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Apple’s Self-Service Repair Isn't for Everyone
Just because you now can, doesn’t mean you should
Right to repair advocates are cheering Apple’s decision to sell repair manuals and original Apple parts to regular people, enabling for the first time “Self Service Repair” of iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups (Macs are coming soon).
Yay.
As Apple itself notes, this is not a program for everyone. From the announcement:
Self Service Repair is intended for individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices. For the vast majority of customers, visiting a professional repair provider with certified technicians who use genuine Apple parts is the safest and most reliable way to get a repair.
I worry that few people will pay attention to the warning, and it’ll be open season on cracked iPhone screens around the world.
Right to Repair advocates have long championed the cause of average humans to unscrew and fix these complex devices. At the front of the parade is iFixit, which regularly publishes teardowns of new devices, including every new iPhone, and rates them on “repairability.” Apple’s products often rate poorly in this regard. The company also sells all the tools you need to do your own iPhone repairs, along with extensive…
