An announcement has been made on Wednesday by Apple that its customers will be allowed to repair their devices themselves where genuine Apple parts, tools, and manuals needed for repair will be supplied by the company to individual consumers.
It will be noted that Apple’s ‘self service repair’ will first be available in the US, beginning from January, and then expand to other countries over 2022.
Consumers comfortable with repairing their own devices will soon get access to tools, parts, and manuals for iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series’ devices, and the list will eventually include Mac computers (the ones with the M1 chips).
Apple service centres are also known to not entertain service/repair requests if the devices have been opened or accessed by others. Also, if the device has been opened up by any non-authorised personnel or service centre, it loses the warranty coverage.
The idea behind such a strict set of rules for repairs is understandable to an extent as repair support might be offered by those who do not have access to original Apple components, and swapping them with replacement parts can cause irreparable damages.
Representing the Company, Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said the phase will focus on the most commonly serviced modules
“The initial phase of the program will focus on the most commonly serviced modules, such as the iPhone display, battery, and camera. The ability for additional repairs will be available later next year,”
“Creating greater access to Apple genuine parts gives our customers even more choice if a repair is needed,”
He also stated that Apple will set up a new store that will offer more than 200 individual parts and tools for repairs. Most of these, for now, will be the ones needed for common repairs on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 devices.
Customers can place an order for parts and tools on this store. Those customers who return the used parts for recycling will get credits towards their purchase.
As encouraging as all of this sounds, Apple added in the announcement that the self service repair feature is meant for individual technicians who have the knowledge and experience of repairing electronic devices. For others, going to an authorised repair provider is still the “safest and most reliable way to get a repair”.
Apple already has more than 5,000 authorised service providers and 2,800 independent repair providers. The self-repair option comes as a great advantage to customers since the company-authorised repairs are often quite expensive and sometimes unnecessary unless the damage is significant.
