Top Repair Advocates Douse Apple’s Plan to Supply Parts, Manuals to Indie Shops
Two top right-to-repair advocates immediately downplayed as lacking teeth Apple’s announcement Thursday it will supply “more independent repair shops” with the same “genuine parts, tools, training, repair manuals and diagnostics” for out-of-warranty iPhone repairs as its authorized service centers, at the same costs. There’s no cost to join, Apple said, but applicants need to be "an established business, with business verification documents available for review.”
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All repair tools, training, service guides and diagnostics “must be kept confidential,” it said. Businesses will “need to have an Apple-certified technician who can perform the repairs,” it said. “The process for certification is simple and free of charge.”
But Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of the Repair Association, doubts it's "nearly as broad” as the iPhone supplier makes it out to be, she emailed. “Apple does not plan to sell the tools needed to reset parts that are tied to the motherboard, such as the home button,” said Gordon-Byrne. “Repairs will therefore be very limited to only those parts assemblies that third parties already repair with non-Apple parts. So it’s glass and batteries and very little else. It’s good that consumers will have the option of buying an authentic battery or screen, but it’s still not right to repair.”
Kyle Wiens, CEO of the advocacy company iFixit, dislikes the program because "it’s iPhone only," he emailed. "Apple should expand this to cover the rest of their product line." Wiens also complained that "unfortunately, this leaves Apple customers who want to perform their own repairs in the cold. If these diagnostics are secure enough to provide to independent technicians, they should be available to consumers as well!"
Right-to-repair legislation "is coming," whether Apple likes it or not, said Wiens. "This decision makes it very clear that Apple can easily comply, and should really just stop lobbying against it. More and better repair is a net benefit for everyone." Apple didn't comment.
The FTC is nearing completion of a comment period on whether manufacturer restrictions on independent repairs can undermine the consumer protections in the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (see 1907160058). Comments are due Sept. 16 in docket FTC-2019-0013. The agency declined comment on Apple's announcement.