Apple doesn't want you to repair your phone, and they're going to court to stop you

[Timonius]

I have found that Apple devices (specifically iPhones) are not that 'notoriously tricky to repair' compared to other mobile devices. Check out some of the repairability scores on ifixit.com. Try fixing an HTC One, even some repair shops will turn them away or charge ridiculous prices for the repair. There are definitely some details to pay attention to that the uninitiated will miss out on. This isn't just an oil change or replacing a filter. That being said, trying to get authentic Apple parts is the 'tricky' part. Without being an authorized repair center it is basically illegal.

The argument about batteries catching fire is a valid one. If you are not careful around a battery and accidentally puncture one, you could be in a world of serious hurt. I'm pretty sure there are some youtube vids out there. Even the oils from your finger making contact with some of the parts can cause potentially dangerous problems later on.

As a whole it is more of a specialized type of repair that should still be reserved to people who are either professionally trained or well above average in aptitude. Sure, some things 'look' easy, doesn't mean it is.

The cell phone manufacturer could probably benefit by selling official repair manuals, tools, parts etc. like other repair industries. This is not going to happen as long as the profitability is tied into the complexity of telcos and contracts.

 

[Wizwill]

This tactic is something other sectors of consumer goods have taken steps to enforce. I've been told that new Suzuki motorcycles have proprietary, patented tires sizes, so you can't replace them with anything but, "genuine Suzuki parts"!

The fact of the matter is, since the release of mobile phones, we've had generations of people born without the ability to simply keep their f***ing mouths shut.

They're conditioned to paying $200.00 phone bills, so whatever else Apple or the phone companies have in store for them, they're too addicted to stand up against.

Or as I believe they're trained to say while being disciplined in the armed forces, "thank you sir, may I have another".

In recent years, Harley Davidson has also installed proprietorially-sized tires on many of its Touring models which are unavailable except through The Motor Company at their usual inflated prices. (BTW, lest it be said I;m anti-Harley; I bought and proudly rode 3 new ones in successive years during my "Harley Period" about 15 years ago.)

 

[Geesus]

This is not a good path to tread. If Apple wins, it could set a president that other manufactures in all industries will follow. If we can't repair our own stuff there are only a few choices left. 1) Take it to a certified, authorized repair shop (think car repair here and how expensive it is). 2) Do without. 3) buy a new one. The latter being the option I believe they want you to take so they can sell more. 4) break their stupid law and do it anyway.

, I still didn't like the company. However, when they released iOS9 it bricked my phone and I was so mad, I went to Android.
It's moves like this that make me hate the company even more. Who the hell do they think they are!?

This tactic is something other sectors of consumer goods have taken steps to enforce. I've been told that new Suzuki motorcycles have proprietary, patented tires sizes, so you can't replace them with anything but, "genuine Suzuki parts"!

The fact of the matter is, since the release of mobile phones, we've had generations of people born without the ability to simply keep their f***ing mouths shut.

They're conditioned to paying $200.00 phone bills, so whatever else Apple or the phone companies have in store for them, they're too addicted to stand up against.

Or as I believe they're trained to say while being disciplined in the armed forces, "thank you sir, may I have another".

Sounds like someone has been giving you poor info regarding the suzuki tyres. Suzuki have changed some sizes on newer models but they are in no way proprietary and can be bought anywhere. There are also numerous brands making tyres in these sizes and speed rating.
eg. 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R..."The front tire is unchanged, a 120/70ZR-17 Bridgestone, while the rear gains an extra 5 percent in aspect ratio to become a 190/55ZR-17 Bridgestone RS10 series." Source: 'cycle world'

 

[captaincranky]

Sounds like someone has been giving you poor info regarding the suzuki tyres. Suzuki have changed some sizes on newer models but they are in no way proprietary and can be bought anywhere. There are also numerous brands making tyres in these sizes and speed rating.
eg. 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R..."The front tire is unchanged, a 120/70ZR-17 Bridgestone, while the rear gains an extra 5 percent in aspect ratio to become a 190/55ZR-17 Bridgestone RS10 series." Source: 'cycle world'

As per this post:

In recent years, Harley Davidson has also installed proprietorially-sized tires on many of its Touring models which are unavailable except through The Motor Company at their usual inflated prices. (BTW, lest it be said I;m anti-Harley; I bought and proudly rode 3 new ones in successive years during my "Harley Period" about 15 years ago.)

I'm willing to cop to being in error about the brand, but correct about the concept. Is that fair enough?

Two other points though; every piece of rolling stock out there has parts "nobody: can afford" these days, and Apple is the worst of the bunch. At least it's still possible to make money fixing motorcycles, trucks, or even farm tractors, without being employed, by Harley, Ford, or John Deere.

Still, Insurance companies oftentimes balk a paying for a "genuine Harley", (or whomever's), part, but opt instead for a "replacement", despite that even the Harley part, may come out of a Chinese factory as well..

Apple has, and is carrying, their psychopathy and paranoid delusions of omnipotence to a whole new level with this current action.

And quite frankly, the "rogue" Chinese phone manufacturers can't get their cheap copies over here soon enough.

Instead of all these protests against Trump, the hipsters should take to the streets in droves to protest the way Apple is ripping them off. It's a travesty and a major affront the our species intellect in general, the way people have anesthtised themselves to being robbed, by taking "selfies" and posting them to the web.

You can get a tragically similar reaction if you put a chimpanzee alone in a room with a mirror.

 

[JW0914]

It's your device, you have a right to repair it if you own it... it's really that simple.

The reasoning given by the tech industry is asinine at best, pure imbecilic stupidity at worse. A car owner can suffer far greater injury servicing their vehicle, and last I checked, car owners work on their cars everyday.

 

[nestorius]

This is the same attitude that Apple had which allowed Microsoft to rule the PC business and grow to the number one position.

 

[JW0914]

This is the same attitude that Apple had which allowed Microsoft to rule the PC business and grow to the number one position.

It's not just apple though, as many electronic manufacturers make it extremely difficult to repair their products.

• Microsoft does so with their Xbox Ones, where users have had to use the trial and error of others in order to do something as simple as replace a failed HDD or upgrade the HDD.
  • I haven't looked into this in the past few months, but unless something's changed, Microsoft now no longer even makes the restore files available since the anniversay update. They at least used to provide the OSUDT files required for a HDD rebuild, but even then, it was a complicated process involving bouncing back and forth between Linux and Windows.
• Sony's another great example with their PS4, as they use a proprietary HDMI port designed by Sony exclusively for their PS4s, of which can only be purchased through Sony if the HDMI port needs to be replaced. Granted, at least independent repair companies exist that have high powered microscopes required for an HDMI port replacement.
  • A design flaw of the original port version makes 1st gen PS4s made with them more prone to fail

At least companies like iFixIt exist, which provide wikis, as well as the tools required, to repair apple devices.

 

[DelJo63]

Whenever you find a cash-cow, you milk it! Apple and its products have a loyalty that few can match but would love to emulate. It's true that Android sells more units hoping that volume sales will win the day. However, with just 17% of the cellphone market, Apple has the highest revenue and profits - - making all others GREEN with envy.

You say "I hate Apple"? The board of directors and stock holders just don't care! As long as Apple announces a new product and the lemmings respond with "I just have to have one", the marketing plan is succeeding.

With the projected retail price of the iPhone 10 at $1k/per ... we'll see just how long the phobia will last. It will be interesting to see the marketing response to failing sales.

 

[JW0914]

Whenever you find a cash-cow, you milk it! Apple and its products have a loyalty that few can match but would love to emulate. It's true that Android sells more units hoping that volume sales will win the day. However, with just 17% of the cellphone market, Apple has the highest revenue and profits - - making all others GREEN with envy.

You say "I hate Apple"? The board of directors and stock holders just don't care! As long as Apple announces a new product and the lemmings respond with "I just have to have one", the marketing plan is succeeding.

With the projected retail price of the iPhone 10 at $1k/per ... we'll see just how long the phobia will last. It will be interesting to see the marketing response to failing sales.

The issue isn't necessarily apple's policy, it's the fact that if they win, it sets a precedence through which other manufacturers, including automotive, could also sue to prevent owners from repairing products they own. It's an extremely slippery slope to go down, as a law as such would, for all intents and purposes, mean you don't fully own electronics, or products with electronics heavily incorporated into [cars for instance], you buy.

 

[captaincranky]

Whenever you find a cash-cow, you milk it! Apple and its products have a loyalty that few can match but would love to emulate. It's true that Android sells more units hoping that volume sales will win the day. However, with just 17% of the cellphone market, Apple has the highest revenue and profits - - making all others GREEN with envy.

I would have chosen to update that time honored cliche thus; "making others not flush with green, but very envious nonetheless". (But then, I do so like to hear myself talk)..

You say "I hate Apple"? The board of directors and stock holders just don't care! As long as Apple announces a new product and the lemmings respond with "I just have to have one", the marketing plan is succeeding.

Actually, I think Comcast is the most hated company in the US, but the hate Apple has accrued, is worldwide, legendary even. But, like the weather, everyone complains about Apple, but nobody can shake the addiction off long enough to do anything about it.

With the projected retail price of the iPhone 10 at $1k/per ... we'll see just how long the phobia will last. It will be interesting to see the marketing response to failing sales.

If I were needy enough to send pictures of myself all over the web mindlessly and endlessly, If I were henpecked enough to bother a spouse with inane texts from dawn to dusk, if I were parasitic enough to rob my employers by frittering away 2 or 3 hours a day on the web, or stupid enough to stream theatrical movies to a 5" screen on the bus, I'd most like try to hide my addiction by attributing the price hike to "inflation". Problem solved, er, I mean rationalized.

 

[That Dude There]

I'll never buy another phone, or sign another 2 year contract. These companies are legalized mafia.

 

[That Dude There]

I'll never buy another phone, or sign another 2 year contract. These companies are legalized mafia.

Never buy another IPHONE I meant

 

[Makson]

Sounds like someone has been giving you poor info regarding the suzuki tyres. Suzuki have changed some sizes on newer models but they are in no way proprietary and can be bought anywhere. There are also numerous brands making tyres in these sizes and speed rating.
eg. 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R..."The front tire is unchanged, a 120/70ZR-17 Bridgestone, while the rear gains an extra 5 percent in aspect ratio to become a 190/55ZR-17 Bridgestone RS10 series." Source: 'cycle world'

As per this post:

In recent years, Harley Davidson has also installed proprietorially-sized tires on many of its Touring models which are unavailable except through The Motor Company at their usual inflated prices. (BTW, lest it be said I;m anti-Harley; I bought and proudly rode 3 new ones in successive years during my "Harley Period" about 15 years ago.)

I'm willing to cop to being in error about the brand, but correct about the concept. Is that fair enough?

Two other points though; every piece of rolling stock out there has parts "nobody: can afford" these days, and Apple is the worst of the bunch. At least it's still possible to make money fixing motorcycles, trucks, or even farm tractors, without being employed, by Harley, Ford, or John Deere.

Still, Insurance companies oftentimes balk a paying for a "genuine Harley", (or whomever's), part, but opt instead for a "replacement", despite that even the Harley part, may come out of a Chinese factory as well..

Apple has, and is carrying, their psychopathy and paranoid delusions of omnipotence to a whole new level with this current action.

And quite frankly, the "rogue" Chinese phone manufacturers can't get their cheap copies over here soon enough.

Instead of all these protests against Trump, the hipsters should take to the streets in droves to protest the way Apple is ripping them off. It's a travesty and a major affront the our species intellect in general, the way people have anesthtised themselves to being robbed, by taking "selfies" and posting them to the web.

You can get a tragically similar reaction if you put a chimpanzee alone in a room with a mirror.

"You can get a tragically similar reaction if you put a chimpanzee alone in a room with a mirror."
That is the best comment I have heard relating to narcissists, and thank goodness Narcissus didn't have Facebook.

 

[Underdog]

This attitude by Apple is only part of a trend. The big car manufacturers have been lobbying the European Union to bring in legislation to make it illegal for owners to make repairs to their own cars under the premise that a bad repair could affect the safety of the car. To be perfectly honest, I started doing my own repairs and servicing after several bad jobs done by "authorised" repair garages.

 

[cliffordcooley]

under the premise that a bad repair could affect the safety of the car.

Meantime no repairs because they can't be afforded, does effect the safety of the car. And that is on top of what you mentioned about doing a better job than the so-called certified experts.

 

[DontTreadonMe]

As a trained and certified technician, I will not purchase ANY product that I cannot service myself, be it my (20 year-old) car, my 35 year-old washer/dryer, or my computer or "smart" phone. Hence, I own a laptop that has THREE internal 1TB HDDs, and my phone has 64GB of internal and 128GB of added MicroSD. None of this is possible with ANY Apple "product," hence, again why I will never own one. I will not be dictated to by the manufacturer of any product who has taken my hard-earned money, without allowing me any options as to expansion or repair!

 

[DontTreadonMe]

I would have chosen to update that time honored cliche thus; "making others not flush with green, but very envious nonetheless". (But then, I do so like to hear myself talk)..

Actually, I think Comcast is the most hated company in the US, but the hate Apple has accrued, is worldwide, legendary even. But, like the weather, everyone complains about Apple, but nobody can shake the addiction off long enough to do anything about it.

If I were needy enough to send pictures of myself all over the web mindlessly and endlessly, If I were henpecked enough to bother a spouse with inane texts from dawn to dusk, if I were parasitic enough to rob my employers by frittering away 2 or 3 hours a day on the web, or stupid enough to stream theatrical movies to a 5" screen on the bus, I'd most like try to hide my addiction by attributing the price hike to "inflation". Problem solved, er, I mean rationalized.

Good post, and quite accurate I'm afraid. Social media alone probably accounts for at least a 40-50% reduction in productivity in some instances. I investigate and refuse to hire social media addicts! A friend went 2 years unemployed until he finally took my advice and nuked his social media accounts. 2 weeks later, 2 job offers!! Your posts are time and date stamped, so it is easy for any employer to "discriminate" against you and eliminate potential "bad apple" for their best interests! YMMV