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Apple really doesn't like repair shops that aren't "Apple Authorized Service Providers". They tried to sue a company in Norway that was sourcing "counterfeit" p

Apple really doesn't like repair shops that aren't "Apple Authorized Service Providers". They tried to sue a company in Norway that was sourcing "counterfeit" parts. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3yadk/apple-sued-an-independent-iphone-repair-shop-owner-and-lost https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3yadk/apple-sued... It looks like the Apple authorized service program may be dead, or at least on it's last legs. Their website makes it hard to find these companies, I couldn't figure out how to get a list. https://locate.apple.com/ https://locate.apple.com/

394549 8y ago
> It looks like the Apple authorized service program may be dead, or at least on it's last legs. The writing was on the wall when Apple stores started opening up. In my city there was a decades-old independent Apple-focused computer store/repair shop. They were one of those places where you could buy a Mac or get it fixed, even when Apple was at the very bottom of its popularity. It didn't last long after Apple opened a store down the street.
- kevin_b_er 8y ago
  The repair shops outlived their usefulness to Apple. The current authorized ones are basically only allowed to ship your iDevice to a factory repair shop.
- addicted 8y ago
  There was a time Apple geniuses would recommend going to the 3rd party authorized repair shops because they could offer better and faster service, while still being covered under warranty. There was a period where Apple was growing and the 3rd party authorized repair shops also were doing really well. It seems at some point Apple decided they wanted to bring everything in house, and that’s when these started drying up. Now it’s hard to get anything other than basic repairs done, and if it’s a phone, not come back with a replacement refurbished phone which is almost certainly in worse shape than the phone you took in.
on_and_off 8y ago
> "counterfeit" parts This makes me sadder than it should. The days where you could modify your own devices are starting to fade away.
- michaelmrose 8y ago
  Then don't buy stuff that has these properties.
- ubernostrum 8y ago
  Well, if you actually read into the case, the screens that originally got him in trouble almost certainly were genuine parts that had "fallen off the back of the truck" or whatever excuse someone gave for trafficking in stolen components, and the guy's defense was "there's no way I could be infringing on their trademarks because the Apple logos are all inked over to make sure nobody sees them before I put them on the phones, and once they're installed you don't see them either!" Which is not exactly the tale of plucky indie DIY repair hero people wanted it to be, and probably quite close to the "illegal importer trying to spin his way out of it" Apple accused him of being.
  - on_and_off 8y ago
    Thanks for assuming I have not read the case !
  - Dylan16807 8y ago
    > Well, if you actually read into the case, the screens that originally got him in trouble almost certainly were genuine parts that had "fallen off the back of the truck" or whatever excuse someone gave for trafficking in stolen components If they're stolen, that's bad, sure. But that's only one possibility for where they came from. > the guy's defense was "there's no way I could be infringing on their trademarks because the Apple logos are all inked over to make sure nobody sees them before I put them on the phones, and once they're installed you don't see them either!" When someone accuses you of infringing a trademark, pointing out that you don't use the trademark is a completely legitimate defense. I honestly don't understand why you imply that's a bad argument. > Which is not exactly the tale of plucky indie DIY repair hero people wanted it to be, and probably quite close to the "illegal importer trying to spin his way out of it" Apple accused him of being. What is an "illegal importer"? You shouldn't need Apple's permission to import anything.
djrogers 8y ago
> It looks like the Apple authorized service program may be dead, or at least on it's last legs. Their website makes it hard to find these companies, I couldn't figure out how to get a list. https://locate.apple.com/ https://locate.apple.com/ Not sure what the problem is for you - I literally clicked on that link, answered a few questions and in a matter of seconds had a list of 2 dozen + repair centers that could replace a cracked screen within 30 miles of me, the vast majority of which are 3rd party.
- cmiles74 8y ago
  It drops me at this page, none of these links lead me to a list of repair centers. Clicking on, say, Mac, starts a questionnaire about what is ailing my Mac. https://getsupport.apple.com/?caller=grl&locale=en_US https://getsupport.apple.com/?caller=grl&locale=en_US
- rasz 8y ago
  No, you didnt. You got a list of places that will try to upsell you on a new device. Apple authorized service program PROHIBITS actual repair, they are only allowed to mail in repair jobs to Apple "repair" center (somewhere in Texas afair), whats even funnier actual Apple place doesnt repair, they replace whole units (say goodbye to data if you haven't backed up recently). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD51CF0W93U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD51CF0W93U

394549 8y ago

> It looks like the Apple authorized service program may be dead, or at least on it's last legs. The writing was on the wall when Apple stores started opening up. In my city there was a decades-old independent Apple-focused computer store/repair shop. They were one of those places where you could buy a Mac or get it fixed, even when Apple was at the very bottom of its popularity. It didn't last long after Apple opened a store down the street.

kevin_b_er 8y ago
The repair shops outlived their usefulness to Apple. The current authorized ones are basically only allowed to ship your iDevice to a factory repair shop.
addicted 8y ago
There was a time Apple geniuses would recommend going to the 3rd party authorized repair shops because they could offer better and faster service, while still being covered under warranty. There was a period where Apple was growing and the 3rd party authorized repair shops also were doing really well. It seems at some point Apple decided they wanted to bring everything in house, and that’s when these started drying up. Now it’s hard to get anything other than basic repairs done, and if it’s a phone, not come back with a replacement refurbished phone which is almost certainly in worse shape than the phone you took in.

on_and_off 8y ago

> "counterfeit" parts This makes me sadder than it should. The days where you could modify your own devices are starting to fade away.

michaelmrose 8y ago
Then don't buy stuff that has these properties.
ubernostrum 8y ago
Well, if you actually read into the case, the screens that originally got him in trouble almost certainly were genuine parts that had "fallen off the back of the truck" or whatever excuse someone gave for trafficking in stolen components, and the guy's defense was "there's no way I could be infringing on their trademarks because the Apple logos are all inked over to make sure nobody sees them before I put them on the phones, and once they're installed you don't see them either!" Which is not exactly the tale of plucky indie DIY repair hero people wanted it to be, and probably quite close to the "illegal importer trying to spin his way out of it" Apple accused him of being.
- on_and_off 8y ago
  Thanks for assuming I have not read the case !
- Dylan16807 8y ago
  > Well, if you actually read into the case, the screens that originally got him in trouble almost certainly were genuine parts that had "fallen off the back of the truck" or whatever excuse someone gave for trafficking in stolen components If they're stolen, that's bad, sure. But that's only one possibility for where they came from. > the guy's defense was "there's no way I could be infringing on their trademarks because the Apple logos are all inked over to make sure nobody sees them before I put them on the phones, and once they're installed you don't see them either!" When someone accuses you of infringing a trademark, pointing out that you don't use the trademark is a completely legitimate defense. I honestly don't understand why you imply that's a bad argument. > Which is not exactly the tale of plucky indie DIY repair hero people wanted it to be, and probably quite close to the "illegal importer trying to spin his way out of it" Apple accused him of being. What is an "illegal importer"? You shouldn't need Apple's permission to import anything.

djrogers 8y ago

> It looks like the Apple authorized service program may be dead, or at least on it's last legs. Their website makes it hard to find these companies, I couldn't figure out how to get a list. https://locate.apple.com/ https://locate.apple.com/ Not sure what the problem is for you - I literally clicked on that link, answered a few questions and in a matter of seconds had a list of 2 dozen + repair centers that could replace a cracked screen within 30 miles of me, the vast majority of which are 3rd party.

cmiles74 8y ago
It drops me at this page, none of these links lead me to a list of repair centers. Clicking on, say, Mac, starts a questionnaire about what is ailing my Mac. https://getsupport.apple.com/?caller=grl&locale=en_US https://getsupport.apple.com/?caller=grl&locale=en_US
rasz 8y ago
No, you didnt. You got a list of places that will try to upsell you on a new device. Apple authorized service program PROHIBITS actual repair, they are only allowed to mail in repair jobs to Apple "repair" center (somewhere in Texas afair), whats even funnier actual Apple place doesnt repair, they replace whole units (say goodbye to data if you haven't backed up recently). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD51CF0W93U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD51CF0W93U