Apple Will Soon Let You Repair Your iPhone With Used Parts
The tech giant is lifting a key restriction on iPhone repairs, in a move that could make it cheaper for you to fix your device.
Soon, iPhone users will be able to fix their phones with used parts, a potentially less expensive option.
Repairing an Apple iPhone can be a pain. You can go to the Apple Store, which is often costly. You can try a local repair shop, and hope they're using the right parts. Or you can buy the screen, camera or other parts from Apple directly and attempt a repair yourself. Starting this fall, Apple says you'll have a new, cheaper option: repairing newer iPhones with used parts instead.
Apple's new policy will work through its Activation Lock program to track parts that move between iPhones, effectively ensuring that correct parts are being installed, and to deter thieves from stealing phones to sell for parts. Apple said its efforts to track and authorize genuine parts are "critical to preserving the privacy, security and safety of iPhone," and that it will provide part details in the service history for iPhone owners.
"With this latest expansion to our repair program, we're excited to be adding even more choice and convenience for our customers, while helping to extend the life of our products and their parts," John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, said in a statement Thursday.
The company confirmed that its new policy will apply to the iPhone 15 line and newer devices. Used parts will be available to individual customers and independent repair providers.
Read more: I Replaced My iPhone Battery Myself and It Was Easy
Apple's expansion of its repair program comes at a time when the tech industry is under increasing pressure to give people the choice to repair their devices for lower cost, often at home or through unauthorized service providers. The idea, often called Right to Repair, has been gaining steam across the US. Even President Joe Biden supports the effort. In 2021, Biden signed an executive order asking the Federal Trade Commission to consider rules that would make it harder to restrict how people can repair their devices (the FTC and the Department of Justice have both since voiced support for expanded repair rights too).
Last month, Oregon became the latest state to pass a Right to Repair bill into law. It was also the first state to require companies to allow device owners and repair shops to use after-market components that are an "otherwise functional replacement" without inhibiting the device's performance or sending "misleading alerts or warnings."
Though Apple has been steadily expanding its do-it-yourself repairs program since it was announced three years ago, the company isn't alone. Other tech giants, including Google, Samsung, HTC and Microsoft, have announced partnerships with the popular online repair site iFixit to sell parts or tools for some of their devices.