SPOTlight on the Right to Repair
Or the right to despair?
During preparation for a European market review session with a client last week, I was reminded of my November article1 on CTDI in which I briefly highlighted Spare Parts or Tools Limited or GmbH, depending on your location. SPOT is the entity that currently sits behind Apple’s Self Service Repair store2, where budding electronic DIY enthusiasts can get their hands on all sorts of interesting looking stuff.
Whilst Apple’s parts and tools have been available for a few years now3, with some of the ED, EL, ESPR, ECGT and RTR45 legislation about to hit the shelves for smartphones next month6, I thought I’d take a closer look at the process and costs involved in fixing your own kit. I understand that repairing your own device is not the primary goal of the RTR movement but, the option is there and coincidently, I’ve just noticed a crack in the camera lens of my not quite vintage iPhone12.
I am not, by any stretch of the imagination an “individual with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices”. However, I was determined not to be put off by Apple’s suggestion that I may not have the hands of a watchmaker and given the objective of the article is to look at costs and process, not to actually repair my phone, onwards.
Apple Self-Repair Journey
Starting from scratch, seeking out Apple’s self repair option is a scroll down on their main Apple Repair webpage. As you’d expect, your initial options are: Send your product to Apple; Find an Apple Authorised Service Provider or; Visit a Genius at an Apple Store. Despite being tempted by the latter, I scrolled on to find “Other Repair Options” including: Independent Repair Providers and Self Service Repair.
I am encouraged by the simplicity: 1. Start with the repair manual; 2. Order parts and tools for an Apple product repair; 3. Repair your device and; 4. Return replaced part for recycle. This is going to be great!
Starting with the repair manual, I am once more reminded by Apple this is not for the faint of heart and I am beginning to wonder if they genuinely don’t want me to attempt the procedure, highlighting that any failure to follow the instructions or use genuine parts may lead to my death and worse, a voided warranty7. After reading the repair manual intro, I’m getting a familiar nagging doubt that once I’ve completed the (hypothetical) physical repair, I’ll be going into battle with Apple’s post-repair software the Repair Assistant, which I’m assuming will deal with the parts-pairing hurdles.
Whilst my specific problem isn’t listed, there is a familiarisation step including internal device photos, a list of the orderable parts for my device, a list of the screws and the tools required. There’s then a list of procedures including first steps and repair videos before I get to the specific instructions on replacing the camera. But before I begin my camera replacement, I need to read the battery safety page, reminding me again of my impending death, and then follow the instructions to remove the display, for which I need to re-read the battery safety page again and the broken glass safety page. I make a list of the tools required for this step, scan the 33-step display removal instructions and with a single picture…
…begin to recognise how far out of my depth I am. Death would surely be imminent if I’d made it this far. I’m now back to the camera replacement section and it looks like I’ll need to add a JCIS bit, nitrile gloves and an additional torque driver to the tool kit list. On to Step 2, ordering the parts.
Cost Reality Check
If my initial enthusiasm had not suddenly dropped off a cliff trying to digest the repair manual, I’m about to be entirely put off by the cost. Aside from that, SPOT have done a pretty good job of putting together the parts and tools list based on your product, model and repair type. They currently supply for Beats, Displays, iPhone, Mac laptops and desktops, all selected in simple drop downs resulting in a list of the required genuine Apple parts and the list of tools you’ll need to complete the repair.
Parts are straightforward and there’s a rebate associated with returning the part being replaced. Good stuff.
Ordering the tools is a bit more tricky. There are two options: buy all the kit you need or go for the Tool Kit Rental option. Buying the kit for a one-time fix (you’d hope) turns out to be completely out of the question. It might be feasible if you’re about to go into the corner shop repair business, but that’s not my intention, nor will it be the intention of most eDIYers.
That’s a parts total of £173.58 and a tools total of £955.18, excluding the recommend heat-resistant gloves, ESD-safe tweezers, lint-free or nitrile gloves and some ethanol wipes for a grand total of £1,128.76. Alternatively SPOT will rent you the kit for a headline £48 according to the shop, or £72 according to the rental FAQ. But inconsistencies aside and regardless of the headline price, they’ll be putting a temporary authorisation on the card for the full replacement value of the tools inside the kit. As long as you return the kit complete and undamaged within the 7-day rental agreement to your local UPS drop off, the hold is released. By the way, there are two kit boxes weighing in at 19.5kg and 16.3kg, for which I’ll ignore the logistics emissions.
At this point, I’m sure it’s not just me wondering if there’s a more cost effective and practical approach to getting my device patched up and avoiding certain death. My mind begins to wander and I’m ditching steps 3 and 4 immediately.
Market Alternatives
If I’d had device insurance through my carrier, bank or as an add on to my home policy, that’s clearly preferable as long as I’m comfortable with the excess (deductible), which is typically between £25 and £150 depending on the claim type. Asking Gemini what iPhone repair options are local to me offers a couple of possibilities:
It appears that iFixit offer parts, tools and self-repair guidance without the death threats. They also usefully inform me that replacing the camera might not be the solution after all and it’s possible the lens opening in the back case may be the problem. Good to know. If it was the camera replacement, the parts would be £59.99, display adhesive £6.99, an iFixit Anti-Clamp to aid opening the device would be £21.99 and I’d need a guitar pick and a hair dryer.
Pretending that I don’t know about their financial statements, iSmash can offer me a rear camera replacement for £79, although they are not upfront with whether that’s a genuine part or not.
Timpsons, despite being recommended, can’t actually offer a phone repair locally and I’d have to mail it in. Additionally they don’t have a camera replacement listed as an option.
Likewize remote repair offer has a neat interface and could offer me a fix for the screen, battery, back-housing, water-damage or charger port and they can upsell me a battery replacement but didn’t have an option to fix my camera. The back-housing would set me back £209 and they’d have a van round within a few weeks.
Google also had the nerve to suggest I get my phone repaired at Apple, but being a diehard RTR supporter (for this article only), that’s entirely out of the question.
Another search suggests:
Brandlab, a few stops away on the local train line, who also offer a mail-in service priced a rear camera repair at £69.
iCrack offering a walk-in repair service for £99
iCorrect offering a London walk-in genuine parts camera repair for £119 or an additional £20 for a mail-in service
So, within a decent radius of my home, there are a number of walk-in and remote options, although I have the benefit of being a few stops out of London on the Elizabeth Line, which make all the walk-in options feasible. If you’re further away from a decent sized town, the repair options are likely to be more limited and mail-in repair might be your only option.
Samsung
Samsung’s approach to self-repair is broadly similar. Their FAQ suggests that the warranty will be voided by repairs undertaken outside of the authorised repair network. In the event of a device not working after a self-repair they point you in Samsung Support’s direction. They note that parts pairing after the repair is not required and offer suggestions about how to dispose of used parts after the repair.
Samsung’s parts store (in the UK) for Galaxy Smartphone, Laptops and Tablets is powered by Ingram Micro. For Samsung’s white goods spares, they’ve teamed up with Screwfix Spares Ltd previously known as Bargain Bob’s Limited and prior to that Aromatic Duck Limited but ultimately now owned by the Kingfisher Group PLC.
Ingram’s website offers the necessary parts together with a Rework Kit which includes tapes and screws and a far more reasonably priced toolkit at £28.25. Whilst Samsung’s repair guides also offer the chance of death, it’s not going to be caused by a heart-attack over the tools pricing. With such a difference in pricing, you’d have to question Apple’s own approach as a deliberate barrier.
What this means for RTR
As you’d expect for a company registered in 2022, the UK FY2022 account filing doesn’t hold much information and there’s no filing yet in Germany for the GmbH entity. What we do know is that the UK entity is a subsidiary of CTDI (Depot) Services Ltd. and rolls up into CTDI GmbH before getting consolidated into the US business.
SPOT is certainly not the only entity through which consumers can acquire genuine spare parts although I’ve not yet seen too many place where the Apple recommended tools are also available. That probably makes these entities worth keeping an eye on despite the fact that I’m fairly positive they’ll be filing micro accounts for some time to come.
As I mentioned at the top of the article, I’m fully aware that RTR is not necessarily directed at the consumer, but it is fundamental for consumer choice despite Apple’s approach being subject to distinct criticism from experts8. Perhaps there will be a few more eDIYers, but certainly not enough to cannibalise the current authorised repair networks. Perhaps there will be a few more cornershop repairers popping up and perhaps it will be easier for them to get their hands on the right kit. Perhaps Assurant’s iSmash / PocketGeek and Likewize’s repair fleet will benefit from more service opportunities in addition to their insurance claim support.
Hopefully, more of the great initiatives linked to the Restart Project and the Repair Cafe get better access to parts and tools or maybe increase tool sharing amongst themselves to spread costs. Hopefully more people will look to them to extend product life before seeking a replacement. Perhaps the ESPR will make a difference over time and OEMs will improve repairability as a fundamental part of their product design and planned obsolescence will become a thing of the past. For me, I’ll have to disagree with iFixit’s 2021 view that everyone is a Genius9 and maybe I’ll book a visit after all.
Peace,
sb.
ED: Ecodesign - setting minimum efficiency and other requirements for energy related products; EL: Ecolabelling - providing information on energy efficiency and other key performance criteria to consumers; ESPR - Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation: the framework to enhance ED/EL and set ecodesign requirements for specific product groups to significantly improve their circularity, energy performance and other environmental sustainability aspects; ECGT: Empowering Customers for the Green Transition - Amends existing Unfair Commercial Practices and Consumer Rights legislation contributing to a circular, clean and green EU economy by enabling consumers to take informed purchasing decisions and therefore contribute to more sustainable consumption; RTR actually CRPRG: Right to Repair actually Common Rules for Promoting the Repair of Goods - Objective to counteract the premature disposal of repairable goods. Including a right for consumers to claim repair to producers; a European repair information form and; an online repair platform connecting consumers with repairers.
Now, I’m a Europhile, for multiple reasons, but understanding this tapestry, let alone figuring out how to adhere to it, is a cost only lawyers and compliance experts can love.
See note 3.