iPhones will soon be repairable with genuine used parts, but parts matching remains

a company talking big game about sustainability, but like to buy you a new iPhone every year, is expanding its do-it-yourself repair program. Consumers and repair shops will soon be able to use genuine second-hand Apple parts to repair devices instead of having to order entirely new components. Companies using the parts “will now benefit from the full functionality and safety provided by the original factory calibration, just like a new, genuine Apple part.”

According to reports, the plan will be launched this fall to launch updated models. . So if your iPhone has a broken screen and you have an iPhone of the same model with an intact display, you can switch it in the panel and it should work. As it stands, if you replace the old screen on another iPhone, some features (such as True Tone or iPhone) may not work. An upgraded self-healing program should resolve this issue.

The plan will also cover components such as batteries, cameras and (eventually). Additionally, consumers and repair shops don’t have to provide Apple with device serial numbers when ordering most parts from do-it-yourself repair shops — they still need to do so when replacing logic boards.

Users have been able to see whether their iPhone has been repaired and, if so, what parts were replaced. Starting this fall, users who visit the Parts & Service History section of iPhone Settings will be able to see whether a replacement part is new or a genuine used part from another iPhone.

Apple will use a “parts matching” process directly on the phone to detect whether replacement parts are genuine. It says this is necessary to maintain “the privacy, safety, and security of iPhone.”

To this end, Apple will use it to prevent the use of stolen iPhone parts for repairs. If the device being repaired detects that a replacement part was removed from a device with Boot Lock or Lost Mode enabled, Apple will restrict the calibration of the part so it may not function properly.

On the one hand, this shift could make it easier for people to repair a broken iPhone (or eventually another Apple product) if they have spares and necessary parts on hand. Repair shops will often have a few small items they can use from many different units. That said, this could be seen as Apple’s attempt to exert more control over the repair process by pairing and potentially excluding third-party aftermarket parts.

John Ternus, the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, told postal While Apple supports the use of third-party parts in repairs (as long as the device owner is aware of it), it doesn’t know how to properly calibrate such parts the same way it calibrates its own parts.

However, Apple may have to start reaching out to aftermarket parts manufacturers and figure out how to do this. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed a right-to-repair bill into law last month. The idea is to prevent device manufacturers from using the process to prevent consumers and repair shops from using third-party components to repair their gadgets. The law will apply to equipment produced after January 1, 2025.

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