Apple Update Makes It Easy For IPhone Owners To Repair Their Devices

Apple now makes it easier for owners to fix their own iPhone (photo: x @AppleSnob_)

JAKARTA - Starting this fall, 'certain iPhone models' will be able to receive used components - such as screens or cameras - from other iPhones, provided the components are Apple's 'original part'.

When someone installs a used component on their iPhone, the device rejects it by limiting functionality and sending notifications about 'unknown parts'.

This is a positive step for the 'right to fix' movement, which pressure tech giants to make their phones easier to fix. However, an expert says that this multi-trillion dollar company is only making these changes due to pressure from lawmakers.

In a blog post, Apple said that this update would be applied to a 'certain iPhone model', although TechCrunch reports that this refers to the upcoming iPhone 15 and iPhone 16.

The former original Apple section will now get all the functionality and security provided by the original factory calibration, just like the new original Apple section, Apple said.

Currently, Apple is forcing customers to go through a controversial process called a'setting' when they want to install a new section on their iPhone.

When you buy an iPhone, the phone software is coded to recognize serial numbers from different components, such as screens and batteries.

As a result, if an iPhone is fitted with a series number that is not recognized by the software, some iPhone features will not work properly.

According to a test by iFixit, with current restrictions on'setting', if the damaged iPhone 15 screen is replaced with identical screens, key features such as front camera, Face ID, and automatic brightness adjustment will stop functioning.

From the fall, calibrations for the original Apple section, both new and used, will be made on the device once the section is installed, the company said in its blog post. However, it is not clear whether the fixed iPhone will have full functionality starting from the fall.

Apple has defended the unification of sections by describing it as a 'critical thing to maintain privacy, security and iPhone safety'. However, rights advocates to repair say that this exacerbates e-waste problems in the world by making properly functioning components wasted.

Nathanchand, senior director of the rights campaign to repair from the Public Interest Research Group, said that Apple is facing increasing legislative pressure to end this practice.

"Let's not get me wrong - the reason Apple is because the right to be improved is progressing, thanks to the efforts of state legislators and the coalition of craftsmen, fixes, and our environmental and consumer experts," saidATAN. Electronic waste is the fastest flow in the world and is a global crisis.

"Companies that use software to prevent compatible parts from fully functioning exacerbate this problem, while harming consumers and damaging local repair stores," Morrison said.

The legislators must completely ban these repair restrictions, not just on some devices from one manufacturer, "he explained.