:Maybe it's a second language issue? (Score:4, Funny)
It's Apple. Which means it had to be Pentalobular.
True location of Pentalobia is a secret known to only two people at Apple - Tim and his cook.
Which is why they never take the same submarine together.
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Re:Maybe it's a second language issue? (Score:5, Insightful)
Wait until I tell you about the 500kg+ ditch witch I rented to install 1kg of cabling to a detached garage! Or the 2000kg truck needed to deliver some paperclips from Amazon the other day.
Already commented, and can't mod now. But this is on point. I've repaired iPhones already, and I have a true binocular microscope, a solder and vacuum station, and the various spudges and assortment of other tools needed.
That weight of all that adds up.
The whole crux of the problem is that many of the people who demand right to repair have no idea of what they are demanding. It's like my original boss long ago said, "All jobs are easy for the person that doesn't have to do the work."
The right to repair crowd apparently includes the hidden demand that it must be performed at a skill level of a 5 year old with Fisher Price BigBoy Tool sets.
If a person doesn't know exactly how to handle a Lithium based modern phone battery, they are well advised to not even think about it. Component replacement? Darn well better have SMT capability, screen replacement is about the limit of what a normallyadept adult can handle.
Now - that is not saying that a modern smartphone cannot be made with every part replaceable by the average person. Encapsulate the now much larger battery. Abandon SMT components for socketed IC's (side note - I have repaired IC's - popped the top and went in - I don't want to do it again) Then make all of the parts with replaceable mechanical switches, make the front screen and glass screw in.
Now we have a nice big smartphone that looks like a WW2 handi-talkie. https://s3.amazonaws.com/files... [amazonaws.com] Well perhaps not so big. But it will be really thick, and much larger to accommodate the Now huge battery and larger components, requiring a bigger circuit board.
Re:Maybe it's a second language issue? (Score:5, Interesting)
However the trades they hire should be able to do it at the same price not counting that the trade will get professional tools costing 5-10 times as much so they last working everyday, they have to include costs such as insurance, travel, vehicles, rent, licences and other fee and charges particular to their line of work.
Right to repair shouldn't mean that you yourself can do the work in every case. But at least third parties should be able to repair at a reasonable cost using genuine or approved third party spares and there should be no artificial hinderance to that repair being possible
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Engineering for hyperoptimal usage of space can get pretty nuts.
Have you ever popped open the hood of a BMW and looked and beautifully everything is packed in there? Ever hear the horror stories of how expensive it is to get anything more complicated than an oil change done? That space optimized engineering costs through the nose in maintenance.
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Right, but to the BMW mechanic, who performs these maintenance activities regularly, it probably isn't as "difficult" for him to do the work. Again, it's probably tedious, but not exactly difficult. That was my point. Once you've repaired a few iPhones, you see a pattern in their engineering, and it's not really hard to work on them.
But what level of expertise are you? I've repaired iPhones, and I suspect that most people would be flummoxed. And then there is the battery.
I suppose I've gained a lot more respect for them after making a Safety Video on Lithium batteries, but as with all things alkaline metals, they can get exciting if mishandled.
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"Difficult" is relative. If you're mechanically inclined, somewhat organized, and you've done it once or twice, it's not really hard at all. Tedious, maybe. Having said that, it shouldn't be as difficult as it is to replace a battery. But that's a different argument.
Sure - I've repaired iPhones for years. Granted I have the equipment and general ability. But I wonder how much of the right to repair crowd considers the level of ability? If we go there, it will have to be decided.
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Skill is a factor, sure, but I'm not sure if that's the right criteria. I'm just hobbyist when it comes to that sort of thing, but even I've been able to do quite a bit of board-level repair with limited skill and common tools. What holds me back more than anything is access to parts and schematics, which seems easier to address.
There are also things that are pretty obviously hostile to repairs. Unnecessary adhesive, "one way" clips, security screws, etc. I'm convinced that "not designed to be repaired"
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Unnecessary glues and one way clips are a byproduct of making a product as cheap as possible, screws cost money, glue is easy. The iPhone is in comparison very repairable, it can be completely taken apart and each component repaired, every component can be taken apart and generally available. The only reason the iPhone requires a glue is to make it waterproof, but it is designed so that the glue is easy to dislodge once you use the right tools.
The problem is the majority of people that advocate for right-to-repair wouldn't want to invest in the proper tools as they would be outcompeted by Apple on the repair costs. Taking things apart is easy, putting it back together, that's a problem.
And considering the litigious nature of the USA - if a person bitches up their phone while trying to repair it - is that a cause for a lawsuit? The question "If If I didn't repair it, is Apple violating the right to repair laws?" All those niggling little unexpected consequences will have to be worked out.
Re:See? (Score:4)
Do we improve the technology, or do we make phones 5 times the size
That's a false choice. There are a lot of things that manufactures can do to make their devices easier to repair without compromising the size, as evidenced by the incredible range of repairability between similarly sized phones. Given how empty a lot of devices are these days, I'd say there's also room to scale things up or separate things out in a lot of cases.
why don't we have 2G phone signals any more? Shouldn't there be a right to have the damn things work as long as they can power up or be repaired?
This is a better point, but it is something I suspect that we can address. In the retro computing world, we have serial/wifi modems to bridge the gap between the old and the new. Why couldn't we have something like a 2G to 5G gateway -- or an "obsolete mode" designed to let phones use a short-range radio in some specially allocated spectrum for the purpose of later using such a gateway. Why shouldn't we plan for obsolescence?
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Rossman group can buy the tools off Apple - you don't HAVE to rent them. You can buy them. And for what you get, it's not actually a bad price for the phone heater and display press. They're custom made tools used by Apple themselves to fix the phones.
And yes, cost is a big issue - a lot of third party stores exist only because they can do it cheaper t
You do not need all the things (Score:5, Insightful)
If you know what you are doing you do not need the kit, much simpler tools work.
The kit is the one that Apple uses themselves and as they like any other large company wants to see employees as interchangeable and easy to train, that tool is made "idiot proof" for their own employees.
And given how ingenious some idiots are at bypassing procedure, the tools have to be truly complete.
So the complaints is: "I wanted the idiot proof tools and they are idiot proof!"
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Sure you don't *need* it, but it's a trade-off.
You can have the proper tools for the job, that'll pretty much guarantee you things won't go wrong.
Or you can use DIY spudgers and homebrew heating methods that'll work *most* of the time.
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Did you read the article? Apple's tools throw error codes with no troubleshooting?
Something did go wrong, and by your logic these were not, therefore, the proper tools for the job.
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As someone who has wrecked things even more by using the wrong or just crappy tools I'm getting a kick out of your post.
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Having the right to repair doesn't mean you have to perform the repair yourself.
Tools, parts and instructions for repairing cars have long been available but most people don't repair their own cars. Instead, there are various options including official dealers and independent repair shops.
Many vehicle repairs also require a selection of large and expensive tools.
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It sounds to me like the official Apple toolkit might have a chance of retaining the water resistant characteristics of a phone that's been opened. I've never fixed an Apple phone myself because I don't want to catch cooties but people I know who've let mall tech swap a screen (Apple stores aren't everywhere) have all been told that water resistance is out of the question thereafter.
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It sounds to me like the official Apple toolkit might have a chance of retaining the water resistant characteristics of a phone that's been opened. I've never fixed an Apple phone myself because I don't want to catch cooties but people I know who've let mall tech swap a screen (Apple stores aren't everywhere) have all been told that water resistance is out of the question thereafter.
Not sure what the tools have to do with anything. The double-stick tape seal that holds the unit together is destroyed and replaced whenever you change out the battery whether you're using these tools or some other random tools, and replacement seals should be provided along with the battery.
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If you know what you are doing you do not need the kit, much simpler tools work.
If you can follow simple instructions you do not need the kit. The kit from iFixit is simpler, cheaper and faster to use and only weighs 1/50th of the weight.
It's not hard to do. You just need to not have Parkinson's disease.
This Apple program was setup to fail.
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If you know what you are doing you do not need the kit, much simpler tools work.
If you can follow simple instructions you do not need the kit. The kit from iFixit is simpler, cheaper and faster to use and only weighs 1/50th of the weight.
It's not hard to do. You just need to not have Parkinson's disease.
This Apple program was setup to fail.
No, it was set up to make it look like the repair process is too hard for consumers to do themselves, as part of a disinformation campaign in Apple's war against self-repair.
The fact that the process ends with you having to call up Apple and let them take control over your device to re-pair the logic board with a new battery is mind-boggling. The extent to which Apple has become abusive is appalling. And the fact that even with their insanely complicated, ridiculously expensive set of tools, they still fa
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If you know what you are doing you do not need the kit, much simpler tools work.
If you can follow simple instructions you do not need the kit. The kit from iFixit is simpler, cheaper and faster to use and only weighs 1/50th of the weight.
It's not hard to do. You just need to not have Parkinson's disease.
This Apple program was setup to fail.
No, it was set up to make it look like the repair process is too hard for consumers to do themselves, as part of a disinformation campaign in Apple's war against self-repair.
So the entire RTR is about replacing Apple screens? The screen is the one part that most people can cripple-dick their way through. Do you seriously believe that the rest of the phone is just as easy?
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If you know what you are doing you do not need the kit, much simpler tools work.
The kit is the one that Apple uses themselves and as they like any other large company wants to see employees as interchangeable and easy to train, that tool is made "idiot proof" for their own employees.
And given how ingenious some idiots are at bypassing procedure, the tools have to be truly complete.
So the complaints is: "I wanted the idiot proof tools and they are idiot proof!"
Yeah - they way idiots can figure out how to wreck the most idiot proof processes makes me wonder how they can be idiots. But they are idiots.
It was your first time. Not bad. (Score:2)
"For one horrible moment, I realized Apple gave me no way to test whether the battery and display connectors were actually seated (they probably weren’t) and had me close up the phone anyhow."
Once you get good repairing these things, you'll just know when to plug it all in to see if everything works before closing up.
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I generally turn it on and test before closing up, because once you close up - with the more modern units, anyway - the adhesive is shot and must be replaced if you got it wrong and have to open it again. I leave the backing on the adhesive until I'm like 97.5% sure it's all good.
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you'll just know when to plug it all in to see if everything works before closing up.
I've never replaced a smartphone battery, at least not since it's required tools to do so. But I'd have to imagine that "right before you glue it back together" would be a reasonable spot in the process to stop and make sure it works. I guess they really SHOULD put that into the instructions, but holy shit, if you can't figure that out yourself...
Reminds me of a story I read about a guy that wrote instructions for the military. He was talking about the instructions for repairing the guts of some panel,
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Reminds me of a story I read about a guy that wrote instructions for the military. He was talking about the instructions for repairing the guts of some panel, the first instruction was "remove the screws". That wasn't clear enough, so he had to re-write them. The new first step was "go get a screwdriver".
What kind of screwdriver?
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It's not so much "common sense" as "experience with working with stuff like this". The first time I took an electronic gadget apart I made lots of mistakes which I learned from, and which I now consider "common sense". But they're not, because most people have never done anything like this, and they have no experience with what can go wrong.
And yes, that includes not thinking about what the press actually does and similar.
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Long ago, I knew movie writer Gene Towne [wikipedia.org] during his last years. Back during WW II he wrote training films for the Army, including that ever-green classic, How to Take a Shower, for recruits from the mo
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"For one horrible moment, I realized Apple gave me no way to test whether the battery and display connectors were actually seated (they probably weren’t) and had me close up the phone anyhow."
Once you get good repairing these things, you'll just know when to plug it all in to see if everything works before closing up.
There's an old adage - "If ya gotta go into to something, replace all of the degradable an replaceble parts.
It's like if you are doing a valve job on a car - you do the valve guides and valve seats and both sides if a V-Engine. Maybe just one valve has a problem, but since you're tearing the engine half apart, do it.
If I open a phone - it's getting a new battery.
So (Score:2, Insightful)
His complaint is that Apple sent him really good equipment to perform the repair?
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I get the impression he's a hack journalist and just wanted some click bait. The author should be ashamed of writing this garbage.
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That seemed to be the theme, yes. I honestly had a difficult time figuring out his angle. He said right in the article that you don't HAVE to rent the tools, you can just buy the battery. I will agree with them on the fact that you have to call Apple to authenticate your new battery is football-bat level stupid.
Well - I remember a few years back, there were bogus Apple phone chargers made in China being sold dirt cheap. Apple's charger is a nice well designed tiny switcher. The bogus ones were a cheap transformer diode (yeah one diode) and 1 cap thing that was prone to all kinds of problems, like shorting and sending AC to the phone.
But in true modern times, Apple took a lot of shit for the counterfeit chargers.
And batteries are an even more fertile field for the Chinese counterfeits. So It's isn't that surp
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Re:So (Score:5, Insightful)
The complaint was in part that you need anything like that just to change the battery, and in-part that the way the program is set up reeks of malicious compliance.
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No, no one needs anything like that to merely fix a battery. He is trying to imply that it does.
No, the fact that the self-repair kit Apple makes available to the general public contains all of those things implies that it does. Otherwise, why would Apple charge $40 (but spend probably close to $200) to ship a $1,300 kit to replace a $15 battery (that they bill at $70)?
I agree with the GP. This reeks of malicious compliance.
Re:So (Score:5, Insightful)
No, the fact that the self-repair kit Apple makes available to the general public contains all of those things implies that it does.
Because the idiot at the verge ordered apples inhouse tools. Nothing implies you need apples inhouse tools.
They even list what tools you need so you can use your own.
Read that again. They explicitly tell you what tools of your own to use.
Now go read that list. Go ahead. I'll wait. It includes things like:
None of these things are needed, much less practical to obtain. All are required to follow Apple's directions. Want usable directions? Read the iFixit guide and ignore basically Apple's entire list.
I agree with the GP. This reeks of malicious compliance.
No, this is just evidence you don't care about right-to-repair and are purely bashing apple for no reason at all.
No, your failure to admit how incredibly absurd Apple's solution is strongly implies that you don't care about right-to-repair at all, and that you're just a fanboy knee-jerk defending one of the worst right-to-repair abusers on the planet.
You demand apple provide their inhouse tools, then intentionally order them.
No one, and I mean no one has demanded that Apple provide all of their in-house tools. The only tools that right-to-repair advocates demand are tools that are both required and proprietary to Apple, which exactly none of these things are.
However, there is exactly one tool that is both required and proprietary: the software required for pairing the battery with the phone. Guess which single critical tool Apple conveniently left out of their repair kit. Yup. You guessed it. The pairing software.
And that's why this is appalling. They created this ridiculous kit as a response to right-to-repair advocacy, and provided everything BUT the one tool that the right-to-repair advocates were demanding.
You are perfectly capable of not doing the things you are complaining about. This is 100% on you.
You're right. I can reverse-engineer iOS and modify it to not do the bulls**t checks that prevent you from using third-party batteries. I choose not to, because I shouldn't have to hack my operating system just because Apple's new accountant-driven upper management has decided to abuse crypto for consumables lock-in just like Lexmark.
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he complaint was in part that you need anything like that just to change the battery,
Fair point, but right now, you do IF you want to fix it the official way. If you want cheap tools you can always go buy the Apple battery and an iFixit kit and follow iFixit's instructions.
and in-part that the way the program is set up reeks of malicious compliance.
How? You are not required to buy or rent the tools. And they didn't create these tools to be some sort of "haha! take that!" These are the same tools they use in house to do the same types of repairs. The fact they even let you use their in-house tools is a step forward.
If you want to criticize them, then do it for n
Re:So (Score:4, Insightful)
How? You are not required to buy or rent the tools. And they didn't create these tools to be some sort of "haha! take that!"
Well, I suppose in the sense that you could just chuck the phone into a wood chipper or completely ignore Apple's "self repair" program, you don't technically NEED the tools. It's obvious that Apple's intent here is to claim that they are co-operating with self repair while making it entirely impractical to accept their co-operation in practice.
Meanwhile, there's still the matter of needing Apple to frob the phone into accepting the new battery.
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Well, I suppose in the sense that you could just chuck the phone into a wood chipper or completely ignore Apple's "self repair" program, you don't technically NEED the tools. It's obvious that Apple's intent here is to claim that they are co-operating with self repair while making it entirely impractical to accept their co-operation in practice.
That's a stupid fucking argument. You should be ashamed for even trying it.
Or are you suggesting that before this program people didn't replace batteries in Apple phones? Oh wait, they did. iFixit sells tools and makes guides for doing just that. There are tools and guides available all over the internet. So no, it's not "Apple's way or the wood chipper".
Apple is supplying the tools they use, and the procedures they use, to do these repairs. What the fuck did people want, that they should send out subp
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I'm saying that before this program that is obviously designed to make sure practically nobody actually takes advantage of it, Apple couldn't claim to comply with even the basics of right to repair.
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Offer the battery, glue sheet, and something like the iFixit kit at a reasonable markup, provide instructions for using that. Update the firmware to not complain bitterly when an actual replacement Apple battery is installed (and only warn if it thinks it's a non-Apple battery). Start now on changing the next model to make the procedure simple. Offer to SELL the tools at a reasonable price to any individual or repair shop that wants them, no strings.
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His complaint is that Apple sent him really good equipment to perform the repair?
He should look on the positive side. Now some knock off merchants can rent a set, get out the verniers and reproduce them for a reasonable price so normal humans can buy a set.
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It seemed like the tools worked rather well and the author even says he enjoyed the process.
Re:So (Score:5, Insightful)
Nope. The complaint is that in the guise of supporting "right to repair" Apple is gaslighting the repair industry which for many years has shown you can do it for a fraction of the cost with equipment weighing 1/50th of the weight, and without Apple's approved repair tools.
Also the fact they charge you more to repair this yourself than they charge their own official geniuses to do so really means they are scamming you when they are saying they are "sending you the tools for free covering shipping".
This program is setup to fail on purpose to prove a point. There's nothing good about it at all.
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Re:So (Score:5, Informative)
No, his main complaint is that ordering the parts and renting the tools to repair the phone costs more than Apple would charge to fix the iPhone itself.
Which is the whole point of this silly exercise, basically. Apple needs to "prove" to politicians pushing Right To Repair bills that people don't really WANT to repair their own phones.
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Yes, going to a $19.99 Jiffy Lube is cheaper than buying a jack, stands, drip pan, filter, oil, rags, etc etc. What is your point?
Re: So (Score:3)
Maybe you could try reading the article before commenting (no, I'm not new here). He had a few complaints. The battery alone costs the same as having Apple do the full repair for you, and even more if you rent the kit, giving people no incentive to replace it themselves, and giving Apple the ability to go back to Congress and say "see, people don't want to repair it themselves." Apple makes you pay a $1200 deposit, which you forfeit if the kit isn't returned in 7 days (and he didn't even get his battery unt
Apple's paying for it? (Score:2)
Everyone should be encouraged to make Apple pay for shipping these huge boxes of tools around the country :-) It's good to confront Apple fans with the repair difficulty and predisposition toward/assumption of becoming expensive e-waste that Apple devices suffer from.
Why not just? (Score:2)
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Why? Because of the requirements people demand. Must be as thin as possible, as strong as possible so you can sit on it, be thermally modeled to minimize overheating, and a number of other things. Once the designer starts having to account for doors that can be removed and never replaced they can't rely on the back as a strength point. To overcome that you need to beef up the internal structure which makes the design thicker. And you, the consumer, whine about it being thicker than a different phone an
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Ok I'll be blunt:
Who the fuck are you, and why does apple have to give a damn fuck about what YOU want?
Apple knows their market, and their market doesn't have people wanting doors and replaceable batteries. Period. Apple doesn't make a product for you. Go away.
Want a replaceable battery? Get another phone. Boom.
Are you going to complain that Ferrari doesn't make "good, cheap, and reliable cars like toyota"? "ferrari should make a cheap car and let the consumer decide".
Do you see how ridiculous you sound whe
Cry Baby (Score:4, Funny)
What a cry baby asshole. He wants Apple to support people fixing their own phone then cries about all the tools he get shipped to fix the phone the right way. Jesus fucking Christ people are such whiny assholes.
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Clearly you didn't read the part about the $1200 deposit that would be autocharged into a tool purchase after a week.
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Clearly you didn't read the part about the $1200 deposit that would be autocharged into a tool purchase after a week.
Yeah, that's going to happen when you specify you want to rent those tools to help with your repair. Also, if you click on the 'Rental Information' link with the IMPORTANT icon next to it, it clearly states that they are going to put a temp authorization on your card to cover the full replacement value of the tools if they aren't returned. Again, just sounds like someone just looking for something to complain about.
Rights (Score:2)
Your invented "right to repair" infringes on MY right to have a waterproof iPhone that is as compact as possible.
Re:Rights (Score:4)
For example, and my understanding of the exact details of this is a bit muddy, but iPhone screens have some sort of identifier that the phone can recognize. For a while, it was the case that if you swapped in a genuine Apple screen from another identical model iPhone, it would still be flagged as counterfeit and the phone would have reduced functionality as a result (I think it was Touch ID that was disabled or something). In order for it not to be flagged as counterfeit, the phone had to be programmed with the unique ID of the new screen, which was only doable with a special device from Apple that they wouldn't distribute to independent repair technicians*. The asterisk is that they had some sort of program by which you could get access to the special device, but it required you to refuse to perform all sorts of basic repairs (instead making people send in the device to be replaced for sub-$100 repairs), pay a bunch of money, sacrifice your firstborn, etc.
Again, I'm a bit fuzzy on these details. Rossman has talked about this situation a ton, so I would recommend checking out his videos on the subject. The short of it is, these companies deliberately put in measures designed specifically to interfere with attempts to repair the device by end users or independent outfits. That is what right to repair is against, not waterproofing your phone. User-serviceable batteries are nice, but if a manufacturer wants to sacrifice something like that for an actual feature like waterproofing, none of us are really going to complain (although we'd probably like a few phones on the market with the option, since some people prefer a user-serviceable battery to waterproofing).
Re:Rights (Score:5, Informative)
For example, and my understanding of the exact details of this is a bit muddy, but iPhone screens have some sort of identifier that the phone can recognize.
Not just the screens. Batteries, too.
For a while, it was the case that if you swapped in a genuine Apple screen from another identical model iPhone, it would still be flagged as counterfeit and the phone would have reduced functionality as a result (I think it was Touch ID that was disabled or something). In order for it not to be flagged as counterfeit, the phone had to be programmed with the unique ID of the new screen, which was only doable with a special device from Apple that they wouldn't distribute to independent repair technicians*. The asterisk is that they had some sort of program by which you could get access to the special device, but it required you to refuse to perform all sorts of basic repairs (instead making people send in the device to be replaced for sub-$100 repairs), pay a bunch of money, sacrifice your firstborn, etc.
And it is still a problem for self-repair. They now have an Apple employee take control of your device remotely and run some software remotely that does the pairing, but they still won't let that piece of critical technology be used by the general public, i.e. you don't really have a right to repair.
That's why it seems so bizarre to me that Rossman was so critical of this article, along with being critical of the ridiculous overkill of the kit in some areas, also complained that the kit still didn't include the most critical piece of the repair kit, which is the software required to pair the phone with replacement components....
So what (Score:4, Insightful)
Sorry... that's mere 50 times the weight. (Score:2)
Now, had you ordered your tools with the oil, found 2084.95 tonnes of tools on your porch, lugged them to the train and then to your office to do the oil change...
Then your car analogy would have made sense.
But only had you been previously prevented to do so by the maker of your car, being forced to mail your car back to the factory to have the oil, or anything else needed for the functioning of the car, changed.
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And yet I do it without a jack at all. Now your experience and my experience wouldn't be relevant to the discussion were it not for the fact that you are the person saying that the *only* way to do it is with a 200lb jack, and any other way should be blocked, and that you're sending that 200lb jack completely for free yet the entire process costs me more than just paying someone who already owns said 200lb jack to do the work.
If you can't see Apple gaslighting the repair industry with this program then I do
People don't want right to repair. (Score:2)
If people wanted the right to repair, they would buy phones that have removable batteries and refuse to buy other models. There was a time when every phone had a replaceable battery. People stopped buying phone models from companies that did that. If the right to repair was so important upstart or low market-share phone players would release phones with replaceable batteries and people would buy those like hot cakes.
Why do we need the government to define non-safety-related specifications of phones? The onl
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It's not because consumers don't repair, it's because repairs are difficult or impossible. There's a TV repair shop not far from me (attached to an appliance store), and the guys there will tell you that all they really do these days is replace boards. They don't do diagnostic and repair like the old days -- it's a mix of too expensive and too difficult. It's not like TVs have a schematic glued to the inside any more.
People are waking up to the problems of our throw-away society and do want changes. The
Seems like a good deal to me (Score:2)
If I were still running an independent repair shop, I'd order the toolkit & just keep it. $1249 seems pretty cheap for factory-level repair tools. 3D print dies for other model iPhones or work with a local maker/metal shop.
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Much less cringe videos. (Score:2, Interesting)
Some videos that are amusing and a lot less cringe than this Verge nonsense:
(Using Apple's Tools to Fix My iPhone) https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Taking the tools apart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Newbie can't use professional tools (Score:2)
Film at 11.
The real problem with Apple's repair program... (Score:2)
The real problem with Apple's repair program is that they wont let you just buy parts, you can only buy parts for a specific device (and have to provide Apple with the device serial number)
This is clearly about being able to say that they support independent repair while making independent repair inconvenient enough that most normal people will just go to the Apple store.
From the paid-propaganda dept. (Score:2)
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Hopefully that asshole's phone breaks.
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Fuck you, full stop. The guy is bitching about receiving the right tools to do the job.
What's the matter apple pussy? (Score:2)
Why didn't you tell the OP that he needs his face knocked off too? [slashdot.org] What happened?
Your iBalls shriveled and fell off between two posts?
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Whoosh.
That's the sound of the logic going over your head.
But here, I'll spell it out for you:
That you need this many specialized tools (regardless is their weight) to perform a simple battery swap is why I said what I said.
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I don't get it. This is Apple. this is what the iphone is. It's a good phone, maybe overpriced yes, but it is what it is.
It doesn't have to be what YOU want it to be. You are free NOT TO BUY A FUCKING IPHONE, and use just another phone.
You can get a fat, plastic phone held together with screws which will be easy to repair. Hell, make all the screws #2 philips so you can also open them with a screwdriver! WHO HAS A #00 PHILIPS AT HOME? ANOTHER SPECIALIZED TOOL!!! ARRG, THOSE DAMN MANUFACTURERS TRYING TO PREV