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Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

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Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#351

Post by llampx »

chewyland wrote: post #264
andr wrote: post #93

The impact of this will be much bigger outside of the US, as most countries outside of North America do not have a single Apple Store. In those countries, usually there is a licensed repair provider, but the customer experience can be drastically different. In Bulgaria, I've had to wait of over 3 weeks for a simple in-warranty repair of a MacBook, like a keyboard replacement. Using unlicensed repair stores has been t…

My Bulgarian MacBook adventure was actually pretty great. I needed an arrow key for my 2014 MacBook and contacted a shop in Sofia. They were happy to ship (they had it in sock) it to their sister shop in Varna (closer to me) and once I got there the key and labor to replace it (granted, it only took them 3 minutes) was less than €2. Yes, two Euros.

Times have changed. That repair would now cost you 700€

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#352

Post by pc86 »

wjnc wrote: post #297
andr wrote: post #93

The impact of this will be much bigger outside of the US, as most countries outside of North America do not have a single Apple Store. In those countries, usually there is a licensed repair provider, but the customer experience can be drastically different. In Bulgaria, I've had to wait of over 3 weeks for a simple in-warranty repair of a MacBook, like a keyboard replacement. Using unlicensed repair stores has been t…

It might be totally unfeasible for a consumer to get your rights over a small repair, but you do have EU-law protection for your rights as a consumer. Article 3 of the directive [1] states your rights quite clearly: "Any repair or replacement shall be completed within a reasonable time and without any significant inconvenience to the consumer, taking account of the nature of the goods and the purpose for which the co…

But if "the nature of the goods" required them to ship the laptop to Apple to have a diagnostic run after the repair, and that takes a few weeks?

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#353

Post by llampx »

wil421 wrote: post #341
foepys wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For this reason MacBooks aren't really business devices in my opinion. What kind of business is okay with the service Apple provides? You have to send one employee to the Apple Store (if there is even one located near you), maybe get a replacement device, maybe wait for 2 weeks for it to return? This is so much more expensive than buying Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. with on-site support. On top of that you often get repair…

What do you mean? Large enterprises will surely staff and train their own Mac support staff. I went to my companies walk up support desk in my building for an HP Zbook issue. They had a few Macs taken apart they were fixing. Apple stores are for consumers like you and me. No large company is going to send an employee there. It’s likely the company has support contract with Apple or a 3rd party. Beside you can just ov…

I was an employee in a startup and had to take my MacBook Pro to the Apple store myself when it had recurring kernel panics. They bought a new MacBook Pro in the meantime for me to use, since there weren't any spares available at that time and Apple doesn't provide loaners. Since then, the machines have gotten even more expensive, the extras have been reduced and they've gotten less reliable. Only Apple fanboyism keeps the brand alive in companies, usually when someone influential likes having a MacBook and an iPhone.

Not every company is big enough to have service contracts with Apple. The IT department (two people) at that startup could fix Lenovo and HP machines thanks to them being the business models.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#354

Post by caf »

Rjevski wrote: post #12
floatingatoll wrote: post #8

This is an excellent step for protecting MacBook Pro users against hardware invasions (such as US and China border authorities). If you trust the user to replace hardware, you permit the user’s hardware to be altered by malicious actors. By restricting final approval of hardware replacement to a vetted subset of all humanity, you ensure that it’s vastly more difficult for the vast majority of malicious humanity. Yes,…

Wouldn't state actors be able to steal the software used by Apple to re-enable the software? With a network of thousands of "Apple Authorized Service Providers" there's gotta be leaks (that is, if state actors didn't have access to Apple's own internal systems).

Agreed, there is zero chance that Apple is doing any deep background checks on these Authorized Service Providers and all their employees.

In fact chances are, most third-party repair shops are going to end up finding such an employee who's prepared to authorize a bunch of additional repairs for a little extra cash on the side.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#355

Post by systemtest »

chewyland wrote: post #264
andr wrote: post #93

The impact of this will be much bigger outside of the US, as most countries outside of North America do not have a single Apple Store. In those countries, usually there is a licensed repair provider, but the customer experience can be drastically different. In Bulgaria, I've had to wait of over 3 weeks for a simple in-warranty repair of a MacBook, like a keyboard replacement. Using unlicensed repair stores has been t…

My Bulgarian MacBook adventure was actually pretty great. I needed an arrow key for my 2014 MacBook and contacted a shop in Sofia. They were happy to ship (they had it in sock) it to their sister shop in Varna (closer to me) and once I got there the key and labor to replace it (granted, it only took them 3 minutes) was less than €2. Yes, two Euros.

Did they let you keep the sock?

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#356

Post by nradov »

exodust wrote: post #122
blihp wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... and anyone who likes to keep their system a good long time https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624 Given the lackluster upgrade options in the last 5+ years, I can see a lot of people trying to hang on to their next/last PC as long as possible. Now they'll have no options once Apple decides their system is done.

Not to mention the limits being reached into raw processor power. Hanging on to our devices (and receiving software updates) makes a lot of sense from the user's point of view. I find it disgusting that Apple labels my iPad 3 "vintage" and refuses to give it updates, not even browser updates or security patches. They cannot claim to be looking after this planet's interests or user interests by abandoning their hardwa…

Apple does offer a trade-in and recycling program so that old devices can be properly disposed of. https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#357

Post by highace »

zimpenfish wrote: post #292
chewyland wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a MacBook owner MacOS feels like abandonware to me. When I reboot into Bootcamp and Windows 10 I feel like I'm using a machine 10 years in the future.

Whereas when I boot my games box into Windows 10 and it sits there saying "Applying updates" for 45 minutes before rebooting and then thrashing itself into unusability for another 45-60 minutes doing ... something ... I feel like I'm being trolled by MS.

You can turn this off. I haven't done an update in at least a year.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#358

Post by petepete »

raesene9 wrote: post #298
petepete wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But I'm not prepared to have Candy Crush adverts in my Start Menu, which counts Windows out. Additionally, I know I can deactivate them by jumping through a couple of hoops, but that's not the point.

Out of curiousity, why do you feel that's not the point? Customizing an operating system after installation is a common part of the process for any system Having to remove unwanted software seems like an odd reason to rule out an entire environment.

I disagree. I want an environment that works with me, not against me. There's no guarantee that Microsoft won't make ads harder to remove in future versions, and it's a worrying trend that they're there at all. I don't want to invest in a system that I don't feel is aligned with my personal values.

The name Windows 10 Professional suggest that it's suitable for Professional use. I was happy using Windows 2000, Windows XP Pro and Windows 7. But ads are a step too far, and something I don't expect to see in software I've paid for.

I'm happy enough with Linux on my workstation and macOS on my MBP. I can get up and running quickly without doing any pointless tweaks.

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#359

Post by stiGGG »

dep_b wrote: post #343
foepys wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For this reason MacBooks aren't really business devices in my opinion. What kind of business is okay with the service Apple provides? You have to send one employee to the Apple Store (if there is even one located near you), maybe get a replacement device, maybe wait for 2 weeks for it to return? This is so much more expensive than buying Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. with on-site support. On top of that you often get repair…

Apple Enterprise support programs exist. They're partially ran by IBM and on-site.

Has somebody experience with this? Is it comparable with Dell's?

Re: Apple's Proprietary Software Locks Kill Independent Repair on New MacBook Pros

#360

Post by walterbell »

Is there a publicly maintained "repairability index" for laptops? iFixit used to have scores for smartphones, but laptops would now benefit from similar ranking.

Lenovo T480S still has some user-replaceable parts (RAM, SSD) and is only a little heavier than X1 Carbon.

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