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Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation

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Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation

#111

Post by harry8 »

TheBillyMania wrote: post #29

Reading the comments below, Apple is damned it they do and damned if they don’t.

One should start from the premise that whatever apple are doing is wrong.

They have implemented their strategy of it being cheaper to pay lobbyists, advertising, events and PR than it is to do the right thing. Eg they don't pay their tax but have a much bigger say in making and enforcement of law than any US tax-payer.

Treating their actions with suspicion and hostility until shown without doubt to be benign is the only sensible response to a company that employs these policies. You're paying for the enforcement of their property rights because you pay a big whack of your income in tax, they don't, they mooch off you.

Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation

#112

Post by somehnguy »

abawany wrote: post #98
somehnguy wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could have also done it yourself in about 15 minutes. I've done my 2015 MBP twice now, it's not hard at all. I'm not sure why people in tech bother paying inflated prices for easy repairs. Just because you work with software doesn't mean you have to be afraid to turn a screwdriver ;)

After my futile efforts to get it repaired at the independent shop and the Apple Store (they never came for me even with my appointment and I wasted an hour sitting in that place for no reason), I bought a third party battery and a set of guitar strings to replace it myself. I was successful but the battery was garbage so I had to return it and go back to the original swelled battery to be able to use the laptop albe…

I just ordered one off ebay, let my current battery discharge until the mac shutoff (risk of fire is greatly reduced completely discharged), and yanked out the old one with no special care or care about the glue. Set the new one in place, works perfect.

The second half of my comment was clearly tongue in cheek. Sorry if it seemed personal, it wasn't.

Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation

#113

Post by somehnguy »

xhruso00 wrote: post #106
somehnguy wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What gives you that idea? When my Macbook battery ballooned up on me I just replaced it myself. It's not hard at all and can be done in 15 minutes, I have no idea why people in tech take their machines to repair places to do it.

Because people want a genuine part (reliable battery). I would pay the price if the battery was max 200eur. Nope, Apple is greedy. In my case they wanted 400Eur (together with top case)

So buy a genuine battery then? They aren't hard to find and are under $100.

Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation

#114

Post by oehpr »

qppo wrote: post #51
rasz wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google adsense banned repair and data recovery from advertising on their platform "We need to discuss Google's anti-repair advertising discrimination." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUBJ2LD-Dao

I just searched google for repair and data recovery for several of my devices with adblock disabled and it turned up several local shops. So seems to be provably untrue. I kind of lost faith in Rossman after he blamed Apple for Customs agents seizing counterfeit parts.

Can you detail your procedure here? I just attempted this and I can't see any advertisements.

on firefox and chromium I searched these phrases without adblock and saw no ads

  macbook repair vancouver
  macbook repair calgary
  macbook repair new york
  macbook repair glasgow

Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation

#115

Post by zubiaur »

xhruso00 wrote: post #104

Recently my MBP 2015 couldn’t boot because of the dead battery. I asked authorized repair centre and they quoted 400EUR as they need to order whole topcase. This is such a ripoff from Apple. Almost no one ships batteries cross border now. Finding a good replacement is almost an impossible task. The only thing I want the battery to be safe (not catching on fire or damaging my MBP)

I got mine replaced under a recall, maybe yours is eligible too?

Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation

#116

Post by creato »

sushshshsh wrote: post #60
sinak wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is Apple trying to avoid real Right to Repair legislation by taking actions that look like they support independent repair. Consider taking a moment to donate to https://repair.org/ - we're pushing to get Right to Repair laws passed in state legislatures across the US.

I am a real believer in right to repair. But I wonder, if we are unable to achieve legislative results, what can be done to build hardware on open standards?

It just isn't something most people buying electronics care about, and there are real tradeoffs with size, weight, and aesthetic design choices. Combine those factors, and it's easy to see why the economics don't work. Making your device easily serviceable makes it more attractive to a tiny segment of the market, while making it less attractive to a much bigger segment.

Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation

#117

Post by rasz »

creato wrote: post #116
sushshshsh wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a real believer in right to repair. But I wonder, if we are unable to achieve legislative results, what can be done to build hardware on open standards?

It just isn't something most people buying electronics care about, and there are real tradeoffs with size, weight, and aesthetic design choices. Combine those factors, and it's easy to see why the economics don't work. Making your device easily serviceable makes it more attractive to a tiny segment of the market, while making it less attractive to a much bigger segment.

Right to repair is not about redesigning products to become easily serviceable, its about access to same tools and parts manufacturer uses for its own internal service.

Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation

#118

Post by P_I_Staker »

somehnguy wrote: post #91
abawany wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IME, they've really hobbled the functionality of independent repair shops, making it necessary to supplicate to the Apple Store. I was trying to get the battery replaced in a 2015 MBP and the independent shops were 'required' to keep my machine for about 7 days since they had to first 'diagnose' that the battery was dying, order it, wait for it to arrive, and then replace it. In contrast, one could make an appointmen…

You could have also done it yourself in about 15 minutes. I've done my 2015 MBP twice now, it's not hard at all. I'm not sure why people in tech bother paying inflated prices for easy repairs. Just because you work with software doesn't mean you have to be afraid to turn a screwdriver ;)

I don't like working with mobile / laptop parts except for user replaceable, or very easy ones. They make all kind of decisions with no repairability in mind. It can be very error prone. All that said, IDK how hard a MBP battery is. The HTC m8 I tried to replace the battery on, it was one of the last parts you could remove and a bit of a mess of wires, glue, ribbon, and tape. Of course that was a cell phone and a laptop should be easier.

Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation

#119

Post by tommymachine »

Every repair to my iPhone that has been done outside of Apple certified channels has ended in needing a replacement device. Have heard/ read some horror stories of Apple Store repairs, although have yet to experience any myself. Personally I haven’t had a single repair from a third party that has actually been passable.

All this to say that I’m not really seeing a huge benefit of right to repair for consumers. A race to the bottom in price means that there’s no money left to pay/train repair techs well enough to perform the repairs properly (i.e. without taking shortcuts/rushing & thereby causing further problems). This has been my experience so far with the third party shops vs Apple Certified.

Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation

#120

Post by grugagag »

P_I_Staker wrote: post #118
somehnguy wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could have also done it yourself in about 15 minutes. I've done my 2015 MBP twice now, it's not hard at all. I'm not sure why people in tech bother paying inflated prices for easy repairs. Just because you work with software doesn't mean you have to be afraid to turn a screwdriver ;)

I don't like working with mobile / laptop parts except for user replaceable, or very easy ones. They make all kind of decisions with no repairability in mind. It can be very error prone. All that said, IDK how hard a MBP battery is. The HTC m8 I tried to replace the battery on, it was one of the last parts you could remove and a bit of a mess of wires, glue, ribbon, and tape. Of course that was a cell phone and a lap…

I broke an iphone a couple of years ago while replacing the battery. I follower all the instructions but some small part accidentally snapped. I swore Id never touch such tiny corcuitry ever and instead go to a repair guy who charges quite decently, depending on the model. Sometimes its now worth fixing it, the parts and fixing fee are a bit above buting a refurb.
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