Apple Grants Self Repair for M2 Macs and iPhone 14
Expansions to Apple's self repair programs shows progress ...but also a reluctance to fully support repair. Plus: Biden DOT faces backlash. And: what pinball teaches us about planned obsolescence.
The world’s most profitable electronics company announced this week that “Self Service Repair will be available June 21 for the iPhone 14 lineup and additional Mac models, including the 13-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro powered by M2.”
After a rocky start to their Self Repair Program, which caught criticism for sending repair-minded customers 50+ pound pelican cases of specialized repair equipment, the company is receiving praise for their latest move to expand access to individual users. The repair now program includes an online store to get replacement parts directly from Apple. The company is also signaling that their newest models will continue to receive support through the program.
👉 You can read the full release from Apple here.
This precedent the company is setting for itself is heartening, but comes with caveats.
Better product design and software support still missing
First: Apple’s self repair announcement comes as the company released its M2 15-inch Mac, which received poor ratings on repairability. Specifically iFixit wrote that fixing the machine is a "miserable experience" with numerous screw removals, making disassembly challenging. The device also features a locked-down chassis and complex removal process.
The issues with fixing the 15-inch M2 Mac shows that, while parts and information are a crucial first step, design is a crucial frontier in making computers last longer. Given this slow pace of change, repair advocates are pushing for governments to use regulations to bring companies to heel through regulations like the EU’s eco-design directive.
A lack of long-term software supports presents an equally difficult problem in keeping computers out of landfills. As we wrote earlier this month, companies like Apple limit the length of time they offer software updates to computers to a few years—which has prompted repair advocates to call for policies requiring companies to lengthen the time they offer software updates.
More direct restrictions to repair come in the form of part pairing, which requires individual parts to be validated by software to work. Apple caught flak for this practice in the past for pairing Touch ID home buttons to iPhones, a practice that stopped the repair of broken Touch ID buttons. We see its legacy playing out in the same press release on their self repair program: Apple highlights access to the company’s System Configuration software, a developer tool which should make configuring devices easier after repairs.
System Configuration is a post-repair software tool that ensures repairs with genuine Apple parts — designed and tested to internationally recognized standards — were completed correctly, and the parts are working properly…
Running System Configuration after a repair authenticates genuine Apple parts, updates firmware, and calibrates parts to ensure maximum performance and quality.
The emphasis on needing genuine Apple parts for the device to function shows the true intentions behind the company’s repair program; ensuring they don’t lose profit.
Apple is making moves in the right direction, but it is clear that they are being pulled by consumer preferences and government intervention. The company’s expanding use of part pairing and refusal to design for repairability remain major roadblocks for making the worlds most influential technology company truly repair-friendly.
Biden DOT faces backlash over NHTSA anti-repair letter
The Biden DOT is facing backlash for letter challenging Massachusetts repair law. More than a week after sending a letter to automakers urging them not to comply with a 2020 Massachusetts law that gives vehicle owners access to telematics data needed for repair, NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission, is being criticized for backing anti-competitive practices. “Consumers are tired of having the things we’ve paid for tethered to distant manufacturers who can tell us what we can and can’t do with our stuff. The data generated by my car should belong to me,” said Nathan Proctor of US PIRG.
The letter also drew the ire of Massachusetts two senators, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren. In a letter dated June 16, 2023, the two senators accused NHTSA of “circumventing the legal process, contradicting a judicial order, undermining Massachusetts voters, harming competition and hurting consumers.” The letters, sent two weeks after Massachusetts’ Attorney General began enforcing the law “caused unnecessary confusion by raising this novel view” of the law.
The Auto Care Association, which represents more than 500,000 automotive aftermarket products and services suppliers, wrote to NHTSA and took aim at the agency’s stilted reading of the Massachusetts law - which aligns with the position of automotive OEMs and their trade group. “NHTSA’s summary conclusion is based on its belief that the Data Access Law requires ‘open remote access to vehicle telematics,’ whereby vehicle data would be unencrypted and allow anyone to remotely send commands to a vehicle to manipulate safety-critical functions,” wrote ACA President and CEO William J. Hanvey. “This is not the case. NHTSA appears to have adopted the Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s…overly broad interpretation of the Data Access Law that is belied by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s more reasonable interpretation and the language of the law itself.”
And, in an article on Forbes.com, SecureRepairs.org founder (and Fight to Repair editor in chief) Paul Roberts called out NHTSA for its inconsistent attention to the very real cybersecurity risks in vehicle telematics systems.
“Consider: the flaws uncovered by Curry and other researchers are actual examples of the kind of safety risks that NHTSA is claiming may hypothetically be possible as a result of the Massachusetts law being enforced.
“Using the standard floated by NHTSA in its letter to automakers, it would seem that modern telematics systems already deployed on vehicles are likely to violate the terms of the Safety Act and should be recalled by automakers to address the kinds of cybersecurity flaws recently uncovered.
“So NHTSA is on that, right? Apparently not. The agency’s letter last week made no mention of Curry’s research or recent, glaring cybersecurity failings of automakers. Similarly, a review of ongoing NHTSA safety investigations shows no record of any active inquiries into the telematics flaws Curry, Shine, Rajesh and others disclosed. (NHTSA did not respond to a request for comment or an interview.)”
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Upcoming event: International Repair Café webinar hosts Speakers from Repair Cafés in various countries will share their views. Also, a legal officer of the European Commission will talk about the implications of the proposed repair directive for Repair Cafés.