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iPhone repair (2016): Complicated, frustrating, time-consuming
Photo: EDUARDO MUNOZ/ REUTERS
Six months ago, Apple announced a "self-service repair": Anyone who wants to repair their iPhone themselves should be able to order the necessary replacement parts, including repair instructions and the right tools, from Apple's online shop.
The program is now up and running in the US, and The Verge journalist Sean Hollister has tried it out.
His article begins with the sentence: "This is supposed to be an Apple joke."
Hollister had expected "a small box with screwdrivers, spatulas and pliers" for its iPhone Mini.
Instead, Apple delivered him two large protective cases with tools weighing a total of 35 kilograms and an 80-page manual home.
Hollister could have known that, after all, Apple's external service provider listed the official dimensions and weights here.
To loosen the display, for example, a professional heater was included “that looks like laboratory equipment” – however, according to Hollister, it did not work perfectly and gave an error message that was not explained in the enclosed instructions.
According to his detailed and illustrated experience report, three different screwdrivers and torque wrenches are required to remove the glass pane.
There is no way to determine whether the new battery is correctly inserted, writes Hollister.
But the most frustrating thing was that his iPhone didn't recognize the replacement battery as an original Apple part.
As a result, you first had to contact an external logistics company to validate the part.
Apparently, she can only do that if you allow her remote access to the iPhone.
For Hollister, this eliminates one of the main reasons for home repairs: control of your device.
$1200 bail
Financially, the effort isn't worth it either: Apple billed Hollister $69 for the battery.
He would pay the same at the Apple Store without having to work on the iPhone himself and risk damaging the device.
Added $49 for the loaned tool.
If it isn't returned after seven days, Apple will keep a $1,200 deposit.
Hollister calls this financial risk for users who simply want to replace their iPhone battery »ridiculous«.
After all, Apple will cover the shipping costs.
With two heavy suitcases, a three-digit sum can quickly add up within the USA.
And according to »Mac & i«, you can also buy the components of the tool set.
For example, the accumulator press for gluing the accumulator in the housing costs 115 dollars,
Hollister's conclusion: "I cannot recommend the repair process at all - and I suspect that Apple is quite right about that." After all, Apple has lobbied violently against a right to repair for years and made its contracts with independent repairers dissuasively restrictive.
"MacRumors" also advises laypeople to visit a workshop rather than attempt the "complicated," "frustrating," and "time-consuming" repairs themselves.
A video shows the trouble that "MacRumors" expert Dan Barbera had.
It is not yet known when Apple's tool kit will also be available in Germany.
Binding rules have been in force in the EU since March 2021, which stipulate that manufacturers must stock spare parts, supply repair information and generally design their products in such a way that they "can be disassembled non-destructively using conventional tools".
However, this does not apply to smartphones.
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