Author: Michael H

<a href="https://hardware go now.slashdot.org/story/16/06/11/1458246/apple-is-fighting-a-secret-war-to-keep-you-from-repairing-your-phone”>Apple Is Fighting A Secret War To Keep You From Repairing Your Phone

I have a friend who’s in the hardware repair business who fights companies like HP & Agilsys about the same things. The hardware companies would rather you buy a new board for >$1,000 than repair a switch on it that costs a dollar. (The company wouldn’t help so my friend bought a switch and fixed it himself for about $1.00 in parts.)

I also have a kind of love/hate relationship to Apple. I love their design ethos and work to make tech comprehensible to humans, but hate their pricing strategy (I’m too poor for it and use a kindle fire rather than an ipad.) I’m also into open-source and don’t like walled gardens.

From Slashdot.org: It’s no secret that Apple makes a ton of money by charging ‘astronomical’ fee for replacing and fixing display and other components of iPhone and iPad (as well as Mac line). For instance, the company charges $599 for replacing the display on the iPad Pro tablet. Which sounds insane when you realize that you can almost certainly purchase a new iPad Pro under $700. And this is what most people do. A Huffington Post article notes that this behavior has contributed significantly in “generating heaps of e-waste.” Citing many advocates, the publication claims that Apple has “opposed legislation that could help curb it.” From the report: The Huffington Post spoke with politicians in two states who support such legislation, and confirmed through government filings that Apple has lobbied on the issue. Four states — Minnesota, Nebraska, Massachusetts and New York — have considered adopting “right to repair” amendments, which would update existing laws regarding the sale of electronic equipment. Amending these laws would make it easier to fix your devices and would help reduce “e-waste,” a catch-all term for any electronic detritus. The New York State Senate and Assembly could approve one of these amendments next week. This would help unofficial repair shops get the information they need to fix your iPad, ideally driving down repair costs and encouraging you to squeeze more life out of your old devices — thus cutting down on the e-waste generated by our voracious appetites for new gadgets. Apple asserts that it helps recycle millions of pounds of electronics equipment every year. But it won’t support right to repair amendments.One would ask what is preventing a user from getting their device repaired by unofficial service person? In addition to the security implication, you also run a risk of getting your device bricked by Apple. To recall, the iPhone maker was found bricking the handsets that had been repaired by third-party vendors earlier this year.