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Getting an Apple product repaired often involves going straight to the (expensive) source – an Apple Store – or a large third-party company. If you live somewhere with limited choices, Apple’s recently announced expansion of its Independent Repair Provider program could change that. The company plans to expand its repair program to “almost every country where Apple products are sold,” meaning someone near you could soon be using official Apple parts to fix your cracked phone.
At this time, the program is only available in the United States, Canada and Europe, but according to Apple’s announcement, repair providers in countries such as Australia, Japan and Korea will be able to join this week, with suppliers from even more countries, including China. the program later this year.
Suppliers must apply to participate, but once approved, they can only purchase a limited variety of first party materials such as batteries, displays, and diagnostic tools. So while your local repairer will be able to fix the most common problems with official parts, anything more exotic will have to go through Apple, one of its authorized service providers, or risk voiding a warranty. or no longer be supported.
If you do the hard work of fixing devices, there are other things to know as well. Joining the program comes with a contract that would give Apple the right to both inspect repair shops and fine them if something goes wrong. Apple can charge $ 1,000 per transaction for any store it catches using spare parts in more than two percent of repairs, according to a Motherboard report.
Apple generally only seems to support third-party repairs if it can find a way to make money with them, and this repair program doesn’t seem to be any different. It’s the company that regularly tries to eliminate repair fee bills and has come up with methods to make iPhones non-functional if they use third-party batteries, after all.
You can read the full list of participating countries and regions on Apple’s website.
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