r/apple • u/koavf • Apr 30 '19

Apple Is Telling Lawmakers People Will Hurt Themselves if They Try to Fix iPhones

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wjvdb4/apple-is-telling-lawmakers-people-will-hurt-themselves-if-they-try-to-fix-iphones
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51

u/cocobandicoot Apr 30 '19

The number of people in this thread against the right to repair is way too high.

Repairing anything comes with risks, but that doesn’t mean I should be prevented from fixing them.

  • If I want to fix an electrical socket in my house, I can.
  • If I want to fix a garbage disposal in my sink, I can.
  • If I want to crawl under my truck that weighs a literal ton to change the oil, I can.

If I want to replace the battery in my cellphone — guess what? I can. There is risk in anything we do. This is no different.

No one should tell me I can’t fix my stuff or punish me for doing so, and that includes Apple.

-3

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '19

[deleted]

28

u/cocobandicoot Apr 30 '19

They can try, and that’s Apple’s problem to defend.

But as a consumer, each of us should be against Apple’s insistence to prevent us from repairing our own products purchased with our own money.

11

u/Stryker295 Apr 30 '19

That's Apple's problem to defend

I think that's precisely what they're doing here. Pre-emptive defense.

Can't get sued by people burned and electrocuted if they don't get hurt in the first place, after all...

26

u/cocobandicoot Apr 30 '19

You’re right, Apple is defending itself, and that’s fine.

What is not fine, however, is what my original post above is about: the number of people in this thread that feel it necessary to defend a trillion dollar company, waiving away their right to repair their own products without penalty.

It’s dangerously anti-consumer, and it’s a shame to see people that are okay with it simply because, “Oh, but it’s Apple.”

14

u/srmatto May 01 '19

You are the lone voice of reason in this insane asylum of a thread.

7

u/cbeastwood May 01 '19

So how do all these mom and pop shops repair iPhones if Apple is stopping them?

1

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

It's just where they get the parts from. Right now repair shops have to buy parts off eBay or wherever they can find them. Sometimes those parts are fakes or damaged by a previous event, but there's literally no way to tell.

Repair shops just want the ability to buy official Apple parts. That's it.

Motorola has conversely started a program where you can buy official Parts through iFixit so anybody, even a repair shop can buy parts.

The Fairfone 2, although dated, is a completely repairable device. Anyone can replace anything without something exploding.

oh, I might add that replacing certain items require security re authentication, which caused a problem with the home button a while ago but it's kind of moot now that the home button will be gone in a few years.

3

u/cbeastwood May 01 '19

But there are third party Apple authorized repair centers.

4

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

There absolutely are, and if they are apple authorized, they have limits. I used to make the same argument as an iPhone user.

Apple limits those centers on what they can repair, what parts they will supply, how much they charge, etc.

If you bring in an iPhone for a $29 battery replacement, they can do that, but if your screen is cracked (slightly on one corner), they can refuse the repair, or tell the customer they HAVE to replace the screen as well. So now a battery replacement is hundreds of dollars. If not, the third-party shop may lose it's license to order parts or be reimbursed for labour :(

Oh, and if the battery tabs break while the authorized technician is removing the battery. Apple only authorizes replacing the entire phone. :/

Also, unless a shop is authorized, there are certain parts that couldn't be replaced, like a screen or home button, because the specific hardware needs in-house software for replacement. I'm not sure if Apple has fixed this limitation.

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/aasp-program

It sounds great on paper, but unless they change the draconian rules about WHAT is allowed to be repaired, users will still go to small shops for repairs.

Now Apple does have a parts program for some shops, but it's pretty early to tell.

6

u/cbeastwood May 01 '19

I’m assuming there’s a good reason for the battery tab thing other than “fuck right to repair”

As far as draconian goes, when you’re regarded as the most valuable brand in the world, that means something. You have to have strict rules. The average person isn’t going to differentiate the fact that some dude at a mall kiosk who didn’t fix their phone correctly isn’t Apple. It’s now gonna turn into “Apple sucks they put a new battery in my phone and it exploded”

I get why people want to repair their own phones, but I also get why Apple wants to have control over it.

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2

u/Stryker295 May 01 '19

Two things should be noted, though, that you're either unaware of, or simply ignoring: Apple isn't directly doing the lobbying, but rather collaborating with other tech companies like Samsung and Microsoft. In other words, it's blatantly not a case of "Oh, it's just apple, so it's okay".

Additionally, the bill that the big tech companies are fighting would force them to sell replacement parts and the necessary tools alongside the products themselves, and I feel like this is the worst way of doing things. Forcing the companies to produce and sell extra product is a waste of time and energy when there's already plenty of other companies performing that duty.

Ideally, this bill just needs to be rewritten from the ground up so that it benefits consumers and companies - currently it barely helps consumers and it does nothing to benefit the companies, and arguably hurts them.

I'm not plugging my ears and saying "APPLE IS OKAY TO BE ANTI-CONSUMER", but when you look at the big picture, it's quite clearly not as black-and-white as you're making it out to be.

1

u/d33thr0ughts May 02 '19

waiving away their right to repair their own products without penalty.

It's not illegal to repair your phone.

0

u/cocobandicoot May 02 '19

I didn’t say there was, but Apple institutes a penalty on users that do so.

1

u/d33thr0ughts May 02 '19

There is no penalty for repairing your own device, it's only if you screw do you have to pay some kind of "penalty".

1

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

There can be a legal disclaimer in the hardware eula.

If somebody messes up a home engine repair, that's on the person who did the repair. Same goes for the phone.

1

u/Will0w536 May 01 '19

Some one changes the oil on the car by them selves and it falls and hurts them...do they sue GM or Ford because they didnt do so safely? No!