Right-to-Repair Reaction Mixed on Apple Program

In a breakthrough for right-to-repair advocates, Apple said Wednesday its new Self Service Repair program will make genuine Apple parts, tools and manuals available for consumers who are “comfortable” servicing their own devices. Advocates greeted the news with a mixture of glee and trepidation over what they said was a program that at first appearance was rife with limitations and unknowns.

Available first for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups, the program will debut in the U.S. early next year and expand to more countries throughout 2022, said Apple. Its “initial phase” will focus on “the most commonly serviced modules,” such as iPhone displays, batteries and cameras, it said. Additional modules will be available later in 2022, it said. “Creating greater access to Apple genuine parts gives our customers even more choice if a repair is needed,” said Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams.

Apple’s new initiative comes after the FTC unanimously approved a policy statement this summer aimed at bolstering consumers’ rights to self-repair and access to third-party independent service shops by vowing to crack down on manufacturers whose restrictions are deemed to skirt antitrust or consumer protection laws (see 2107210061). President Joe Biden’s broadly framed executive order July 9 on promoting competitiveness in the U.S. economy also encouraged the FTC “to issue rules against anticompetitive restrictions” on independent or self-repair (see 2107090010). An FTC spokesperson declined comment Wednesday on Apple's announcement. Microsoft, under shareholder pressure from the green group As You Sow, agreed last month to expand consumers’ options to repair their own devices by the end of 2022 (see 2110070030).

Apple will deploy the Self Service Repair program through a new and dedicated online store, said the company. The store will offer more than 200 individual parts and tools, “enabling customers to complete the most common repairs on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13,” it said.

The program is intended for “individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices,” said Apple. “For the vast majority of customers, visiting a professional repair provider with certified technicians who use genuine Apple parts is the safest and most reliable way to get a repair.”

Right-to-repair advocates were gleeful at first glance at the program. The “landmark” announcement “is a remarkable concession to our collective competency,” blogged Elizabeth Chamberlain, iFixit director-sustainability. “Apple has long claimed that letting consumers fix their own stuff would be dangerous, both to us and our stuff,” she said. “Now, with renewed governmental interest in repair markets -- and soon after notably bad press for parts pairing -- Apple has found unexpected interest in letting people fix the things they own.”

But the announcement has “significant caveats,” cautioned Chamberlain. “This isn’t the open-source repair revolution we’ve sought through our fight for the right to repair.” Apple’s repair software doesn’t allow an independent repair provider to replace a broken part with one taken from another Apple device, she said. It still requires scanning the serial number of an Apple-purchased replacement and the phone itself, she said. “That’s a major limitation for refurbishers and fixers who are accustomed to harvesting parts.” Apple didn't respond to questions.

Repair Association Executive Director Gay Gordon-Byrne found herself in a “‘Trust, But Verify’ mode” when she first learned of Apple’s announcement, she emailed. “It's wonderful, but I am also wary about how this will work out,” she said. “Apple has been in opposition to all owner-directed repair for so long that I'm conditioned to be looking for loopholes.”

One “obvious” drawback, said Gordon-Byrne, is Apple’s “total control of parts pricing” through the online Self Service Repair store and elsewhere in the marketplace. She also worries that Apple made no mention “of how a consumer might want to use a non-Apple part and still activate that part (currently paired by the SN and only adjustable by Apple),” she said.

Gordon-Byrne likes “that in order to take this position" on consumer self-repair, Apple has "negated their big arguments in front of legislators that consumers will hurt themselves or create some new cyber-security risk,” she said. “That’s a big help to us in terms of passing legislation that will create a level playing field for repair of all tech products. I wonder if the big trade groups in opposition will get the memo and back down on those points.” CTA, which has lobbied against state right-to-repair laws on the grounds that Gordon-Byrne described, didn’t comment.

One of the most visible opponents to self-repair is “reversing course, and Apple’s move shows that what repair advocates have been asking for was always possible,” said Nathan Proctor, US PIRG's senior right-to-repair campaign director. “After years of industry lobbyists telling lawmakers that sharing access to parts, service tools and manuals would result in safety, security and intellectual property risks, Apple’s sudden change indicates these concerns were overblown.”

Still, US PIRG worries the Apple program “isn't as comprehensive” as the right-to-repair reforms “discussed in more than two dozen state legislatures this year,” said the group. “Given current public information, Apple still maintains a lot of proprietary control over repairs on its devices, although more details are emerging.”