One of the weirdest and most ridiculous parts of modern digital life is consumers' lack of control over the products they own. Digital copies of your favorite movies can be lost forever if your subscription to the service ends. E-books you've purchased can't be shared with more than one person while you can with paper books. Your smartphone, there is often no one who can do anything to fix it except for the manufacturer itself, or the consequences will be dire. The company may stop some services as Apple does, but the latter may change in particular soon, thanks to a new executive order signed by President Joe Biden days ago, Lawmakers are engaged in discussions about regulations on how companies operate and reform policies for their products.
Apple restrictions to fix its products
As it is known, you can ask the plumber to repair the kitchen sink and replace the damaged parts with new ones and install them. It does not happen that the manufacturer of the kitchen sink says that the repair process is limited only to the company technician, but if the iPhone camera is broken, this is exactly what happens, as Apple is restricted Access to parts and diagnostics that will allow an independent shop to easily perform this repair. Even shops that are authorized to make repairs are still limited to a few basic tasks. Anything more complicated, such as a broken screen or a faulty battery, requires the store to ship this product back to Apple, which does the repair itself, or you go to a service center that gets an official Apple approval and buys repair parts from them (available only in some countries).
Biden's new law
Biden's new law, in general, focuses on boosting competition between companies, a much-needed initiative given how few giants dominate the field. Among its 72 provisions, a provision in Biden's law talks about technology and companies that impose restrictions on self-repairs and third parties such as restricting the distribution of parts, diagnostics, and repair tools, making repairs more expensive and time-consuming.
Biden also continues to encourage the FTC to issue rules against anticompetitive restrictions on using independent repair shops or making DIY repairs to your appliances and equipment.
Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission investigated those restrictions further and the commission published a 54-page report to Congress that said changes in the technology market allowed companies to circumvent a law that prevents them from voiding warranties if the device is repaired with content. a brand-name written or service unless that article or service is made freely available.
The committee also found that companies directed consumers to repair networks of manufacturers or replace products before the end of their life, as happened with iPhone 6 devices, which became unusable thanks to new software updates.
Apple is not the only one
It may seem as if Apple is the only one with such restrictions, but there are many companies in different fields that do the same, such as car manufacturers that use warranty to prevent the user from going elsewhere and there are property rights to ensure that other companies are prevented from making parts Similar and thus only able to repair new cars at their cost, electronics companies now also widely include clauses in their end user license agreements that mean consumers never own their products thanks to a ban on any software modifications.
Even Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, thinks the company's current restrictions on reforms are not good and said if they existed in the XNUMXs it likely would have stifled the company in its infancy and Apple would not have appeared to the world had we not grown up in a very open technology world.
Wozniak added, “I didn't have to put up with something I couldn't stand, there was nothing stopping me from building the computer and telling the world that the future of personal computers would be a keyboard and a TV. It all came from being able to fix things, tweak them, and make use of them yourself.”
Finally, no one knows when the new laws will be applied in the technology sector, but soon everyone will be able to repair the iPhone or any Apple device by himself or in any store without any problem if new legislation is approved that aims to enhance competition and prevent monopoly.
It remains to mention that these laws and restrictions are in Western countries, but in most of our countries, there is basically no Apple and you go to the repair shops, which replace the damaged part with a part they brought from another iPhone they have or worse, which is a poor quality fake part.
Source:
Right
The device is mine and I paid for it to Apple, which has no right to impose on me what I do with it. Burn it or break it, fix it myself. What does it have to do with me? Did you go and tell her to replace me with a new device?
You are correct, Alan
The technicians’ way of disassembling and reinstalling the device does not encourage me to repair the device if it breaks down
In some of our Arab countries, the parts are changed regularly due to the absence of Apple support..
These parts may not be original and are usually manufactured with poor materials..
This problem is due to two reasons:
The first reason is the consumer looking for cheap spare parts.
The second reason is the seller himself selling non-genuine parts at the original price.
We welcome this matter, but unfortunately most of the external repair shops are not approved,
Do not have high efficiency الكفاءة
Or the necessary equipment for repair, elaborately restore the device
As it was, and this is what we notice if the screens are changed usually
And it's the simplest thing.
Which makes me understand Apple's point of view that its devices need to be repaired by workers trained by it and certified by it.
If this decision is implemented, Apple and its stores must circulate the repair experience or conduct training courses in the countries in which it is deployed for those who wish for a known price in order to have the appropriate equipment and the appropriate education to repair the devices technically, and a competitive price.
There will be strong competition and the beneficiary will be the consumer, but there must be certified agents and distributors for parts 😎
Phone Islam, return the Zamin app 🥲 It has stopped working and I consider it a knowledge enrichment
I think it is a good idea to keep the restrictions, as they guarantee that you will get the original parts when repairing.
At least impose the spread of accredited centers around the world