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Comment by dns_snek | Hacker News Reader

> Just take it to any repair shop.

Device manufacturers see that as a bug, not a feature. They are starting to pair genuine parts to a specific device, which will completely lock us out of 3rd party repair options if we accept and normalize this behavior.

See for example:

- "The iPhone 14 Continues Apple’s Digital Repair Lockdown" by iFixit - https://www.ifixit.com/News/66879/iphone-14-parts-pairing-re...

- "iPhone 14 Pro Programmed To Reject Repair" by Hugh Jeffreys - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2WhU77ihw8

- The long list of Louis Rossmann's rants on the topic

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Just because people who make money out of repair are making this claim, doesn’t make it true.

See for example: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/04/apples-self-service-r...

Ah yes, that 79-pound iPhone repair kit to fix a 1.1-ounce battery. The review of it was pretty interesting [0]. It's possible, but it's not exactly what I'd call user serviceable. There are a hojillion kits on Amazon which all include all the necessary tools to take the phone apart - triwing screwdriver, pentalobe screwdriver, impossibly small 00 phillipshead screwdriver, etc - so anyone that can follow youtube directions and has a steady hand can do it. It's just way harder than it needs to be so under the proposed law, they'd have to make it easier.

[0] https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/21/23079058/apple-self-servi...

Yeah - it’s fairly obvious that linked article is in bad faith.

The 79-pound repair kit is what Apple uses in its stores to avoid damaging phones that remain under warranty.

If people want to buy a bunch of cheap tools and risk damaging a delicate phone, they shouldn’t expect Apple’s help.

That's funny, I got the opposite read from that article and that it's Apple that's operating in bad faith here.

Really though I think what's important is that we should expect help from Apple. It might take EU regulations to force that, but what that really says to me is that as consumer in the US, my bar for what to expect from corporations is set way too low.

I'm going to assume ignorance over bad-faith and provide a video for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUpnrd-Xuho

I don't understand what point you're trying to make. What you're saying only strengthens my original point about Apple monopolizing repair.

My interests as a consumer and those of "people who make money out of repair" are almost completely aligned -- I want them to (be able to) work on my device in the event that I don't have the tools, skills or patience to do the repair myself.

> My interests as a consumer and those of "people who make money out of repair" are almost completely aligned

I don’t see how. The less reliable the device is, the more business they get. The more reliable the device is, the less you spend on repairs. Sure seems like opposing interests.

Repairability is orthogonal to reliability and I've only brought up complaints about the former. This dichotomy you're trying to establish doesn't have any grounding in reality.

All that repair shops can do is provide commentary and inform consumers about whether the OEM is serious about repair or whether they're just greenwashing their image and by all accounts, Apple's self-service repair program is about as anemic as their Apple authorized service provider program.

> Repairability is orthogonal to reliability

This is clearly not true when we’re discussing user replaceable batteries or the like. It’s a trade off, like most things in engineering.

There are many extra ways things can go wrong by making components such as batteries easy to replace. Poor contacts, oxidation, mechanical breakage, battery compartment doors popping off, ingress of dust and fluids, looser tolerances for the batteries etc.

Nobody discussing this in good faith can deny that these issues exist.

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