Apple wants to make you panic

Here we go again.

In a new notice that appeared on its support page this week, Apple says that its latest generation of iPhone will now display a message designed to discourage repairs made by third parties. This is a gesture that once again underlines the fact that Apple and Apple alone have the power to decide who has the right to repair your iPhone.

If you need a screen repair on your iPhone, the notice says "it's important for certified technicians who use genuine Apple screen parts to fix it." you guessed it – Apple has approved repairs with the help of OEM parts and tools.

"Replacements not made by Apple, authorized service providers or certified technicians may not follow proper safety and repair procedures and may cause malfunction or quality or security issues with the display", said Apple. "Apple displays are designed to integrate accurately into the device. In addition, repairs that do not properly replace screws or covers may leave loose parts that could damage the battery, overheat, or cause injury. "

Much of what Apple claims here seems to be big "and if", namely that the injury during a repair could occur if this has not been done by Apple or any of its partners, or if parts replaced incorrectly could cause injury or damage to the device. Apple states that problems that may occur with non-genuine display include issues related to specific iOS updates to the display, Multi-Touch performance, color and brightness of the display, and real tone features. (iFixit noted in its disassembly of the iPhone 11 that True Tone would be disabled during the repair without Apple's special tools but added that "at least the display is still user-replaceable".)

On its latest generation of iPhones – iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max – Apple says screens that can not be verified by the device emit an "important message" about it that will remain displayed on the lock screen. for four days, appear in Settings for 15 days and display indefinitely in the About section, in General. You know, just in case you missed it.

This strange display message is not the first message used by Apple to make its users fear to rely on Apple-approved repair equipment, rather than, for example, independent repair equipment yet. certified, or repaired by yourself. Last month, The Art of Repair and iFixit both surfaced with another service message that appears on the iPhone XR, XS and XS Max when a replacement battery was not authenticated on the device, which indicates that Apple essentially locks the Phone software (s.

Like the message on the screen, the battery message informs the user that the device is not able to "check that this iPhone has an authentic Apple battery" . When this message appears, users can not access important information about the status of their battery. In addition, and proving that Apple believes itself alone in deciding who can repair the items you own, iFixit found that the problem persisted even with a legitimate Apple battery. (We asked Apple to check if it was the same for displaying replacements and not having an immediate answer.) IFixit stated that this was the case.)

In a somewhat surprising move, Apple announced last month its intention to provide independent repair shops with the tools, diagnostics, spare parts and OEM training needed to repair its iPhones. Independent repair teams must apply to join the program, and Apple has stated that it "reserves the right to reject any application without comment". In addition, the move widens the pool of options. The options available for repairing your phone do not allow you to repair yourself (or to call a person of your choice with the necessary technical know-how).

Although this latest notification does not seem particularly surprising, coming from a company with a history of hostile dislike for the right to repair, it recalls, however, that Apple still keeps a stupid control on the device you rightly own .