Apple relaxes repair policy and allows used genuine parts for some iPhones

Here are some early Earth Day victories for the planet we all live on. Apple has relaxed its repair regulations, allowing for the first time the use of second-hand genuine parts. This change applies to some iPhones and goes into effect this fall.

John Tarnas, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering and possible future CEO, emphasized the environmental impact of the policy change:

“At Apple, we’re always looking for new ways to give our customers the best experience possible while reducing our impact on the planet. A key part of that means designing products that last. ,” said Apple senior John Tarnas. Vice President of Hardware Engineering.

“Over the past two years, teams across Apple have innovated the design and manufacturing of our products to support repairs with Apple used parts that do not compromise the safety, security, or privacy of our users. We are excited to extend the lifespan of our products and their components while providing even more choice and convenience for our customers.”

Apple explains that the repair policy changes also apply to biometric sensors.

The Apple team has been working hard over the past two years to enable the reuse of components such as the biometric sensors used in Face ID and Touch ID. Starting this fall, adjustments to new or used genuine Apple parts will be performed on the replaced device. Parts are installed. Additionally, future iPhone releases will support the biometric sensors used.

Also in the news is Apple changing its device serial number requirements when ordering parts.

Additionally, to simplify the repair process, customers and service providers no longer need to provide their device serial number when ordering parts from self-service repair stores for repairs that do not involve logic board replacement. I did.

Finally, this modification includes an activation lock element to prevent stolen phones from being sold for parts.

Apple also plans to extend its popular Activation Lock feature to iPhone parts to prevent stolen iPhones from being disassembled for parts. This feature was requested by customers and law enforcement and was designed to limit iPhone theft by blocking reactivation of lost or stolen iPhones. If the device being repaired detects that a supported part was obtained from another device with Activation Lock or Lost Mode enabled, the part’s calibration capabilities will be limited.

The full announcement can be found on Apple’s website. We’re pleased to inform you that the changes announced today will be rolled out later this year.