Apple sells parts so you can try fixing your iPhone at home

It took a while but Apple seems to be figuring some way to right to repair

Apple has opened up its Self Service Repair program, offering repair manuals and genuine Apple parts and tools through its all-new Self Service Repair Store. This is only available in the US today, but will be expanded to European nations later this year.

But first you’ve got to read the manual

The store offers two key things you’ll need if you’re planning to take your Apple device apart and then (possibly) weep when you discover how complex repairs are to conduct – device repair manuals and over 200 parts and tools.

Parts, including displays, batteries, and cameras, are available for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 14, the third generation iPhone SE. The company will make parts, manuals, and tools to repair Apple Silicon Macs later this year.

Apple has a paper on expanding access to repairs

Apple also published a paper, “Expanding Access to Safe, Reliable, and Secure Service and Repair,” which details Apple’s approach to designing long-lasting products and increasing access to repairs. This includes some interesting information concerning FaceID and TouchID module replacement.

To repair these, Apple provides technicians with cloud-based diagnostic system that uses remote software tools to diagnose issues using only the device serial number. This is reassuringly designed to ensure a person’s personal data remains private while repair takes place.

This Apple chart shows how its devices have steadily become more repairable.

How to begin a repair

To begin a Self Service Repair process, a customer must first review the repair manual for the product they want to repair by visiting support.apple.com/self-service-repair. Then, they can visit the Repair Store and order the necessary parts and tools.

As you might expect, every tool as well as each component is an Apple genuine part as supplied to the company’s network of authorized repair providers. The components also cost the same. For certain repairs, customers will receive a credit when returning a replaced part for recycling.

Tools are custom designed to help provide the best repairs for Apple products, and are engineered to withstand the rigors of high-volume, professional repair operations where safety and reliability are the utmost priority. Tools include torque drivers, repair trays, display and battery presses, and more.

This is the most expensive repair tool for iPhone 12 Apple sells. The $256.35 Heated Display Removal tool

Apple will offer tool rental kits for $49, so that customers who do not want to purchase tools for a single repair still have access to these professional repair tools. The weeklong rental kits will ship to customers for free.

Making repairs available as ecosystem grows

Apple has nearly doubled the number of service locations with access to genuine Apple parts, tools, and training in the last three years, including more than 3,000 Independent Repair Providers. A global network of more than 5,000 Apple Authorized Service Providers supports more than 100,000 active technicians. Eight out of 10 US Apple customers are now located within 20 minutes of an authorized service provider.

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