We are retroactively dropping the iPhone’s repairability score • Hacker News Board

Re: We are retroactively dropping the iPhone’s repairability score

#191

Post by jameshart » Tue, Sep 19, 2023, 7:38 PM UTC

pierat wrote: post #125

mschuster91 wrote: post #6

There is also another issue why Apple is restricting "part harvesting": theft. iCloud locks or Samsung's KNOX lock entered the field because the manufacturers were pretty pissed that customers using their devices in public became a target for "enterprising" robbers who'd factory-wipe the devices and flip them to a pawn shop or second-hand store in a matter of half an hour. When people are afraid to use your products…

How much were you paid to shill Apple for this top post? If this were a real issue, then I as the device owner should be able to toggle this on and off as needed. But that hits deeper, since this is a device that's being sold as "purchase" when I don't have real control - Apple does. At best, this is a rental being mis-advertised as a purchase.

Just put a big sticker on the back of your phone case that says ‘no parts left in phone overnight’

Re: We are retroactively dropping the iPhone’s repairability score

#192

Post by aendruk » Tue, Sep 19, 2023, 7:38 PM UTC

natymad wrote: post #166

I completely fail to understand the anti-theft argument, help me out here. So the theory is that, once thieves will see you're carrying an Iphone, they won't bother taking it. But why? You're already being mugged, everything that's even remotely valuable will be taken. Why would they let their victims go, just because their valuables are more difficult to flip? "Give me all your valuables - oh wait, that's an iphone,…

I was under the impression that a typical theft is more of a grab-and-run. At least all the thefts I’ve witnessed have been that way. So picture not a back alley mugging from the movies but tourists in a crowded area or commuters on public transit, already holding their phones out in front of them.

Re: We are retroactively dropping the iPhone’s repairability score

#193

Post by nanidin » Tue, Sep 19, 2023, 7:40 PM UTC

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #31

jchw wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not accept this as a reasonable answer. I've lived in not even very good areas, with very lax physical security (often not locking my car) and have never had this issue, ever. Nobody has ever stolen my phone. Not in downtown Detroit, not in not-downtown-Detroit, not in SF, not in Chicago. If crime really is this bad, it's not an Apple or Samsung problem. It's a societal problem that extremely badly needs to be a…

Pickpocketing in the Us is highly uncommon compared to say, Paris.

I had my phone grabbed out of my hand at a concert in the US. But yeah pick pocketing is much more common in Europe, had people try it twice there. Once in Milan and once in Barcelona.

The big target here now is music festivals where teams will rove looking for vulnerable/inattentive people and get into their pockets or bags and bolt.

Re: We are retroactively dropping the iPhone’s repairability score

#194

Post by vanchor3 » Tue, Sep 19, 2023, 7:40 PM UTC

hedora wrote: post #74

ho_schi wrote: post #50

That is one of the many reasons why use ThinkPads. * Maintenance Manual with explosion diagrams and step-by-step guides * Short guide videos for important parts (terse and helpful, very good hidden on Lenovos Website) * OEM-Parts from Lenovo itself or dealers Side story. I ordered a X13 Gen 3 (because the new reverse notch is “meh”) AMD (because Intel is “meh”) but the HiDPI was not selectable. So I ordered it withou…

I get how this is helpful for hobby hardware, but the last time I had a problem with a Lenovo, I sent it to the on-site authorized repair depot (my employer had a special gold plated contract with them), who couldn't replace it because it needed a replacement display cable they didn't stock. They diagnosed it, and sent it to Lenovo, who said it would take 30 days to replace the cable. I bought a cheap desktop in the…

Lenovo once told me that extreme image persistence on the display was "normal" and there was nothing to repair. You could display some sensitive information on the screen, lock the screen, and still be able to read the previous information on the lock screen around 3 minutes later.

Re: We are retroactively dropping the iPhone’s repairability score

#195

Post by ghostpepper » Tue, Sep 19, 2023, 7:40 PM UTC

i_love_cookies wrote: post #173

red_trumpet wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> unless a robber forces you to do it under duress. Isn't that possible with the full iPhone atm?

Yes, it's actually made phone theft even worse as a victim. instead of running with the device muggers are demanding pin's and passcodes at gun/knife point it's resulted in a few deaths in chicago at least

Got a source on this? Quick google search for "Chicago death iPhone mugging" did not turn up anything about robbers specifically asking for PIN codes, or killing someone for not providing it.

Re: We are retroactively dropping the iPhone’s repairability score

#196

Post by Dylan16807 » Tue, Sep 19, 2023, 7:42 PM UTC

Spivak wrote: post #149

ejstronge wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (If anyone at Apple is reading this: ffs, allow the legitimate owner of a device to "unpair" all components in their phone in iCloud so that legitimate second-hand shops can strip a broken device at least for its parts) I was robbed at gunpoint (but not in a 'problematic' part of town) and the thief outlined all the steps he needed me to take to remove my phone from Find My and from iCloud. I think a lot of these m…

I mean the perfect solution (from a theft perspective) would just be only allowing Apple to remove the phone from your iCloud account at a physical location when presented with ID. Annoying for people selling their phone, sure. But that plus the hardware paring would make it functionally worthless to anyone but you.

You can add a delay.

Re: We are retroactively dropping the iPhone’s repairability score

#197

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Sep 19, 2023, 7:42 PM UTC

bakugo wrote: post #170

bzzzt wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your ability to classify everyone who doesn't agree with you as an "Apple fanboy" is equally amazing to me.

What else would you call someone who doesn't care about repairability in the slightest because they're just going to buy whatever new version of their favorite brand's product comes out next year for full price regardless of how similar it is, if not a fanboy?

[deleted]

Re: We are retroactively dropping the iPhone’s repairability score

#198

Post by pseg134 » Tue, Sep 19, 2023, 7:42 PM UTC

MostlyStable wrote: post #36

sjkna wrote: post #12

Thanks Apple for making my phone a less attractive target for thieves by making its pieces useless when used in other phones. Ifixit: you are not on my side.

If parts weren't so unnecessarily difficult to get in the first part, stealing phones for parts wouldn't be a thing. Apple created this problem, they don't get to get credit for "fixing" it in a way that harms consumers.

Stealing phones for parts is only a “thing” because any U.S. carrier would still block a stolen IMEI. If you steal a car, for example, you can use it to for its primary purpose which is to drive. If you steal a phone, you can only sell it for parts.

Re: We are retroactively dropping the iPhone’s repairability score

#199

Post by flanked-evergl » Tue, Sep 19, 2023, 7:43 PM UTC

riversflow wrote: post #171

shortcake27 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m highly dubious of anyone claiming this reduces crime. Things being easy to steal and sell aren’t the _cause_ of crime, they’re a symptom. If someone has felt the need to resort to a life of crime for whatever reason, how is lowering their “salary” (so to speak) going to reduce crime? Surely they now need to steal more phones to make up the difference? I guess you could argue they might commit a different crime in…

It’s not that it reduces crime overall, it’s that it reduces a specific, very inconvenient crime to be the victim of. Having your phone stolen, especially on vacation, is significantly worse than many other sorts of theft.

And yet people still have their iPhone 14s stolen while on holiday.

Re: We are retroactively dropping the iPhone’s repairability score

#200

Post by apexalpha » Tue, Sep 19, 2023, 7:43 PM UTC

mschuster91 wrote: post #6

There is also another issue why Apple is restricting "part harvesting": theft. iCloud locks or Samsung's KNOX lock entered the field because the manufacturers were pretty pissed that customers using their devices in public became a target for "enterprising" robbers who'd factory-wipe the devices and flip them to a pawn shop or second-hand store in a matter of half an hour. When people are afraid to use your products…

>That cut down on a lot of the robbery bullshit, but then criminals simply found new buyer classes - they'd simply part stolen devices out and resell everything but the iCloud/Knox/whatever locked mainboard. Displays, cameras, speakers, batteries, flex cables, cases, everything.

This would be way less valueble to do if the companies just sold the parts are reasonable prices.

The extreme ways fixers have to go to to source parts for legitimate repairs concerns is insane.

The entire reason there even is a whole ecosystem of people picking apart phones in Shenzen is because it's so darn difficult to source it any other way!