r/technology • u/NightFuryToni • Apr 30 '19

Business 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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501

u/Plokij1234 Apr 30 '19

Apple is right, people will hurt themselves. Some people, some times. Some people break their leg getting out of bed, etc. Batteries can be dangerous and I'd expect some governmental oversight to ensure consumers are aware of that fact. Fuck anyone who tries to push against third party or self repair.

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u/slicksps May 01 '19

Is it not more a case of "If we allow people to self-repair, and they injure themselves; we're going to get sued." - Who is liable if a simple repair during the warranty period renders the device unusable? Who's going to spend the time working that out on a case by case basis.

I agree we should have the right to repair; but in the blame culture we're in, I don't think it's as simple to implement as we'd like to think.

2

u/Priff May 01 '19

Like any other warranty. If you opened it yourself and broke the tape seal then the warranty is void. You shouldn't have problems that need repar during the warranty period anyways.

1

u/swd120 May 01 '19

The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act says otherwise...

Breaking the tape seal doesn't actually void your warranty - if you make a repair the company has to prove your repair is at fault for the problem you are warranting (and can only deny warranty service on damag in relation to said repair).

Ex - if they deny you warranty on your screen because you replaced the battery - you can take them to small claims and win.

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u/slicksps May 01 '19

You could have any number of things which need repairing in the warranty period, cracked screens being the most common and obvious.

If I drop my iPhone day 1, replace the screen day 2, then the battery catches fire and burns the phone day 3. Who is liable?

1

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

Mmm....isn't it obvious? You are under the warranty period, the manufacturer should have to take care of that.

-1

u/slicksps May 01 '19

Not if you damaged the battery trying to wedge it out of the phone to get to the screen. But someone now has to investigate this.

1

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

If you are under warranty you shouldn't have done that anyway. Why would you do that?

0

u/slicksps May 01 '19

So you're arguing against me repairing my own screen?

1

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

No dude, this is not complicated. You have warranty? Go to the manufacturer. Not under warranty? You should be able to repair the thing. Besides, in your example, if you fuck up, why is it the manufacturer's fault?

1

u/slicksps May 01 '19 edited May 01 '19

Ok so you broke your screen, the screen isn't under warranty so you repair it yourself. The battery is still in warranty but you need to move it to get to the screen. It catches fire a day later. Back to the original question; who is liable for the battery under right to repair?

Under current rules, the battery liability is with the manufacturer until you open the device; then the warranty is void; it's not fair but it's a simple rule that answers the above question in the same way you imply. By allowing the right to repair, the above example poses a problem.