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The Right to Repair movement got a boost this week, when Apple announced a new program, Self Service Repair, that will let people buy genuine Apple parts and tools to make some of their own repairs to limited Apple products such as newer iPhones and some Macs. It will be starting early next year. Implemented well, Apple’s program could be huge for everyone who supports the right to repair.
This is a major shift for the company, which has fought for years against movements to expand people’s right to repair their Apple products. Right-to-repair advocates have not only pushed the company to move on this issue, but also to get regulators and lawmakers to acknowledge the need to protect the right to repair in law. Apple’s announcement is only one illustration of how far the advocacy on the right to repair has come; in just the past two years, advocates have won at the ballot box in Massachusetts, received a supportive directive from the Biden Administration, changed policy at Microsoft, and made some gains at the Library of Congress to expand repair permissions.
The Self Service Repair Program could be another feather in that cap. But now that Apple has announced the program, we urge them to roll it out in ways that truly expand their customers’ access and choice.
It’s important that Apple’s program, or any program, does not come with strings attached that make it unworkably difficult or too expensive for a normal person to use. In the past, Apple has done both—as YouTuber and professional repairer Louis Rossman pointed out.
Apple’s Independent Repair Provider Program, which was supposed to make manuals and parts more available to indep
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Read the original article: Apple’s Self Service Repair Program Must Live Up To Its Promises