DIY Tinkerer Invents MacBook Tool That Breaks Apple's Repair Locks (404media.co) 31
Jason Koebler writes via 404 Media: An independent repair shop in Germany has invented a tool that can break through anti-repair locks Apple has put on a specific sensor on the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The Nerd.Tool.1 was invented by Stephan Steins of Dortmund's Notebook Nerds repair shop. It is specifically designed to allow independent repair shops to replace the display angle sensor on broken MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops. This was formerly a replacement that only Apple could do because the replacement part had to be "calibrated" with the specific device, which only Apple could do, until now. This sensor detects when the laptop lid is closed, and turns the screen and fan off, and puts the laptop to sleep. If it's broken, the laptop's screen will remain on even when the lid is closed, which drains the battery, can keep the fans running, and generally shorten the life of the computer.
The Nerd.Tool.1 recalibrates replacement sensors, allowing repair techs to replace them without any fuss. "We are calibrating new sensors nearly the same way Apple does," Steins told me. "They can do it via their T2 [security chip] or their M1/M2 chips. We are using the nerd.tool.1 for this task. The sensor holds all the data. It is not serialized or paired to the logic board so we are just calibrating it." "We broke Apple's lock," independent repair advocate and repair pro Louis Rossmann explained in a YouTube video demoing the Nerd.Tool.1. "To whoever it is at Apple who decided to not make this available to technicians, 'Fuck you, we win,'" Rossman said.
"We are selling the nerd.tool.1 to be able to spend time in developing other solutions," added Steins. "We will do our best to get nerd.tool.2 to fix other issues which repair shops are facing. The response has been awesome! The community is very kind, which shows how painful these missing tools are for many independent repair shops."
The Nerd.Tool.1 recalibrates replacement sensors, allowing repair techs to replace them without any fuss. "We are calibrating new sensors nearly the same way Apple does," Steins told me. "They can do it via their T2 [security chip] or their M1/M2 chips. We are using the nerd.tool.1 for this task. The sensor holds all the data. It is not serialized or paired to the logic board so we are just calibrating it." "We broke Apple's lock," independent repair advocate and repair pro Louis Rossmann explained in a YouTube video demoing the Nerd.Tool.1. "To whoever it is at Apple who decided to not make this available to technicians, 'Fuck you, we win,'" Rossman said.
"We are selling the nerd.tool.1 to be able to spend time in developing other solutions," added Steins. "We will do our best to get nerd.tool.2 to fix other issues which repair shops are facing. The response has been awesome! The community is very kind, which shows how painful these missing tools are for many independent repair shops."
dmca shutdown in? error 53 os update in? (Score:3)
dmca shutdown in? error 53 os update in?
Re:dmca shutdown in? error 53 os update in? (Score:4, Informative)
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Indeed, from this point on the inventor should never accept any free trip to Sweden, no matter how "free" it is...
Re:dmca shutdown in? error 53 os update in? (Score:5, Informative)
Assange may be a fighter for information freedom, but he's also a rapist.
That's inconvenient, I get it, but it's also pretty undeniable. Sometimes our heroes aren't universally good.
Re: dmca shutdown in? error 53 os update in? (Score:2)
How can you be so certain? We know two things: (i) the timing is extremely convenient and (ii) CIA are not above such a conspiracy, they have done worse in the past, consistently and over long periods of time. It is well documented.
So how can you be so certain, in this specific case, that it's not a CIA conspiracy? All I have about this case is doubts.
Re: dmca shutdown in? error 53 os update in? (Score:4, Insightful)
But the #1 reason? The women were acquaintances of his, and known to be very credible, and were well known in the community.
Their claims are credible.
Assange refused to face justice, instead waving his hands and acting like the US was out to get him.
Which is strange, because you'd think he'd have picked a country other than one of the Five Eyes to run to if he were concerned about the CIA black bagging him, or even a formal extradition. Instead he runs to a country that will literally black bag anyone we want? No. You're unhinged. Assange fled from a rape. He didn't flee from the US.
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What the fuck is your angle, pond scum?
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Source?
Aw, of course. There isn't one, is there?
Re: (Score:2)
This characterization of his actions is a bit suspicious. The last I'd heard about this, he wasn't accused of non-consensual sex. As I understand it, the sex was consensual but she claims that she wanted him to use a condom and he didn't. Under Swedish law, that is a form of rape. There are also plausible claims that she didn't care that he didn't use a condom until after she discovered that he had been having unprotected sex with that other woman.
You glossed over some interesting facts.
The woman who consented to protected sex woke up to him fucking her while she wasn't awake, without a condom.
The other woman fucked him because he was violent and refused to leave, and she figured it was easier to sate him.
Are you one of those people who thinks rape is only done at gunpoint?
I remember this being discussed in extreme detail on this very site back when the allegations were fresh, and there was a LOT of ambiguity and suspicious activity on the part of everyone involved. You obviously have your opinion, but based on how suspicious a lot of the allegations and evidence were, it's anything but undeniable. I'm not saying something nefarious didn't happen, but it's far from what most people would call a certainty.
No, there wasn't.
That's horseshit.
There's ambiguity because you don't want to believe he did it.
Re: (Score:2)
Allegations are not evidence - they may be factual or they may be completely fabricated. If you don't believe that, then someone could allege that you raped and killed a girl in 1990.
Let's talk about convenience. Hard to prove allegations when you evade trial.
But beyond that, fuck off. The allegations aren't in question by anyone in the authorities. Only dipshits like you.
I don't believe that he did it and I don't believe that he didn't do it - that's my whole point! Without actual evidence, there's simply no way to be reasonably sure either way! I imagine there's probably evidence that could implicate or exonerate him, in the form of text messages or other forms of communication, but you and I will likely never have access to that data, especially through a trusted chain of custody. Therefore, the rational thing to do is reserve judgment. However, you seem to be extremely biased about this particular subject, and like all extremely biased people, you are overly self-assured of your viewpoints.
There is enough evidence to bring him to trial. That's why he fucking ran, and why he fucking stayed away. Since he's never going back, we'll never meet your burden of proof, and as such, I posit that the burden of proof for indictment shall suffice. He did it.
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Hahahaha, no. EU law has a very broad exception from all copyright, patent, etc. protection when it prevents repairing things and allows reverse engineering for the purpose of repairs.
Judas components (Score:5, Insightful)
I've always considered these "make it hard to repair" stuff Judas components, along with their shitty innacurate moisture detectors that would void your warranty just because it was a humid day (if your product cant handle humidity, its unfit for purpose and you should refund, at least where I live thats the law, but apple is apparently above the law, or at least until they get smacked down by the ACCC yet again). They exist only to fuck consumers, and are built into the price of the device. You pay to get less.
And I honestly think these sorts of measure dont deserve to be legal.
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And I honestly think these sorts of measure dont deserve to be legal.
I quite agree. Purely speculating, but I wonder if "Congress" is chicken to make such laws, and/or push hard against the "big tech" companies. As in, they're so economically strong and such a major core to the economy that hurting them will hurt the entire house-of-cards that our economy is, and then those congresspeople will be vilified.
Re:Judas components (Score:4, Insightful)
All of Apple together is a drop in the bucket in the overall scheme of things. I'm sure they would survive making everything fixable by a 3rd party if necessary.
OTOH, that lobbyist money (bribes by another name) is another story.
Re: (Score:2)
I'd love to hear their excuse as to why such a simple sensor needs to be calibrated. It's hardly cutting edge technology to use a magnetic sensor to decide when the lid is closed, and most designs don't need calibrating. If any calibration is needed, it can be done automatically at run-time using a simple min/max. Maybe request the user opens and closes the lid once.
Removing a calibration step from manufacturing would be a cost saving, i.e. increase profit margins. So they must think that the calibration is
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Re: (Score:2)
I've always considered these "make it hard to repair" stuff Judas components, along with their shitty innacurate moisture detectors that would void your warranty just because it was a humid day (if your product cant handle humidity, its unfit for purpose and you should refund, at least where I live thats the law, but apple is apparently above the law, or at least until they get smacked down by the ACCC yet again). They exist only to fuck consumers, and are built into the price of the device. You pay to get less.
And I honestly think these sorts of measure dont deserve to be legal.
This is why I go out of my way to buy from brands that make it easy to repair or replace components. I have an Asus TUF laptop, Asus themselves publish a guide on how to add RAM or replace an SSD.
https://edgeup.asus.com/2020/guide-upgrade-the-ram-or-storage-of-your-tuf-gaming-a15-laptop/ [asus.com]
I get that replacing a GPU or CPU may be a bit too much on a laptop but soldering in the RAM is just a dick move of the highest order and this is the least of what Apple is guilty of.
Same with phones, again due to
Huh? (Score:2)
Why the hell don't they just use a weak magnet + Hall effect sensor like everyone else?
Re: Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
Because those don't need to be calibrated, and apple fans will defend every bad or pointless design decision they make regardless.
Re: (Score:3)
I don't know if there's more detail, just reiteration that they did it in a more complex way, but without explanation. With some wild speculation thrown in (maybe it's a feature that they haven't announced yet? maybe it's to track more lid operation data telemetry for reliability telemetry?).
So still nothing to answer "why did they opt to do a massively more complicated and fragile strategy?"
Pricing (Score:2)
169 euro for a $4.99 seeed esp32 module on a PCB. I don't disagree with the pricing (they won't sell zillions, it's a pro tool, and I appreciate whatever work it took to put together) but they're not giving it away...
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You seem to be unaware that they said they will invest the gains into the development of a more powerful successor.
Love the fuck you we win comment (Score:4, Funny)
Absolutely love the Fuck You, WE win comment.
Love it. Love it. Love it.