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Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

• annoyingnoob 4y ago
  This creates a small market for an after-market repair kit. The things you need for the repair do not need to cost $1200. My family of 5 has more than 5 devices, it could make sense to just buy the tools. I'm also the kind of person that likes to do repairs, so others ask me for help too.
• kappuchino 4y ago
  I suggest some people group together to simultaneously order the repairkit / battery replacement to figure out how many of these self repair sets exist. I would not be suprised if it was only 10 to 20ish. On another note, legislation with the intent to advance the right to repair needs to be carfully worded like when the devil grants you a wish: You want your phone battery to be user replacable? Yes, wish granted. Oh and also not accessable without a 1200$ deposit and authorization. Enjoy your hell.
  • Kaibeezy 4y ago
    This tragi-comedy comes from the same circle of hell as the long failure of the Public Service (student) Loan Forgiveness program. Exposure of its failures led, finally, to some relief. Michael Lewis podcast transcript - https://podscribe.app/feeds/https-feedsmegaphonefm-against-the-rules/episodes/85e9fb54-4f1a-11e9-b762-ab1aef38147d https://podscribe.app/feeds/https-feedsmegaphonefm-against-t... NPR article - https://www.npr.org/2021/10/01/1041872045/education-dept-plans-to-overhaul-the-troubled-public-service-loan-forgiveness-pr https://www.npr.org/2021/10/01/1041872045/education-dept-pla...
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  • quitit 4y ago
    I think there would be more controversy if Apple skimped here and only provided an iFixIt style repair kit instead of the legitimate tools that the authorised repairers use. I guess there will always be people to argue both sides of this point. However it seems clear that the shipping would mean Apple is losing money on the transaction.
    • ad404b8a372f2b9 4y ago
      Not all issues have to be "both-sides"-ed. You really think it'd be more controversial if Apple were to ship a standard, iFixIt style replacement toolset like everybody else does rather than two suitcase-sized boxes weighing a combined 80 pounds with a 1200$ deposit and further require a call to their support line to validate the parts in order to change a battery?
      • ghaff 4y ago
        While this is arguably extreme, I do think you'd find people complaining if they broke their screen with the standard iFixit suction cup and other tools when trying to replace a battery. (Which I managed to do on an old iPhone I didn't much care about.) iFixit does a nice job but a lot of electronics repairs without training and the right equipment are not something just anyone can easily do.
        • wrycoder 4y ago
          What I want is for Apple to allow iFixit to buy OEM batteries, and the battery should come with access to the validation service. That way, Apple has no liability for the actual repair. But, as others suggest, I think there is actually a dark pattern at work here.
          • ghaff 4y ago
            There's nothing particularly special about OEM batteries. I don't generally buy them when I need replacements.
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• samatman 4y ago
  "Apple shipped me the repair kit they use to replace batteries, so I can replace the battery in my iPhone". Better?
• shaicoleman 4y ago
  "The more I think about it, the more I realize Apple’s Self-Service Repair program is the perfect way to make it look like the company supports right-to-repair policies without actually encouraging them at all."
  • throwk8s 4y ago
    I don't think it's incumbent upon Apple to invent a new set of tools for self-service repairs. Assuming these are the tools they actually use, rather than a cumbersome set they invented just to be insufferable, then making the tools available seems like a fair way to (reluctantly) satisfy the right-to-repair demand. I think a better indication of whether they're really honoring the right to repair is if they keep doing things like inventing new screws that existing tools can't open. Time will tell.
    • Closi 4y ago
      Agreed - I'm not sure why we assume that a modern smartphone is designed to be completely taken apart and reassembled with a standard toolkit. I've had two third party repairs on my iPhones - one was done with a heat-gun and the finish was awful and the screen popped up in one corner at the end and the metal frame was dented from the pry-tool, and the second shop used a proper heat pad and an assembly tool and the finish was like it was a new phone. Personally I would have been suprised if Apple recommended/advised use of a hairdryer / conventional heat-gun when that's not what they use themselves and clearly not how the iPhones are designed to be reassembled. Also presumably asking amateurs to use a heat-gun on their electronics would come with it's own risks (particularly heat guns + lithium batteries if you aren't careful!). Like this article includes the following complaint: > The repair manual not only suggests you need three pages worth of tools but also a jar of sand in case your battery catches fire — one of many not strictly necessary items that don’t come with the kit. This doesn't sound entirely unreasonable from Apple's perspective - because at their scale they probably should be worried about the risk of people piercing the battery during a repair or using a heatgun near their battery. Also seems weird to throw shade at Apple for sending you too much stuff, but then also note that Apple didn't ship you a bucket of sand, but appreciate that was a kind-of joke.
• 2Gkashmiri 4y ago
  Go to new Delhi, India. Look up "ghaffar market". This is like " the" mobile repair market. Entire rows upon rows of literally one man stalls which repair your phone on the fly. They take mobile repairing to the next level. No need for "sterile environment" that people show, clean rooms and all. They just do it in all the dust and grime and sweat showing our devices are really resistant to a lot.
  • srvmshr 4y ago
    Places like Ghaffar Market exist in most Asian cities. In fact, Delhi has another at Nehru Place
    • 2Gkashmiri 4y ago
      My point is, if people like these can repair your phone in 1/50 the cost of a "genuine apple repair" or even a "trusted third party repair" guy, why do you care about "genuine" because the lines are blurry at that point. Sure you can spend $200 to repair your $1000 iphone screen from apple but you know if you take to the ghaffar market, they will charge you what, $30 if that. Sure there will be quality issues but what about if your phone costs $200 and the "official" screen repair is 50% of that but sketchy place rate is like $10? The point is about Choice. i know if i break my cheap android, i can get it repaired at a cheap price and continue using it or else i had to go to "official" shop and they would quote me 60% of the price of a new device into forcing me to buy a new thing. Thats bad
      • srvmshr 4y ago
        Getting arm twisted to buy is a bad thing of course. The core concern is not the availability of talent to do this but the supply chain of genuine parts, and authentication of successful repair thereafter. iFixit already provides several kits and could theoretically provide iPhone kits too - but if you are eventually forced to pay Apple a premium to validate that repair, then the repair pipeline goes waste.
        • 4y ago
• jeroenhd 4y ago
  It's so silly that modern phones (from all manufacturers, really) need these giant kits (or hacks like microwaving a jelly sock) just to replace the single part that wears down. I still have my first Android phone. It contains a battery you can pop out after removing the back cover. Replaceable batteries used to be the norm! Now we need suction cups, hot air stations and professional guides to replace the part, because somehow those billion dollar geniuses chose to make their devices unrepairable. This programme is mostly greenwashing but it's a step forward some other manufacturers still haven't taken. If Apple actually cared about repairing phones, they'd design better phones.
  • IgorPartola 4y ago
    On the other hand phones are now thing and waterproof. Not saying that replaceable batteries are bad but it’s not like this was an entirely arbitrary decision.
    • londons_explore 4y ago
      There are also a lot of laws and regulations about shipping and selling batteries that don't apply to devices with non-removable batteries.
      • IgorPartola 4y ago
        Not to mention aftermarket batteries. Imagine someone putting a $5 battery off Wish into their $1000 iPhone and starting a fire.
    • jeroenhd 4y ago
      The Galaxy XCover 5 is waterproof (IP68) and has a replaceable battery. It's built for extreme conditions so it looks a little funky, but it's clearly possible to have both. Sure, gluing the battery into a closed container is a lot easier than developing novel waterproofing methods, but it's not impossible to do so.
      • 4y ago
• srvmshr 4y ago
  If made to fulfill the word of the law without actually having to follow it in spirit, this would be my modus operandi too. By designing $1200 deposit, $49 rental & two Pelican suitcases of tools and manuals, while keeping the battery replacement price same at $69 (what you'd normally pay in total at Store), they have entirely disincentivized self-repair without actually breaking any law. Masterstroke /s
  • wrycoder 4y ago
    > The real victory will come months or years down the road, though. That’s when Apple can tell legislators it tried to give right-to-repair advocates what they wanted — but that consumers overwhelmingly decided Apple knows best.
  • xattt 4y ago
    > Masterstroke. And we think you’re going to hate it too!
  • fartcannon 4y ago
    I have never understood this kind of compliance. The hordes that buy their disposable garbage aren't going to care, they've shown repeatedly that they're insensitive to, sometimes even aggressive towards their own autonomy. So why do this? Just to _waste_ more? It's so petulant.
    • Nextgrid 4y ago
      There’s also a PR aspect to this in showing that 80 lbs worth of expensive equipment is the only way to replace batteries safely.
      • fartcannon 4y ago
        But who's actually being converted by that? No one with any sense, and the rest were already fanboys.
        • 4y ago
• londons_explore 4y ago
  I actually think this is a great. I like the idea of more 12 year olds getting a chance to peek at the innards of their tech, using the proper kit so they at least have a chance of not ruining everything. While I suspect Apple will lose quite a lot of money on this (these toolboxes will end up with most of the tools missing or broken very quickly!), I think from a global economic perspective, the educational value of tens of thousands of people doing this far outweighs those costs.
  • Aeolun 4y ago
    I do not think a lot of 12 year olds are going to put down a $1200 deposit. Nor will a lot of parents put down a $1200 deposit so their 12 year old can mess with their $1000 phone. But I dunno… maybe?
    • sokoloff 4y ago
      I’m about to tear into my 13 year old’s iPhone X and replace the battery when the $25 package arrives from Amazon later today. You bet he’s going to be there watching and seeing what’s inside the phone. (It’s not that we’re doing exploratory surgery for fun and just want to see what’s inside. It’s driven by the need to repair his phone, but has a side effect of cool.)
• Krisjohn 4y ago
  Does this effectively mean they're selling the official repair kit for $1,200?
  • ceejayoz 4y ago
    Won’t be much use without the official parts, the hotline to validate them, etc.
• ezconnect 4y ago
  Battery has DRM now, wow.
  • sokoloff 4y ago
    Battery has an identifier which, if mismatched, causes the phone to work but present a warning that the battery may not be genuine and does not report battery health. Honestly, that sounds pretty fair/reasonable to me. (It would be outrageous if it had “DRM fail: phone shuts off”. “DRM detects possible non-genuine battery and works but reports battery as possibly non-genuine” is a lot more reasonable, possibly totally reasonable.)
    • ezconnect 4y ago
      Acts like a DRM to me. Changing battery now needs internet connection? A remote system to control your phone just to tell it to function normally after changing battery? Next on the horizon is we need to plugin our peanut butter to an internet connection so we can open it to eat it.
      • cyral 4y ago
        I'm sure it has something to do with their liability. With no warning, shops would be incentivized to use cheap knock-off batteries. (Which could perform worse, explode, etc. and damage their brand)
• marban 4y ago
  There's no difference to buying a Porsche or Leica — There is one official way to repair them and there's a cheap way. If you're not prepared for the more expensive way, don't buy the thing in the first place.
• Tabular-Iceberg 4y ago
  I'm not sure the right to repair should have to mean that companies have to magically circumvent the effects of economy of scale. Surely the important thing is that they don't act anti-competitively towards independent repair shops, so they can actually have one of these kits on their desks to replace batteries all day long without being gouged.
• elil17 4y ago
  I absolutely hate anticompetitive business practices. Like I get genuinely angry about it. But this seems totally fine to me. The author followed the instructions and ended up with a perfect result. They were stressed about repairing it because they might break it, but that’s true of many DIY things. There was a lot of equipment sent to them, but it was offered at a reasonable price and made the repair much safer for the phone. I just don’t see the problem.
• orf 4y ago
  That's 35kg to fix a 31 gram battery for anyone else confused.
  • mhb 4y ago
    And you won't believe what it takes to make a 100 gram silicon wafer.
  • thebruce87m 4y ago
    I’m not sure why the weight matters. The factory that made the battery was many tons, but if that’s what’s needed then that’s what’s needed.
• Kim_Bruning 4y ago
  All this just to replace a battery is obviously utterly ridiculous. On the one hand this could be malicious compliance. On the other maybe they still need to design their new phones to be easier to repair and this is a temporary measure? Either way, newer laws should be worded such that it costs $0,00 to replace a battery with no deposit; all costs for tooling go to the manufacturer. Then it will cost the manufacturer money, which incentivizes them to make it easier to repair.
  • nvrspyx 4y ago
    > On the other maybe they still need to design their new phones to be easier to repair and this is a temporary measure? Doubtful. Yes, they could be easier to repair and it's kind of a pain in the ass, but you can buy all the tools required to fix an iPhone 13/13 Pro battery from iFixIt for less than $100, although the tools are not as advanced as the ones Apple provides. Also, if Apple benefits from this being a ridiculous process, which they do, there is probably no intention of making this easier. This reminds me of the iPhone battery and slowdown "scandal", there may have been good intentions at first, but then realized that it would benefit them to not tell the user what was going on, encouraging entirely new purchases rather than simple battery replacements. Apple seems to only take exploitative opportunities when it provides the cover of plausible deniability because then it's difficult to argue. CPU slow-down? We just wanted to make sure people's phones still worked with bad batteries, please ignore the fact that we didn't tell the user the battery was bad. Repairing yourself both twice as expensive and extremely inconvenient? We're just trying to do right by the user's right to repair and provide the tools that we ourselves use, please ignore the fact that we're still charging the exact same price for the battery alone, the cost of the tools only makes sense on our scale by reducing the number of times our Geniuses break phones during repair, and request 100% collateral for our tools before renting. Please don't look at rental car services, it's not the same. Our tools are important and advanced...that's why we need them back in 7 days, no extension.
• mgdlbp 4y ago
  I wonder why the battery arrived flat—aren't Li-ions charged to ~50% at the factory for maximum shelf life (or rather 30%, the max allowed for shipping)? I don't think the battery in question had time to self-discharge: it's a model A2660 introduced with the iPhone 13 in 2021, and the Li-ion self-discharge rate is only several percent per month at full charge, with discharge plateauing at lower voltages.
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  • cmbuck 4y ago
    I suspect the battery arrived in "cut-off" mode. This is a mode which reduces battery drain specifically during the period between manufacture and customer use. In this mode the battery pack control circuit (inside the battery pack) keeps the battery terminals disconnected (no voltage on the output) until it receives a signal from a control unit (or microcontroller) in the device. Once the charging cable is connected to the phone it powers on control unit which essentially turns the battery on, and it's normal operation from there. Using battery cutoff mode reduces the discharge rate especially during shipping/logistics periods, where the battery may be in transit for mouths or sitting on a shelf for a long time. If the battery Apple shipped was the same OEM part, they probably just ship all of them from the battery factory in cut off mode--no special process for the batteries allocated for these repair kits.
• snorkel 4y ago
  Gotta admit, that’s a cool looking repair kit. Meanwhile hole in the wall repair shops just use a hair dryer, razor, and putty knife.
• isodev 4y ago
  I really don’t see the problem here - why wouldn’t you want to use the correct tools to repair your iPhone?
  • Aeolun 4y ago
    I want to buy a $70 battery and be done. The iPhone should be designed to facilitate that. The outrage is not against these tools. The outrage is against Apple acting like this is a reasonable way to give people the right to repair.
    • endisneigh 4y ago
      Why not just buy a ovine that uses removable batteries to begin with?
• techwiz137 4y ago
  Honestly, this actually looks cool. Even I would feel like a professional with these behemoths. I'd definitely assume the risk.
• deleted 4y ago
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• laerus 4y ago
  boycott Apple then
• endisneigh 4y ago
  One thing I don’t understand is why don’t people just buy a phone with removable batteries to begin with? Or buy a morphine power back or equivalent. If Apple made an equivalent would that be sufficient?
  • aulin 4y ago
    Do phones like that still exist?
    • endisneigh 4y ago
      Plenty, just not flagship as far as I know, check out the Samsung Xcover or FairPhone for a couple examples
  • nicbou 4y ago
    Because this is hardly an option anymore
• PragmaticPulp 4y ago
  Does Apple require you to rent all of these specialty tools to replace the battery? Or is this author just getting all of the specialty tools to make a point? Obviously, people have been replacing iPhone batteries without 79 pounds of special tools for a long time. The fact that Apple provides the option to buy their special tools is great, but this author is digging deep for a reason to spin that as a bad thing which is kind of silly. At this point I don’t even understand what people who are complains about this actually want (other than to complain about Apple?). Do they want Apple to completely redesign every phone to use old school screws and gaskets and other features that double the size of the phone just in case somebody wants to repair it without having to improvise tooling? Or do they want Apple to just not offer the custom tools at all and instead sell the battery with a “Good luck, you’re on your own” mentality?
  • blagie 4y ago
    You misread the article. Apple is renting out the tools for $49 and a $1200 deposit. Apple is doing this at a loss; the tools cost more than $49 to ship, let alone rent, and probably way more than $1200 to buy. That's weird. Apple is also charging $69 for a $5 battery -- their normal repair fee. That's unfair. Apple set up a bizarre, convoluted process, on which both Apple and the customer lose money.
    • gjsman-1000 4y ago
      The author negligently failed to mention the ~$25 refund you get when returning the old battery for recycling. The pricing is structured to incentivize part returns but the author was focused on what appears to be a hit piece and did not mention that.
    • PragmaticPulp 4y ago
      No, my point was that you don’t need the official repair kit at all if you’re willing to improvise like we’ve been doing forever. The author of this article is being dramatic to try to make a point. > Apple is also charging $69 for a $5 battery -- their normal repair fee. That's unfair. Honestly I don’t see any problems with any of this. A $70 replacement battery option for my $1200 iPhone that I’m owning for 3-4 years seems entirely reasonable. Renting the professional level gear as an option if I want it. For $49 is an unbelievable gesture of goodwill. Are you really demanding that Apple sell batteries for $5? At this point, I’m not convinced the HN crowd would be happy with any solution any company could offer, aside from making phones twice as big and using screws and offering $5 batteries for these $1200 phones just in case someone needs to replace the battery after 3 years.
• wfhordie 4y ago
  Apple can’t win here. If they had sent the sleek, easy to carry tools this author asked for, the author would complain about the pathetic tools they are providing. Really disappointed in The Verge on this article. Could have been a cool piece about the specific tech that Apple provides, but instead it’s framed so disingenuously that I come away not feeling particularly good about right to repair in general. It no longer sounds to me like people trying to get access to their own devices. It sounds like people taking potshots at BigCo because big co bad. By the way. The tools this guy used are common, dead-common in China. Go to any repair mall in Shenzhen and you’ll see hundreds of these. Does he actually want to repair his phone? It doesn’t seem like it.
  • gjsman-1000 4y ago
    Furthermore, according to Apple technicians, these are the actual tools they have always used every day in Apple stores, but the author is framing it as though Apple went out of their way to make difficult tools for consumers - by giving them exactly what they were asking for, the actual tools. The author complains that after renting the tools and buying the battery, it’s more expensive than having Apple do it. So? Is Apple supposed to ship $1200 in tools to you for free without a hold (incentivizing theft), or sell parts for cheaper than they sell them to their own stores (the prices are the same as to their stores and service providers)? Repairing anything is expensive if you don’t have the tools or don’t want to buy the tools and reuse them. iFixIt should (frankly) denounce the article as it will almost certainly be used by Apple in a future court case to argue that Right To Repair activists are “extreme.”
    • Nextgrid 4y ago
      > by giving them exactly what they were asking for, the actual tools. When it comes to Apple devices, the "tools" that DIY repairmen want are the schematics, software to provision new parts (ideally there wouldn't be a need for this to begin with) and proprietary parts that can't be bought elsewhere. When it comes to opening the phones, there's nothing particularly complex about this and third-parties have figured it out already, all the way down to the proprietary screwdrivers.
• herf 4y ago
  Does this also mean the independent shops can get the official kit for $1200?
• lupire 4y ago
  This is clearly a professional repair kit, to be used at a local shop or maker space. And now that the devices are available to the public, anyone can use the ideas in them to develop less fancy alternatives. Maybe it's time to accept that a tiny powerful computer, radio, camera, and display is worth the base price plus $50 for and extended 3 more years of use?
• danrl 4y ago
  Professional tools to get the job done, like they are used in any halfway decent repair shop. The author seems to confuse right to repair with sloppy, microwave-utilizing home repairs using a $20 kit from ebay. What a badly faithed clickbait article. Expected more from The Verge.
  • dwighttk 4y ago
    Agreed with you until the last sentence. The Verge has great writing right alongside clickbait. It is just a coin flip.
• randallsquared 4y ago
  I'm actually surprised that this kit costs only $1200. Seems low for a bunch of very specialized tools and a presumably very small production run.
• lpcvoid 4y ago
  This is absolutely awesome. I don't see why the author is so upset here. They are giving you all the tools you need to do a quality job. I normally don't like Apple, but this is amazing.
• deleted 4y ago
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• ynniv 4y ago
  Do you want it to be certified waterproof, or do you want it to be easy to open? When they were easy to open, a blue moisture indicator meant your warranty was void. Now you can fetch it from the bottom of the pool and still get AppleCare to replace that scratched screen. As another thread pointed out, this is a kit for independent repair shops. Right to Repair has always been about supporting local specialty shops. The Verge is putting on a show for attention.
  • aeyes 4y ago
    > As another thread pointed out, this is a kit for independent repair shops. I disagree. Officially you can only rent the tools, you can't buy them. Yes there is a $1200 deposit if the tools don't make it back but that doesn't mean that Apple won't come after you if you don't ship them back on purpose.
    • ynniv 4y ago
      Sure, the "individual self-service" program doesn't officially have a purchase option. There are other programs that are part of the same initiative though: In the past three years, Apple has nearly doubled the number of service locations with access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and training, including more than 2,800 Independent Repair Providers.
  • sigmar 4y ago
    >As another thread pointed out, this is a kit for independent repair shops. Nope, this "Self-Service Repair" program is explicitly for Apple customers and not repair shops. "For customers with experience in the complexities of repairing electronic devices, we created the Self Service Repair program" You can see tables comparing "Self-Service Repair" to "Independent Repair Providers " and "Apple Authorized Service Providers" in their press releases on this topic. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/04/apples-self-service-repair-now-available/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/04/apples-self-service-r...
• causality0 4y ago
  Apple also provides a set of fancy torque drivers to make sure you don’t screw down the phone’s tiny screws too tightly, but it’s a bit of a chore. I must have dropped Apple’s incredibly tiny fasteners a dozen times My God this guy is insufferable. You asked for professional tools, you got professional tools. Between this and the How to Build a PC video I'm beginning to wonder if the Verge staff rode the short bus to school.
• can16358p 4y ago
  It is a device that every millimeter-cube counts so it's highly optimized in many ways and packagef tightly, well, because of battery life competition (to fit more battery at every bit). Now Apple has been obliged to provide repair tools, and they are simply providing what they probably provide to authorized repair shops, and people are still complaining. What's wrong with that? It's not a device that's designed to have it's battery replaced by the user anyway, and if you really want to, this is the kit. Simple as that. It's impossible to make some people happy these days.
• doodlebugging 4y ago
  A part of me doesn't agree with the author that Apple's main goal is to make it so difficult for people to repair their own devices that most people just buy another phone. Personally, I do a lot of DIY things and have always preferred to have the best quality tools for the jobs. I own several vehicles, none of which have under 100k miles on the odometer, and I do 95% of maintenance on them all. They range in age from 47 years to 7 years so I need to understand old-school mechanical things and new electronic-controlled things and as a result I look for tools that simplify troubleshooting and parts replacement. I build with wood and metal too and am familiar with carpentry and cabinet building, stick frame construction, welding and cutting various metals, and finishing the resulting constructions so that they last a long time. All of this requires tools made specifically for the task. I am currently rebuilding a fireplace and hearth and refacing it with slate and basalt so I don't need to stare at all that ugly 70's brick. I also dink around with everything that fails in an effort to understand what happened and whether it is an easy fix or it is time for a new gizmo. I have repaired our refrigerator, our dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer, and a number of small appliances. My usual method is to disassemble the device and troubleshoot until I find the failure point. I use online videos and manuals, blog and forum posts, etc to keep me moving in the right direction. I have also replaced the battery, hinges, and screen on a MS Surface device and a couple of telephone screens. For this work I used iFixit as a resource and everything went smoothly as a result. I still use my Windows Phone because it is a great phone and it still works, though that will end later this year when the 3G networks are removed from service, so I will likely end up with an iPhone. So far I have not needed to replace an iPhone screen or battery on any of my family devices, but if I end up needing to do this in the future I am pretty sure that I would just go through the process that the author documents since he was able to accomplish the task with no serious issues. That's the actual goal here. The fact that a user is able to employ exactly the same tools Apple uses without having to buy those tools and the entire procedure is documented with photos and concise descriptions of operations is a huge plus. I don't have time to examine every device or gadget that glitches or fails in an effort to guesstimate what I think needs to happen to make it work correctly. I think this is a bargain for those of us who are inclined to repair our own devices.
• deleted 4y ago
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• turbinerneiter 4y ago
  Reading this article and the comments here makes me quite sad. 1. The repair kit described here is not mandatory for anyone to rent to be able to buy the parts. You can just buy the parts alone and use whatever tools you want. If you attempt your own repair, you should use the simple ifixit style tools, and understand the higher risk of damage you are taking. 2. The kit described in the article seems very decent for any kind of independent repair shop. They will probably already have pretty much the same setup. 3. Right to repair is about access to documentation and parts. Nobody epects anyone to make it easy for the user to replace 512 pin BGA part. Right to repair does not mean that it should be easy to repair something, just that there shouldn't be artificial obstacles and that there should be supply of documentation and parts. 4. Repairability is still an important topic and with discussing, but it is a separate issue from right to repair. E.g. I think phone makers could make replacing batteries much easier and that it would be a much smaller design compromise than some people like to claim. But that is a different topic from the baseline of right to repair. To me this seems like Apple has a good basic right to repair offering both for individuals and independent shops. This article is bad for the right to repair movement, because it doesn't understand what it is asking for. Parts. Documentation. No artificial obstacles.
  • Wowfunhappy 4y ago
    > The repair kit described here is not mandatory for anyone to rent to be able to buy the parts. Is this the case? Is Apple allowing people to just buy the parts separately, or do they make you get the whole kit?
    • turbinerneiter 4y ago
      https://selfservicerepair.com/order https://selfservicerepair.com/order I can't go through the whole order process because I don't have an iPhone IMEI, but to me it looks like you can just buy the parts you need.
      • Wowfunhappy 4y ago
        Ah, yes I agree, based on how they've designed the site it definitely seems you can order individual parts!
• 777Blooms 4y ago
  Is there any good solution to this? An easily repairable phone that is also waterproof?
• Terretta 4y ago
  ITT, “technologists” who don’t understand “normals”. The most important line in the article: > I’d never successfully repaired a phone — and my wife has never let me live down the one time I broke her Samsung Galaxy while using a hair dryer to replace the screen. Every crack and snide remark about Apple’s motivations, both in the article and in this thread, pretend that remark doesn’t describe almost everyone. It’s certainly the most plausible explanation and motivation for every aspect the author ascribes as bad intent by someone trying to help him do a good job when he doesn’t want to do a good job. It’s not just phone batteries, it’s spark plugs, compressors … nobody knows how to repair anything … and they generally don’t want to. They (a) don’t want to think about it when it works, and then (b) don’t want to have to do anything when it doesn’t. Apple’s process was built for normals. Their designs make the devices inconceivably reliable relative to the past, and then they take responsibility to deal with those choices at the repair step. Regardless what normals say if you poll them, that’s what normals actually want.
• sandworm101 4y ago
  Ok 79lbs is big, but those two pelican cases together should account for about 1/3 to 1/2 of that total.
• VLM 4y ago
  The bigger the company the more the friction in simple business operations. Its the nature of the beast, not a specific problem in this situation. Many a time I've ordered, perhaps, one socket, from digikey overnight to repair something, and it arrives in a giant box with multiple layers of anti-static packaging and styro peanuts, all a huge ecological waste but someone at corporate got 100% on his "anti-static key performance goal" and nobody from shipping got in trouble for delivering bent pins. On the other hand you order from an individual in China using Ali-Express and he chucks a microwave synthesizer board in an envelope, no packing material, no anti-static, just a tyvek bag and a prayer, and five weeks later it arrives looking like the dragged it behind the boat the whole way, but amazingly it works fine. Usually small businesses selling on Amazon are a happy medium of doing stuff reasonably and reliably.
• sircastor 4y ago
  I repaired my washing machine this last week. An unbalanced load had caused some sort of break on one of the wire harness connectors. I found what I thought was the problem, I bought the service manual off a third party site, and found a replacement wire harness on eBay. It was a bit of work, but after getting it all finished, I ran the self-diagnostics and calibration, and we’re washing clothes again. I feel like the article is pretty disingenuous, but never really gets to the point of what right to repair is. It’s being able to get the components you need - not just modules. It’s about flexibility in how you care for your property (including its future). It’s about honesty of what really needs to be fixed/replaced/addressed.
• phoehne 4y ago
  Please keep in mind that my comments come from someone who bought a Framework laptop precisely because of their right to repair stand. I've also experimented with alternate phones like the Pine Phone, looking for something that could be more open. However, like many criticisms of Apple's phone, this one is also largely bogus. This person wants a phone that's less than 8mm thick, with a high resolution screen, high quality camera, holes for speakers, a hole for a charger, smooth and tight tolerances all the way around, etc., that can mostly be taken under-water. (I regularly forget I have my iPhone in my pocket when I get in the pool and never once put it in a bed of rice.). Then it's surprising that it has to be fixed or disassembled with machinery to ensure that it correctly seals, doesn't break, bend, or warp during disassembly or assembly? Or that maybe it requires some degree of training to develop the confidence to use correctly? Could Apple design a phone that can be repaired at home with a hair dryer, plastic spudger, gasket kit, and a set of jeweler's screw drivers? Could Apple design a phone with an easily replaceable battery? Could it work with any PoS battery you order off Ali express because the Chinese knock-offs on Amazon are too expensive? Absolutely. It just wouldn't be 7mm this, largely water tight, non-exploding, etc. etc. And wouldn't be supported by the manufacturer for 5+ years. You would have something like my Pine phone. I can do anything I want to my Pine phone and that's what makes it cool. It's just not my "daily driver." I like my iPhone. After learning how to make some of my own electronic stuff I recognize the engineering that goes into it a little better. I'll continue to use my Xr until Apple stops updating it, which based on their track record, will likely be around 2024. At that point I'll get an iPhone whatever. I'm hoping it's sealed even tighter, better screen, camera, etc. The USB-C would be nice, but not anything that I stress over. In fact, it would be nice if it were even more sealed up by only wireless charging.
• ineedasername 4y ago
  I know the 70lb of equipment seems extreme here, but the push to make phones smaller, lighter, water tight, etc. means there's no easy way around thale problem of getting these phones open. If people were given general instructed about a heatgun and given wedges and such to pry up the screen... It would be a disaster. I don't think you can make sleek flag ship phones the way customers want without making their repair somewhat specialized and requiring specialized precision tools. Of course the way Apple has done all this doesn't show a real commitment to right-to-repair. Of course they just want people to buy a new device, or at least pay a premium for Apple repair. But what would real commitment to right to repair look like? Probably replacement parts that aren't sold for a profit (I suppose a reasonable markup is fine) but also not requiring genuine parts. A car warranty isn't invalid if you use non manufacturer parts. Apple could publish specs and have a reasonable certification process for parts providers. They could still sell the full toolkits to anyone who wants to buy them so repair shops would have access to purpose-built tools to make their own repairs more reliable. I'm sure there's more they could do too. They aren't really committed to this, but I think people have to recognize that device repair especially for flagships is no longer reasonably within reach for end user consumers withoitnrelevant experience. The best google-fu in the world isn't going to fill in for a lack of specialized tools and experience when a small mistake means a failed repair and broken phone.
• kappuchino 4y ago
  Interesting how the discussion weighted to the tools part where the real kicker is: You have to greenlight the battery online. Seriously, none of you is bothered by this?
• 99_00 4y ago
  I liked the article. Is there a browser plug-in that filters out snark?
• grumple 4y ago
  So many comments here seem to miss the point. It should not (and in fact, does not) require these massive, industrial tools to safely replace a battery, which 100% of phones will need to replace if they aren't otherwise damaged. You do need some tools, but you don't need those tools. Worse than that, the tools that the writer received seemed to be both more difficult to use AND worse at the job than the $25 battery replacement kits you can find on Amazon. It's not like these tools made it a breeze, it's still just as difficult as using a cheap kit. But the cheap kit costs $25 for the battery and reusable tools, while this setup costs $118 and puts a $1200 hold on your card. If a brute like me can repair a phone with a $25 kit, anybody can. This seems like malicious compliance by Apple. You have the "right to repair" your phone, but at huge cost and risk.
• m3kw9 4y ago
  It tells me there is so much precision to minimize size and fill any air gap that you need such things to service it.
• robomartin 4y ago
  People who understand manufacturing will think this is great. Those who do not will think this is excessive, if not ridiculous. It's a matter of having the sufficient context. If I was interested in repairing my iPhone this is precisely the toolset I would want to have in front of me. No question about it. This is the kind of tooling you need for process-controlled disassembly and reassembly. Regardless of what you are doing, there's nothing better than using the right tool for the job. It can make a massive difference in outcomes. I found a video showing their use. As someone who has designed a lot of production tooling over the last thirty years, I appreciate the purpose and design of the tools Apple is shipping. To beat the message to death: The right tool for the job ensures success. I can understand how this can look from the perspective of those with no experience in manufacturing, yields and reliability. I get it. This is likely precisely the tools Apple uses to repair your phone when they do it. They have to because they need to ensure the repair process delivers reliable products. Coincidentally, we had an interesting experience this past week. One of my kids dropped his Android phone and cracked the screen. My wife, against my objections, decided to take it to one of those repair shops at the mall. Well, $130 later the phone's speaker didn't work and it would vibrate nonstop when you plugged it into the charger. I decided to now go there myself with the phone and see what they would do about it. I stood there the entire time and watched this guy take the phone apart again. I never told him that I was an engineer, much less about my experience in manufacturing. Let's put it this way: If someone in a manufacturing environment handled any kind of a device like this guy did in front of me, they would have been fired instantly. Stupid tools. Horrible process. Laughable, really, he had an ESD mat on the counter and yet he was walking around and not grounded himself. The process was not clean. He really didn't have enough knowledge to know what he was dealing with. He was using latex or nitrile gloves (not ESD gloves) and the tips of the glove index fingers were cut out so he could use his fingertips to grasp stuff. He was touching the boards indiscriminately as he did the work, not even trying to just grab from the edges as a way to mitigate potential ESD damage. Three disassemble-reassemble cycles later (I stood there and watched the whole thing) he gave up and offered a full refund of the $130. I walked away with a phone with a cracked screen, only that now it wasn't working. It worked fine with a screen having a single crack on it, nothing wrong with it beyond that. Of course, I went there knowing full-well that I was going to have to buy a new phone. I knew what happened before I even stepped foot in that store, it was likely ESD damage during handling. Here's the kicker: The brand new phone from Verizon, after discounts, was $180. Better phone, brand new, next-generation and all that. It all came down to using the wrong tools for the job and not having a clue really. Interestingly enough, while I was there a woman came into the store with a similar problem. Oh, yeah, he also offered me a previously repaired phone "at a really good deal". Brilliant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6u4MepcI0A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6u4MepcI0A
• 7speter 4y ago
  If this isn't an example of malicious compliance, I don’t know what is. Apple doesn’t actually want this program to succeed so of course they are going to send 79 pound repair kits to people.
• B1FF_PSUVM 4y ago
  So, 50 bucks for renting an 80 pound workstation (worth 1200 bucks), for one week, with shipping included? Doesn't seem bad.
• the_only_law 4y ago
  > That Apple would even let me buy those parts, much less read its manuals and rent its tools Definitely will not be trying to get my hands on these any time soon.
• 2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago
  > The single most frustrating part of this process, after using Apple’s genuine parts and Apple’s genuine tools, was that my iPhone didn’t recognize the genuine battery as genuine. “Unknown Part,” flashed a warning. Apparently, that’s the case for almost all of these parts: you’re expected to dial up Apple’s third-party logistics company after the repair so they can validate the part for you. That’s a process that involves having an entirely separate computer and a Wi-Fi connection since you have to reboot your iPhone into diagnostics mode and give the company remote control. Which, of course, defeats a bunch of the reasons you’d repair your own device at home! Yikes
• antonpirker 4y ago
  I am just flabbergasted that anyone would think of this process to change a battery as "ok". I mean batteries have a pretty short life time. And iPhones are really expensive. A LOT of resources are used to build an iPhone. And then this process for changing the battery. The product, the battery changing process, the whole company, everything feels like it is the 1980s, it feels like a tech dinosaur. If this is the way that most people think that things should work in 2022, than we are all doomed. Sorry, but this makes me so sad... It is unbelievable...
• zenexer 4y ago
  I just want to point out this gem from their agreement that covers the use of purchased—not rented—tools. Purchased. You paid the full price, you own the tools, and you agree not to use them on anything other than an Apple product. You’re the proud new owner of $300 in expensive screwdrivers that you can’t use. From https://www.selfservicerepair.com/terms-of-use https://www.selfservicerepair.com/terms-of-use: > You agree to use the Self Service Repair Products to repair the Repaired Apple Product in a manner consistent with these terms and conditions. Self Service Repair Products are for use in the repair for which they were purchased, and may not be resold or otherwise transferred. Ah, but maybe they only mean the replacement parts, right? Surely they wouldn’t have such a requirement if you pay $100 for a generic Wera screwdriver. But no, it includes the tools: > Self Service Repair Parts” and “Self Service Repair Tools” are collectively referred to as “Self Service Repair Products.” Is that even legally enforceable? I suspect it’s not. If I buy a generic screwdriver, it’s mine. It doesn’t have DRM, and I will do with it as I please. If I want to use it to repair an Android phone, I will. If I want to sell it on eBay or lend it to my neighbor, who’s going to stop me?
  • dathinab 4y ago
    > resold or otherwise transferred how is that even legal that's just absurd
• exabrial 4y ago
  Just another reminder Apple is not a green company
• chadlavi 4y ago
  ... you can also just ship them your very light phone to replace the battery for you. That's what they used to make you do.
• nunez 4y ago
  honestly it's really cool that apple lets you rent technician-grade equipment with the same repair manuals for $49. i don't see anything wrong with a hold; people would just steal the gear if they didn't have the hold. much better than depending on how well someone can follow an ifixit tutorial with el-cheapo amazon parts
• stuntkite 4y ago
  This kit and tools are awesome. This guy is a knob.
• sizzle 4y ago
  What happens if you keep the tools and sweet pelican case!
• tehwebguy 4y ago
  This is cool as hell and I now want to replace my battery just to play with all this gear.
• fillipvt 4y ago
  This is interesting. If anything, with this I've learned that companies like Framework have a huge advantage. If that space ever manages to create a 'fixable' phone a-la Framework laptop, it's gonna work on so many levels for so many different people and regulators.
• SixDouble5321 4y ago
  Louis Rossman replied to this article in a humorous fashion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vhCaFW5xTk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vhCaFW5xTk