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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

#251

Post by nesadi »

natch wrote: post #246
nesadi wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they're legally selling devices in these areas, then yes. I don't see why environment absolves them of any and all responsibility.

I think you should try doing what they do, but add on this warranty that fills the “responsibility” of covering all possible damage from all possible environments that can be found anywhere around the area... “the area” being the whole Earth, of course, since these devices are intended for mobile use globally. Might as well step up and not shirk your obvious responsibility for covering impact events as well, since th…

Like I said, if they're actively selling a device in a certain place, they should be on the hook for it if the device hasn't been designed to cope with the environment of that place. Not sure what's gained by the second most profitable company in the entire world being able to offload that kind of risk onto consumers.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#252

Post by zepto »

logfromblammo wrote: post #243
zepto wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Batteries have serious shelf life issues. There would be nothing to prevent there being poorly stored batteries that are genuine being sold and causing the same issue.

Batteries fail on a predictable schedule. You can either design your whole battery-powered product to fail roughly when the intrinsic battery fails, or you can design the battery to be replaceable. Apple is trying to have the cake, by designing a product with a longer except-for-the-battery service life, and eat it too, by making the battery intrinsic to the construction, and not easily replaceable. These are incompa…

Your ‘consumer friendly’ solution seems like just the opposite.

Your propose a costly scheme that would require significant ongoing investments in engineering and bureaucracy to maintain in order to support a network of less reliable repair shops policed by a never ending cycle of offensive lawsuits.

Not only would that not protect the brand, but it would harm consumers through increased pricing, and harm the repair shops by targeting them with lawsuits.

How can this possibly be better than the current situation where people are free to repair the device and use whatever batteries they like, and there are no lawsuits - only a message on a screen buried in the settings app!

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#253

Post by ksec »

rootusrootus wrote: post #207
mopsi wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

And this happen in US?

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#254

Post by AnthonyMouse »

neotek wrote: post #238
AnthonyMouse wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 coun…

There's nothing ambiguous about it at all, they are indisputably not original components even if they adhere perfectly to the original spec.

That's what I mean by using the same word in different contexts. Think AuthenticAMD rather than GenuineIntel. You have someone manufacturing components they're not claiming are Apple components, then they're original -- not original Apple, original That Other Company.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#255

Post by scottydelta »

15155 wrote: post #248
natch wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you should try doing what they do, but add on this warranty that fills the “responsibility” of covering all possible damage from all possible environments that can be found anywhere around the area... “the area” being the whole Earth, of course, since these devices are intended for mobile use globally. Might as well step up and not shirk your obvious responsibility for covering impact events as well, since th…

I don't think it's reasonable to support hardware that was taken up Everest or on some Antarctic expedition - actual, extreme circumstances. I think it's entirely reasonable to support hardware sold in 100% humidity central Florida where Apple is licensed to do business (covered under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.)

this is exactly the point, most of the times people just assume harshest weather condition and think we are asking them to support that the moment this argument pops up.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#256

Post by tzakrajs »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #158
privateSFacct wrote: post #109

Despite all the HN comments, Apple's made an absolute killing and charges FAR FAR higher margins for their products in part because they design them so normal people don't get totally f'd over. And yes, the scam of a trash after market battery to make the iphone battery life look good is well known. And guess how many parents and grandparents then go to apple to "fix" something that has nothing to do with Apple? The…

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…

First off, Louis Rossman has made his fair share of stupid mistakes on camera and I am sure he's had his own work returned to his shop in the past. It is important to note is that he is cherry picking the worst cases of incompetence from across the country since he has many fans willing to send their Macs to him. Apple's Genius Bar services over 18 million users per year. There are bound to be some stinkers. https://www.cultofmac.com/185762/did-you-know-apples-genius-...

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#257

Post by Nextgrid »

logfromblammo wrote: post #247
Nextgrid wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if the chip uses asymmetric cryptography for authentication with a private key stored in it, impossible to recover, just like a credit card? In this case it can’t be spoofed by intercepting the comma between the phone & chip, private key can’t be extracted, etc. Sure, a bypass battery is possible. The point here isn’t 100% security (which as you say is impossible), it’s to make the operation difficult enough tha…

Impossible? Dissolve the chip casing in fuming nitric acid and use probe needles. The official pins are not the only way to interface with the silicon, when you have device-in-possession. Use a timing attack. Find a collision. It is very likely that the same private key is locked up inside every chip, and one reverse-engineer, probing one of them once, can compromise the key for all of the chips manufactured before t…

Payment cards seem to be keeping secrets locked down despite there being huge financial incentives to crack them.

If nobody does it for payment cards, there’s no way they’ll bother doing it for smartphone batteries.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#258

Post by brokenmachine »

m463 wrote: post #223
privateSFacct wrote: post #109

Despite all the HN comments, Apple's made an absolute killing and charges FAR FAR higher margins for their products in part because they design them so normal people don't get totally f'd over. And yes, the scam of a trash after market battery to make the iphone battery life look good is well known. And guess how many parents and grandparents then go to apple to "fix" something that has nothing to do with Apple? The…

A cracked screen repair on a recent iphone is $200, which I think is very high. I think if they lowered the price of common repairs to "reasonable", then good things would happen. If instead of becoming a source of profit, repairs became more costly to apple, maybe they might: make things more modular and repairable, make parts available, allow external repairs. (I could be idealistic and wrong)

You're not wrong, but Apple won't do that while there are still people who accept and encourage this kind of consumer-hostile behavior.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#259

Post by tinus_hn »

root_axis wrote: post #213
tinus_hn wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple doesn’t sell genuine Apple batteries to anyone but authorized service providers who can only use these to install them in phones themselves. The only genuine part you can get is a second hand battery from a broken phone. Who wants that?

> The only genuine part you can get is a second hand battery from a broken phone Sounds like a problem deliberately created by Apple.

It is a situation deliberately created by Apple. Whether it is a problem is an opinion.
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