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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

#171

Post by hunta2097 »

ornornor wrote: post #165
oxfordmale wrote: post #164

Lack of repairability is the main reason I do not buy Mac Books. Yes, they are more reliable, however, if you encounter a problem, you endure a long wait at a Mac Book repair centre that is miles away. My work laptop developed an issue while I was on holidays in Spain, and if it had been a PC it could have been easily fixed by any of the local repair centres. Of course Apple being Apple, I would have to drive 2 hours…

They’re not more reliable. I’m still using a thinkpad from 2013 as my daily driver. My work mbp failed after 6 months because dust specs got under the keyboard keys and stopped them from registering presses anymore.

I concur, I work in a department of mainly MBP15's and they have a terrible reliability experience here. The most common things that go wrong are faulty displays, keyboards and overheating issues.

I'd go far as to say the MBP15 has a design flaw where the screen breaks right in the centre where you place your fingers or thumb.

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

#172

Post by ghostwriter »

zakki wrote: post #74
qppo wrote: post #63

This may be controversial (or maybe not, this is HN and not reddit), but there's a question I've never seen answered. I don't really care about how easy it is to repair my phone, or at least not as much as I care about using iOS. I knew if my iPhone were to break I'd have to take it to Apple, so I pay for Apple Care (like I pay for iCloud for my backups). I don't feel like I've been swindled. I feel like I made the p…

Because there is other issues like e-waste. With repair we expect less e-waste. As you know Apple repair tends to replace the whole things instead of the broken part.

Could you show numvers regarding difference in e-waste amounts with repairable parts and without them? Repair tooling and components generate waste too, including waste in logistics.

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

#173

Post by ghostwriter »

stale2002 wrote: post #94
qppo wrote: post #63

This may be controversial (or maybe not, this is HN and not reddit), but there's a question I've never seen answered. I don't really care about how easy it is to repair my phone, or at least not as much as I care about using iOS. I knew if my iPhone were to break I'd have to take it to Apple, so I pay for Apple Care (like I pay for iCloud for my backups). I don't feel like I've been swindled. I feel like I made the p…

> Why should companies not be allowed to compete along this axis of features? They can be allowed to compete in those features. That's fine. But people should also be allowed to do whatever they want with devices that they own. Including getting it fixed by a 3rd party. > Surely the markets have spoken No, the market has not spoken. Because Apple will sue you if you try to do independent repairs, without going throug…

> No, the market has not spoken. Because Apple will sue you if you try to do independent repairs, without going through them.

can't you just avoid Apple and buy phones that are easier to repair? That's how market works.

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

#174

Post by meditative »

Polylactic_acid wrote: post #153
chromedev wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple fans seem okay with this and also not being able to install apps outside the app store.

Its usually less that they are ok with these problems and more that the alternatives have even more problems. Most OEMs copied apples designs so everything is shit. Rather than taking your laptop to the local apple store you now have to send it off to china and face all the same problems. Windows also isn't useful for productivity and linux is only viable for certain jobs.

> Windows also isn't useful for productivity

Can you expand on this? I think it's the contrarian position to be taking here.

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

#175

Post by detaro »

Polylactic_acid wrote: post #153
chromedev wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple fans seem okay with this and also not being able to install apps outside the app store.

Its usually less that they are ok with these problems and more that the alternatives have even more problems. Most OEMs copied apples designs so everything is shit. Rather than taking your laptop to the local apple store you now have to send it off to china and face all the same problems. Windows also isn't useful for productivity and linux is only viable for certain jobs.

> Rather than taking your laptop to the local apple store you now have to send it off to china

For "pro-grade" laptops Apple is the odd one out by not offering on-site warranty repairs at all, instead requiring you to travel somewhere.

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

#176

Post by JoshTriplett »

sinak wrote: post #31
rasz wrote: post #2

Just as a reminder, their phone "independent repair program" has you signing rights to your business away (you are forced to let apple audit you at any time, you have to share personal client data on all of your clients with apple. All of this not limited to Apple repair part of your business) for the right to: - remove battery / screen from client device - send battery / screen to Apple with all clients personal inf…

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.

This has the same problem I've seen with other such proposals: it joins together "you should have the legal right to repair" with "manufacturers should be forced to make only devices with modular replaceable parts". The latter sounds good in theory, except if it means thicker, heavier, less optimized devices. By all means offer such devices, but don't take away the option of devices at a different point on the tradeoff between modularity and thin/light/optimized.

You should absolutely have the legal right to open, tinker with, repair, or otherwise mod any device you own. That doesn't mean prohibiting the legal right to manufacture, sell, purchase, or use devices whose design trades off simplicity of repair for some other property that people purchasing it want more.

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

#177

Post by acd »

I think Apple should make a developer/hacker/ifixit score 10 version of their devices. As a consumer you could then choose between the consumer design version or the hacker version.

The hacker version of the hardware should have user serviceable parts such as motherboard, ssd, battery, screen, memory, keyboard and use standard philips or torx screws.

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

#178

Post by viridian »

oxfordmale wrote: post #164

Lack of repairability is the main reason I do not buy Mac Books. Yes, they are more reliable, however, if you encounter a problem, you endure a long wait at a Mac Book repair centre that is miles away. My work laptop developed an issue while I was on holidays in Spain, and if it had been a PC it could have been easily fixed by any of the local repair centres. Of course Apple being Apple, I would have to drive 2 hours…

Last I checked apple was forth in manufacture reliability, behind Asus, Toshiba, and Sony. They are better than average, but people really overestimate the build quality of the macbook.

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

#179

Post by raxxorrax »

sushicat wrote: post #76
wonnage wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once you buy the device why the hell should Apple prevent someone from putting a counterfeit battery/screen/whatever inside of it? Sure, people might be defrauding AppleCare, but that's their problem - there's no reasonable justification for why they should be able to regulate who fixes their devices.

> why the hell should Apple prevent someone from putting a counterfeit battery/screen/whatever inside of it? You can definitely do whatever you want to the machine. And the audit prevents my parents got scammed by those individual shops. eg. Paid the price for a genius battery but got a counterfeit from China.

The scam is already included in the price of the phone itself in my opinion.

I am sick of arguments "for" consumer protection here. There is no chocolate pudding if someone shits on your plate. Sure there is QA, but not in the interest of consumers for any replaceable part.

As someone who has quite a lot of apple phones in my hands, the genuine Chinese batteries die as frequently as the not genuine Chinese batteries. They both smell nicely like bubblegum at least.

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

#180

Post by raxxorrax »

Marsymars wrote: post #138
css wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have to do any serious repairs they will ask you to make a second admin account so they can login and test things.

The one time I brought my laptop to an Apple Store for a serious repair, they asked for the password to my primary account. I told them to just wipe the drive if they needed access.

Wouldn't work with iPads. If you have connected your Apple ID with the device and forget your password, you cannot even reset the device. Not sure on phones, but pretty sure it works in a similar way. Macs are probably different though. A "If they could, they would"-situation probably.
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