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"Right to repair" isn't all about demanding modular parts, in most cases right-to-repair proponents aren't even asking the manufacturer to sell them parts. Righ

"Right to repair" isn't all about demanding modular parts, in most cases right-to-repair proponents aren't even asking the manufacturer to sell them parts. Right-to-repair advocates want the "option" to repair their own device at the very least. Manufacturers of devices are starting to intentionally brick devices when the replaced parts have not been specifically paired with the device. They're using the smokescreen of "security" to justify this, but with no options to accept the security implications. Imagine replacing a windshield in your car, and the car refuses to let you turn on the windshield wipers until you activate the windshield with the manufacturer. The manufacturer will not activate 3rd party windshields. Or imagine replacing the seatbelt spool/cartridge in your car, and the car refuses to stop dinging because the part has not been activated by the manufacturer. This is what manufacturers are slowly doing to all devices and parts. Between excuses of security and wanting to control the user experience, it's all anti-consumer BS.

mrtksn 3y ago
Right, that trend is worrying. Yet, everything is still made of atoms. The people who complain about, Coded parts are people who don’t actually do any repairs. They just swap parts and they are having the issue of parts refusing to work. Instead of replacing modules, you can repair parts. Beneath the abstractions, everything is very simple and obeys the laws of physics. You can’t actually encrypt glass, what’s manufacturers can do is just putting some chip to the components.
- seec 3y ago
  That's nonsense. There are many parts that often end up in a state where they are effectively unrepairable. And even if they were, it more often than not makes no sense to repair them manually when they are machines that churn dozens of them per second for unbelievably cheap. You just need access to them. How would you repair a fried IC on a mobo if you don't have access to the said? You plan on doing atomic level repair on a 10c parts? If you get a speaker assembly, destroyed by water, pressure or whatever: do you swap the 30c, 20mm part with a new one or spend hours disassembling the thing by hand? Once I spent hours repairing a touch ID button. I had to micro solder the encryption chip with fly wire (finer than a hair) from the old broken button to the new one. All this is essentially because Apple is incompetent enough to design stuff in a better way and wants to prevent people doing it. All this so they can sell a new phone because the price they are going to quote for this repair will make no sense to the user. I want to say there surely are better ways than this, but it is an understatement. You can say whatever you want but this needs fixing, and it does not happen without strong political support and new laws... The way companies can prevent people getting their stuff fixed cheaper because of artificial limitation is ridiculous. And Apple is leading the way with this.
- nulld3v 3y ago
  This literally means nothing. "You can repair whatever you want, just manipulate material on the atomic level! ez clap!" If I'm repairing my phone at home, I can't solder a new chip to the display FPC. I can't do component level repair. I can't split the display glass and re-solder the individual traces using a laser (probably 99% of repair shops can't either). I can't even reflow a circuit board. But why should I not be able to remove the display and swap it for a new one?
  - mrtksn 3y ago
    maybe you can’t do it at home but people with the correct instruments can do pretty much anyrhing. Replacing a broken component with a new one is not repairing. Fixing the broken component is repairing. See, that’s why I said people who advocate for the right to repair are actually advocating for modules devices. Devices are already repairable If you can go beyond a modules swap. >But why should I not be able to remove the display and swap it for a new one? One reason would be to discourage theft.
    - nulld3v 3y ago
      > maybe you can’t do it at home but people with the correct instruments can do pretty much anyrhing. Of course, the argument for right-to-repair has never been "it's impossible to repair X". It's always been "it's economically infeasie to repair X". > Replacing a broken component with a new one is not repairing. Fixing the broken component is repairing. Are people actually gatekeeping repair right now? Seriously? > One reason would be to prevent theft. Sure, that works for when you swap a part from one device to another. But what about swapping in brand new parts? What about swapping in counterfeit parts (you could argue about this too, but you can also just add a warning if a counterfeit part is installed)? I kinda understand pairing the part to the device, but not pairing the device to the part.
      - mrtksn 3y ago
        It is economically feasible to repair, that’s why there are many repair shops. Check out the video I posted about the machine for repairing screens, they even talk about the economics of it. > Are people actually gatekeeping repair right now? Seriously? Nope, it’s just not repairing. Call it right to swap modules at home and you will have correctly named movement.
bimguy 3y ago
That's a really good point. Most Logic Board replacements on the 2017 Mac's and beyond required pairing to Apple's repair system and "calibration" of the new Logic Board including other tests like MRI. If calibration fails, which it often did, then the Mac won't even boot to a system, it's simply stuck in a EFI mode and you would have to DOA the part.

mrtksn 3y ago

Right, that trend is worrying. Yet, everything is still made of atoms. The people who complain about, Coded parts are people who don’t actually do any repairs. They just swap parts and they are having the issue of parts refusing to work. Instead of replacing modules, you can repair parts. Beneath the abstractions, everything is very simple and obeys the laws of physics. You can’t actually encrypt glass, what’s manufacturers can do is just putting some chip to the components.

seec 3y ago
That's nonsense. There are many parts that often end up in a state where they are effectively unrepairable. And even if they were, it more often than not makes no sense to repair them manually when they are machines that churn dozens of them per second for unbelievably cheap. You just need access to them. How would you repair a fried IC on a mobo if you don't have access to the said? You plan on doing atomic level repair on a 10c parts? If you get a speaker assembly, destroyed by water, pressure or whatever: do you swap the 30c, 20mm part with a new one or spend hours disassembling the thing by hand? Once I spent hours repairing a touch ID button. I had to micro solder the encryption chip with fly wire (finer than a hair) from the old broken button to the new one. All this is essentially because Apple is incompetent enough to design stuff in a better way and wants to prevent people doing it. All this so they can sell a new phone because the price they are going to quote for this repair will make no sense to the user. I want to say there surely are better ways than this, but it is an understatement. You can say whatever you want but this needs fixing, and it does not happen without strong political support and new laws... The way companies can prevent people getting their stuff fixed cheaper because of artificial limitation is ridiculous. And Apple is leading the way with this.
nulld3v 3y ago
This literally means nothing. "You can repair whatever you want, just manipulate material on the atomic level! ez clap!" If I'm repairing my phone at home, I can't solder a new chip to the display FPC. I can't do component level repair. I can't split the display glass and re-solder the individual traces using a laser (probably 99% of repair shops can't either). I can't even reflow a circuit board. But why should I not be able to remove the display and swap it for a new one?
- mrtksn 3y ago
  maybe you can’t do it at home but people with the correct instruments can do pretty much anyrhing. Replacing a broken component with a new one is not repairing. Fixing the broken component is repairing. See, that’s why I said people who advocate for the right to repair are actually advocating for modules devices. Devices are already repairable If you can go beyond a modules swap. >But why should I not be able to remove the display and swap it for a new one? One reason would be to discourage theft.
  - nulld3v 3y ago
    > maybe you can’t do it at home but people with the correct instruments can do pretty much anyrhing. Of course, the argument for right-to-repair has never been "it's impossible to repair X". It's always been "it's economically infeasie to repair X". > Replacing a broken component with a new one is not repairing. Fixing the broken component is repairing. Are people actually gatekeeping repair right now? Seriously? > One reason would be to prevent theft. Sure, that works for when you swap a part from one device to another. But what about swapping in brand new parts? What about swapping in counterfeit parts (you could argue about this too, but you can also just add a warning if a counterfeit part is installed)? I kinda understand pairing the part to the device, but not pairing the device to the part.
    - mrtksn 3y ago
      It is economically feasible to repair, that’s why there are many repair shops. Check out the video I posted about the machine for repairing screens, they even talk about the economics of it. > Are people actually gatekeeping repair right now? Seriously? Nope, it’s just not repairing. Call it right to swap modules at home and you will have correctly named movement.

bimguy 3y ago

That's a really good point. Most Logic Board replacements on the 2017 Mac's and beyond required pairing to Apple's repair system and "calibration" of the new Logic Board including other tests like MRI. If calibration fails, which it often did, then the Mac won't even boot to a system, it's simply stuck in a EFI mode and you would have to DOA the part.