Apple’s repair policy is a far cry from its customer-first philosophy

Granted, other phone makers don't offer such services either, but they're also not as smug about their customer experience to begin with. Despite being a company which, according to its CEO, has the user as the primary focus, when it comes to data recovery, Apple does not provide the best advice to its customers when they need help the most. Instead, it chooses to wash its hands with the Terms of Service and let the customer live with the guilt of not having backed up their device. If there's one company that has the resources and infrastructure to take its customer support to the next level, setting an example in the industry, it's Apple. It seems then that what's missing is the will to do it. Weird, considering the Apple ecosystem is advertised to be a user-friendliness heaven. 

Why is Apple against letting other people do what it doesn’t want to?

It’s logical to think then that if Apple can’t be bothered with such complex tasks, then it should let others get their hands dirty. But as we mentioned already, that’s not the case. The thing is that Apple doesn’t want any outsiders tаmpering with its devices, period. And no, authorized repair shops aren’t outsiders. They’re tightly in Apple’s grip.

Apple can’t allow anyone, no matter the issue, being sent to an unauthorized shop. There are two main reasons for that. First, going to one and becoming familiar with the services they offer, there’s a good chance that it will become your go-to place for out-of-warranty repairs. And such repairs are notoriously expensive if Apple performs them, so much so that people may prefer to buy a new device altogether. That’s something the company has often received criticism for.

Admittedly, the risk of a shoddy repair job is greater with third-party shops, but it exists even with Apple’s own services. Stories about bad Apple customer support experiences can be found all over the internet.

The other reason Apple wants you to stay away from unauthorized repair shops is that they use unlicensed parts

And while you probably won’t notice if an internal component is not genuine, a cheaper display, for example, can make your experience with the iPhone worse, which users unaware of the parts situation might blame Apple for. Such blame is not misplaced, however, because Apple refuses to sell genuine parts to unauthorized repair shops and is trying to stop them from using any others as well. The company has used tactics such as blocking incoming parts at customs and rolling out software updates that check for non-genuine parts. And that's not counting all the legal action it has taken against unauthorized repair shops. Speaking of which... 

 

Right to repair? Only if forced to

Apple, alongside other tech companies like Samsung and Microsoft, is also actively lobbying against the so-called “Right to Repair” bills that many states are trying to pass.

In short, these bills are meant to force companies to provide diagnostic tools and genuine parts at fair prices to third-party repair shops. This will also make it easier for individuals to do the repairs themselves, just by following guides like the ones made by iFixit and other popular websites. One of Apple’s counterarguments is that allowing users to open and repair their devices may lead to injuries — from punctured batteries, for example.

This may sound amusing to some since everyone who’s serious about repairing a phone will surely know the most basic thing about its battery. In general, senior government officials are not expected to have a very in-depth grasp of technology (FCC and similar agencies excluded), so their opinions on such matters can easily be swayed in a certain direction by the right people, i.e. lobbyists.

As a result, so far, the corporations’ efforts to prevent “Right to Repair” bills from becoming laws have been successful. In court, however, the situation is quite the opposite. Apple has lost several lawsuits it filed against independent repair shops for using counterfeit parts. It seems at least some officials think that people deserve the choice of third-party repairs including all the risks involved.

Proponents of the movement have a strong backing as well, however, besides the will of the common man, and it seems that things are slowly moving in the right direction. Recently, a leaked internal Apple presentation showed that the company is considering a new tier of repair partners called Apple Genuine Parts Repair. Participating businesses will have access not only to original parts but to diagnostics tools and even Apple Certified Training as well, without the restrictions on the types of repairs they can perform. There’s no official statement about the program, but experts think it’s part of Apple’s plan to comply with the “Right to Repair” bill if it becomes a law.

If or when that will become a reality is still unclear as efforts vary from state to state. However, it’s suspected that if the bill passes in one state, it will quickly change things as companies will prefer to offer the same services to customers in all states. Hopefully, that means that Apple products’ repairs will soon become not only cheaper but of higher quality as well.