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People can hurt themselves trying to fix their cars too, or any other object. That's not a good reason to make your product unrepairable.
by imgabe 8y ago
People can hurt themselves trying to fix their cars too, or any other object. That's not a good reason to make your product unrepairable.
- threatofrain 8y agoPlus a lot of people repair things by taking it to a repair person.
- rad_gruchalski 8y agoSo where‘s the problem? People who fix them are out there and spare parts are available.
- EpicEng 8y agoI don't think the GP meant that to be a problem. What I got from it was "even if safety concerns are legitimate, trained professionals often do the work." So the safety angle becomes even more silly.
- rad_gruchalski 8y agoFor general public, I am not do sure. There‘s a reason why I‘m not attempting replacing the battery in my 2015 mbp or in an iphone. I just don‘t want to cause the damage but I can imagine random people not even waiting until the battery is fully discharged before going in.
- EpicEng 8y agoYet there are any number of equally dangerous activities the average citizen can participate in if they like. There are 100 things in your home that can kill you if you decide to start fiddling. Why are Apple products any different? Why should Apple own the repair aspect? Does Maytag tell me that only a Maytag authorized repair shop is allowed to service my water heater?
- rad_gruchalski 8y agoBut they are not. Go on ifixit, order parts and fix, if you wish. Why the downvoting. Heh.
- EpicEng 8y agoThis article is literally about Apple lobbying to make it harder for independent operations to repair their devices. They won't sell people parts. What does that say to you?
- rad_gruchalski 8y agoSource them from places where such laws do not exist?
- EpicEng 8y agoI said: >Why should Apple own the repair aspect? And received a response: >But they are [sic] not Whether or not you can work around Apple not shipping parts is irrelevant. They are actively trying to make it harder to source parts and fix your devices.
- rad_gruchalski 8y ago> Why should Apple own the repair aspect? I guess that would be relevant if they were trying to retrieve all spares back. Them not wanting make sourcing spares easier does not mean they own the repair aspect.
- dwaltrip 8y agoThe difficulty of sourcing parts is _directly_ related to how much ownership one has over repairability. If the sourcing of parts becomes overly difficult or impossible, one effectively loses the ability to repair the device how they wish.
- 8y ago
- simongr3dal 8y agoThey made that problem with the batteries for themselves. I have owned a couple of different mac laptops, and the ones from 2011 and earlier used to have a built in bracket on the battery that stabilised it and made it trivial to fasten and unfasten with screws. The brackets did not take up all that much space, but apparently it was worth it to them to save a few minutes in manufacturing and a few seconds in assembly and just use adhesives directly against the unibody for fastening and stabilising.
- rad_gruchalski 8y agoBut ultimately it does not stop those who want to try. I don‘t see a problem. Will this right to repair revocation put those who attempt in prison? What‘s the underlying problem. Look, I bought a new car. It comes with cameras in the bumper. It made replacing a damaged bumper inherently more difficult for an average Joe. It doesn't mean though that it is impossible to replace it without visiting an authorised service centre. Same logic.
- orcasauce 8y agoThe "spare" parts come from donor boards that are obtained via unsanctioned back channels. Authorized repair shops are generally not allowed to actually fix anything. Instead they tell you it can't be fixed, your data is gone, please buy a new device.
- asdff 8y agoThe 2011 ones were even easier than that. You pressed a lever then half the bottom case came off, exposing the hard drive and battery. The battery came off by just pulling a plastic tab, the hard drive had a couple screws iirc. The 2012 one that I'm typing on now requires unscrewing the bottom case, but still everything is right there behind a couple obvious screws and you can upgrade RAM/HDD/battery/replace disc drive with second hard drive in 20 minutes if you are working slow. I knew it was the beginning of the end when the 2013 macbook shipped with soldered RAM.
- simion314 8y agoThe problem is that only Apple approved people can repair and can order parts. Keep in mind that there are not Apple stores in all locations around the world where there are plenty of third party repair shops.
- rad_gruchalski 8y agoApple Store isn‘t the only place where things can be fixed. There are authorised service centres, like Gravis in Germany. And the parts? Just went to iFixit, they‘re all there to buy. I‘m sure anybody serious about fixing these things professionally can source the parts.
- q3k 8y ago> And the parts? Just went to iFixit, they‘re all there to buy. I‘m sure anybody serious about fixing these things professionally can source the parts. You'd be surprised. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkPUoUJPJAQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkPUoUJPJAQ
- jabwork 8y agoEven Apple had the famous episode of releasing an update that bricked phones with replacement parts that weren't sanctioned. They reversed it after much public outcry. For less common hardware the situation is just as bad. Agriculture equipment has been a pain point for many to get repaired, as the parts are much harder to find and the limited number of certified repair shops can be pressured to stop servicing equipment deemed end of life by the manufacturer
- unreal37 8y agoAt least try to understand the issue, even if you don't agree. Maybe it's OK to you to live in a world where you car can only be repaired by the dealer. "No big deal!" A valid opinion. But that's fine until they want to charge you $2000 for something you can do yourself. Thank god the dealer will sell you the part and you can do that. Let me do it even if you don't want to.
- jVinc 8y agoIt seems to me that an iPhone is a lot easier to repair than a car. Sure you need to be careful about the gluing if you want to retain the aesthetics, but replacing the motor in your car is also a pretty extensive operation requiring extremely expensive tooling and if you aren't careful you'll end up hurting the aesthetics just the same. Of cause you could then redo the paint job, but at that point, aren't we really in the realm of cost/tools/effort where doing a decent repair job on an iPhone is still much easier?
- silversconfused 8y agoReplacing a motor requires hand tools and a motor lift. That's it. Upgrading or modifying might take special tools like an ECU programmer, but a straight mechanical replacement is just a bunch of screws and bolts.
- nsx147 8y agodon't forget the vacuum lines and electrical...
- saagarjha 8y agoIs it? There are a lot of very small, fiddly components.
- mtreis86 8y agoDepending on the car, there are quite a few more small fiddly components. Magnitudes more.
- protomyth 8y agoI'm not exactly dexterous, and I replaced the screen and battery on my iPhone and it went really well. You need to be a bit slower than you would repairing a car, but I really don't see it as harder.
- saagarjha 8y ago
- nerdponx 8y agoIt's not even about making it repairable. It's about just making the repair tools and manuals available for sale to the public.