I Was Told by AppleCare… That It Is Now Easier for Third-Party Retailers To Fix Phones

We’ve all been there. Something goes wrong with your iPhone and you begin the daunting task of finding a repair shop that can take in your precious phone without forfeiting your warranty. As of 2017, it no longer violates the terms of an Apple warranty to get a cracked screen fixed by an unauthorized retailer, but consumers who wish to forego AppleCare may still have to jump through a few hoops to get the job done right. Apple has been notorious for creating products that are not very DIY-friendly, but according to Wired, the brand’s new free, 40-hour online certification program will theoretically give any retailer who completes it the authorization to perform repairs. 

Apple will begin providing independent repair shots with the same parts, tools, training, repair manuals, and diagnostics as authorized shops, provided they complete the required training.

The bottom line is that Apple itself cannot handle Apple’s expansion of the program, so it could be beneficial for electronics and tech franchises that have previously faced limitations on the repairs they’re authorized to make. 

CEO and founder of iFixit Kyle Wiens said in a statement reported by Wired that Apple is “finally responding to the reality that their customers have been dealing with for years: Apple does not have the capacity to handle the volume of repairs generated by their market success.”

Larry O’ Connor, who runs Mac parts and accessories business Other World Computing, told Wired he feels that this is a step in the right direction for the brand. “The ultimate goal should be to extend the life of our electronics,” said O’Connor. 

Read the full story in Wired here.