Your Apple Right to Repair Guide: What You Can and Can’t Do

Apple was the first company in the world to hit a $3 trillion market cap, and it’s no wonder why if you’re a fan of their products. From sleek iThings to uber-powerful Mac computers, Apple’s engineering is second-to-none.

That is, right up until you want to fix one of the things yourself.

For a long time, repairing Apple devices has been the sole purview of approved Apple technicians. If you took a screwdriver to your own iPhone or Mac, you’d end up voiding your warranty.

But recent developments in Apple right to repair procedures have changed this. Let’s take a look at these new Apple policies and see what they mean for your right to repair!

What Was the Change in Apple Right To Repair?

In November of last year, Apple came out and announced that they would begin to sell repair manuals and tools to consumers. This was a marked shift in their consumer repair policy. Before this, these kinds of specialist tools and equipment were only available to authorized Apple repair specialists.

What does that mean? Well, it means that pretty soon, you might be able to pick up a set of repair instructions for your own iPhone directly from Apple. Even weirder, you could even get the tools to do it yourself at home!

That’s pretty incredible. It means one day soon; you’ll be able to take apart your Apple devices and tinker around with them to your heart’s content. You may even be able to keep your warranty intact while you do it, provided you don’t get too heavy-handed.

So, Should I Repair My Own Stuff, Then?

While you might be encouraged to go out and start tearing apart all your Apple stuff, it might be a good idea to hold off a second. The thing is, Apple might be selling repair instructions now, but that doesn’t mean the devices are any less intricate or complicated.

Take your iPhone screen, for example. You can’t just take it off with a screwdriver; you need to apply heat to loosen the glue, then carefully separate it from the phone chassis. While doing all that, you have to be careful to avoid damaging any wires or delicate knick-knacks kicking around inside your phone.

Sounds stressful? It can be. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it (in fact, see here for some parts if you’re still going to try it out), but make sure you’re slow, thorough, and careful!

Fight for Your Right (To Repair)

And that concludes our whirlwind tour of the latest developments in Apple right to repair procedures. If you’re a tech-savvy person with great manual dexterity, this is great news for you. If you’re not, well, you still might be able to get your techie friends to help you fix your Mac when it breaks.

Everyone wins!

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