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Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

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Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#201
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple doesn't want their customers to get f'd over you say? You might want to check out Luis Rosmann's videos, a famous Apple repair geek who fixes for cheap the products Apple themselves misdiagnose[1] in order to rip off their customers[2]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7RXJP4mxCc // teenager's MacBook's display is not working correctly so Geniuses tell him he needs a new motherboard replacement while Luis d…

In both these cases had the actual hardware ever made it to the Apple repair depot (which has more expertise than the average Apple Genius and is not located on the back of the store, contrary to what Luis may think) then they undoubtedly would have come to the same conclusion that Luis did about the ease of the repair, and would have charged accordingly. What Luis heard from the store was a preliminary estimate, not…

Both videos mention suggestions to buy a new computer because repair cost is close to the price of a new one. In such case, the computer would never reach a repair depot.

As to Rossmann being a hater, I too have seen so many stories of Apple denying warranty for made up reasons (liquid damage, etc) that it is very difficult to believe that Apple is acting in good faith when it comes to repairs.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#202
post #44

Apple simply doesn't respect their customers.

I suspect the opposite: Apple's cost for occasional battery explosions injuring their customers is the real concern.

Ironically, Apple making third party repairs difficult by not selling genuine spare parts and not publishing service guides increases the risk of an iPhone exploding, because it pushes third parties towards sourcing parts from shady sources.

Why third parties exist at all? They must be doing something better: either they're cheaper, faster, more competent, in more convenient locations, or something else along these lines.

Apple has long repair times and that would be my argument for preferring a local repair shop over shipping the phone or computer god-knows-where.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

…but then you can't claim that there were genuine, as Rossman did in his videos.

Do you have a link to the video? There is a difference between saying things like "manufactured to Apple spec" and claiming they were actually manufactured by Apple.

https://youtu.be/AVL65qwBGnw?t=43

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the ability to unlock it Why would I give them that? I'm handing the phone over powered-down and without revealing my passcode.

> Why would I give them that? So they can repair your phone. And they get the same thing when they give you the rogue phone back and you try to unlock it, at which point it sends the PIN to them and they can use it to unlock your original phone and then mount it over the network to display the same data until they've finished copying it.

Why do they need my phone to be unlocked to repair it? They just take off the back and put in a new battery.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#205

I wish Apple weren't so schizophrenic. Odd-numbered days: PRIVACY DAY - we love our users! Even-numbered days: HARDWARE DAY - we hate our users! Pick one and stick with it, guys.

The word that I think has a bigger issue there is "user"- to me, it feels like Apple is treating their customers like drug addicts, and now that they're hooked, they're jacking up prices.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Galaxy S5 has fully replaceable batteries as well. As a phone, I'd say it still holds up rather well as a lower end mid-range phone today. I'm holding onto it until Librem Phone comes out, which also has a replaceable battery. Having phones with non-replaceable batteries just seems incredibly wasteful to me, so I won't ever buy one on general principle.

Your comment pretty much dismisses the validity of Apple being anti-competitive. You don’t like their product, thus you bought an alternative that meets your needs. If Apple was anti-competitive, you wouldn’t be able to buy an alternative. Apple has a monopoly for Apple phones, but that isn’t a monopoly. If you buy an Apple product, you are agreeing to buy an Apple product with all that entails. If you want a user re…

The point of my comment was not to validate anything about Apple.

If you actually read what people write fully instead of projecting what you want to hear, you'll be a much better conversationalist.

Thank you.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#207
post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's just me, but $69 for a repair that 1) Apple will stand behind, and 2) will add another two years of life to a $1000 phone, is a pretty good deal. While there are undoubtedly good third-party repair shops, there is also a lot of crap that isn't worth half of what Apple is charging. Subpar work, subpar parts.

Going to Apple for repairs does not guarantee a quality service. See: The Apple Store Genius Bar Broke My $5,000 iMac Pro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG_NRcy5mxU "Subpar" is a very mild word to describe what was done there.

A lot of people would say that is the exception that proves the rule. And in any case, ultimately Apple will stand behind the repair, making it right. I've had two acquaintances get brand new MacBooks after the Genius Bar couldn't get their machine fixed correctly.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple doesn't want their customers to get f'd over you say? You might want to check out Luis Rosmann's videos, a famous Apple repair geek who fixes for cheap the products Apple themselves misdiagnose[1] in order to rip off their customers[2]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7RXJP4mxCc // teenager's MacBook's display is not working correctly so Geniuses tell him he needs a new motherboard replacement while Luis d…

It might be that Apple is not able to apply the same attention to detail that Luis applies to every case. Luis complains that he can't find competent board level repair technicians to scale his business. The real problem is that it's a difficult expensive skill. Luis can't scale it, Apple can't scale it at a reasonable price either. Human attention is expensive, that's the reason software is eating the world. Part of…

I love watching Louis diagnose and fix laptops. He can make good money charging $300 to fix a motherboard in an hour or two because he has done it for years but I can imagine even a very smart technician it takes 2-3x time starting out and I doubt he pays much more than $25-30hr, though maybe the business would be more viable if not in NYC thats borderline living wage here.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a link to the video? There is a difference between saying things like "manufactured to Apple spec" and claiming they were actually manufactured by Apple.

https://youtu.be/AVL65qwBGnw?t=43

That's kind of ambiguous. He could mean original spec, as opposed to some junk using completely different components which is merely electrically compatible.

The fact that he's then comparing "original" with "counterfeit" goes against that a little, but it feels more like confusion than malice, or using the same word in two different contexts. Saying these are original-spec components without Apple logos and not counterfeit might be true even if the reason they're not counterfeit is that they don't have Apple logos rather than because they followed the spec.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if they made the batteries easily replaceable without the device having to go to service they would not have this many issues. Of course their replacement batteries would need to be reasonably priced...

Anecdotes are worthless, but in the past half decade the only people I know who have successfully replaced a smartphone or pad battery have been Apple device owners. Apple has an easy, clear, successful program for replacing batteries, and most find the pricing entirely reasonable. A friend did buy a Nexus 6P battery replacement kit from Amazon, but the process was so byzantine, and no shop was willing to do it, that…

> but those days are gone

Maybe for high end phones.

It's still a very common feature on low-mid end phones. My motorola g4 which I got just a couple years ago has it.

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