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Repairing an iPhone: in the future also in the hobby room
Photo: EDUARDO MUNOZ / REUTERS
Anyone who has always wanted an Apple screwdriver can soon fulfill this wish. For Christmas, however, the new offer comes too late. Only from the beginning of 2022 does the Californian company want to enable its customers to carry out at least some repairs on some products themselves. On Wednesday, the company announced a "self-service repair" offer, which will initially be available for iPhones 12 and 13, and later also for Mac computers with an M1 chip.
If you decide to repair your Apple device yourself if your Apple device is damaged, you can order the necessary spare parts, including repair instructions and the right tools, from Apple's online shop.
As is so often the case with Apple, the offer will initially only be available in the USA, but will be expanded to other countries in the course of the year.
In addition, customers should initially only be provided with the “most frequently serviced components”, such as the display, battery and camera of the iPhones.
Additional spare parts are to be made available later in the year.
Apple has not given specific prices for the repair kits. However, end customers should pay just as much for Apple's original spare parts as certified Apple service providers and independent repair providers. This information allows at least rough estimates. For a battery replacement on the iPhone 12, for example, Apple collects a flat rate of 75 euros, a display replacement is billed at 311.10 euros. In addition, there is a shipping fee of 11.90 euros in both cases. The prices for a replacement battery or a new display should therefore be below these brands. Customers who send their replaced components back to Apple for recycling or refurbishment receive a credit for this. You do not incur any costs for the return.
This is a big step for the US company.
On the first iPhone, the SIM drawer was the only component that could be repaired in the sense of being exchangeable.
The current models, on the other hand, are designed in such a way that they allow multiple components to be exchanged.
After its teardown of the iPhone 13 Pro, the repair portal iFixit praised the fact that most of the components are modular and easy to access or replace.
At the same time, the experts criticized the fact that the many different screw types and methods of sealing make repairs more difficult.
Overall, they give Apple's smartphone five out of ten possible points for repairability.
Politicians want to make more repairs possible
The new offer from Apple is likely to hit iFixit hard.
The company lives off the sale of spare parts and tools with which smartphones, game consoles and other gadgets can be repaired.
And it has long been campaigning for manufacturers to be legally obliged to enable their customers to repair their devices.
In the EU, binding rules have been in effect since March 2021, stipulating that manufacturers have to keep spare parts in stock, provide repair information and generally design their products in such a way that they can be "non-destructively disassembled using conventional tools." However, this only applies to products such as refrigerators, Dishwashers, washing machines and televisions, not for smartphones.
At the moment, however, an "Executive Order" from President Joe Biden is likely to be more important for Apple, in which he calls on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to set up rules that oblige manufacturers to allow independent workshops and private individuals to repair their devices.
Apple had already come to such a regulation in parts last year.
Since then, the company has also been supplying independent workshops with original spare parts.
The now announced "self-service repair" offer is the next step by Apple to anticipate legal regulations.
Available to everyone, but not made for everyone
Anyone who dares to repair devices such as an iPhone themselves should, however, be aware of the risks. Anyone who damages the new display when replacing the screen will only lose a lot of money, but whoever damages other components will also lose the guarantee on these components. It can therefore be helpful to first look at the relevant repair instructions before ordering spare parts and tools. In this way you can at least roughly assess whether you feel up to the task.
In any case, Apple does not go to great lengths to motivate its customers to do it themselves.
In the press release at the start of the new offer, the company leaves no doubt that - unlike its other products - it only sees a small target group for this: »Self-service repairs are aimed at technically-savvy people who have the knowledge and have the experience of repairing electronic devices «, period.
