CBC Video claims Apple's repair policies are abusive, but 'proof' falls far short

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  • Reply 121 of 127
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    radarthekat said:
    [...] Apple will continue to support your device as long as you use Apple Authorized service centers.  Not sure why people have issue with this; seems pretty standard across industries.  
    Would an "Authorized" service centre be allowed to replace a single broken key on a keyboard, or would they be required to perform some Apple-mandated procedure similar to what they would do at the Apple Store Genius Bar? @"Mike Wuerthele" do you know?
    It depends on what’s wrong. 
    So then to respond to @radarthekat's wondering why people would have a problem with Apple authorized service being the only option, it would be because "authorized" service may be overkill, and thus prohibitively expensive. Some repairs, especially to older equipment, don't require bringing the device up to "good as new" condition. They just need to be made "good enough" to keep working.

    If the cost of the repair is more than the device is worth, machines that could see continued use instead wind up being waste material.

    I have two old MacBook Pros in a cupboard. One has a bad keyboard and screen but the "guts" are fine. The other one has a good screen and keyboard but there's something wrong with the internals. Will an Apple Authorized depot consolidate the two into one working machine, or will they be obligated to observe some Apple-mandated protocol that prohibits that? At the moment I can take them to an "unauthorized" service depot, but I won't be able to do that when the Macs I'm using now get old, because the Mom & Pop shop won't have access to the software required to reanimate the Frankenstein. That's what the fuss is about.
    Why don’t you do it yourself? My dad’s rMBP fell off his car and was run over on an on ramp before someone found it and returned it to him. I bought a new top case, bottom case, and display and transplanted all of the internals from the roadkill Mac to the new enclosure. Took an hour and some change I think, and was good as new after. Apple is under no obligation to build your Frankenstein Mac, but you can. 
  • Reply 122 of 127
    Why don’t you do it yourself? 
    I knew that question would come up. The answer is "Because I'm a klutz." I have lousy motor control. Every single time I have opened up an electronic device for some home surgery I have broken something. A pin on a connector, a fragile little antenna mount, a chassis clip -- it never fails.

    fastasleep said:
    [...] Apple is under no obligation to build your Frankenstein Mac, but you can. 
    I don't expect Apple to do ANYTHING except get out of the way. I'm not asking Apple to build my Frankenstein, I'm asking them to stop creating unnecessary barriers to others doing it (or me doing it myself).
  • Reply 123 of 127
    Why don’t you do it yourself? 
    I knew that question would come up. The answer is "Because I'm a klutz." I have lousy motor control. Every single time I have opened up an electronic device for some home surgery I have broken something. A pin on a connector, a fragile little antenna mount, a chassis clip -- it never fails.

    fastasleep said:
    [...] Apple is under no obligation to build your Frankenstein Mac, but you can. 
    I don't expect Apple to do ANYTHING except get out of the way. I'm not asking Apple to build my Frankenstein, I'm asking them to stop creating unnecessary barriers to others doing it (or me doing it myself).
    Nobody from Apple tried to stop me. And hire someone with steady hands if you can't do it. Like I said, it took like an hour to migrate the entirety of a MBP from one case to another along with a new display.
  • Reply 124 of 127
    Why don’t you do it yourself? 
    I knew that question would come up. The answer is "Because I'm a klutz." I have lousy motor control. Every single time I have opened up an electronic device for some home surgery I have broken something. A pin on a connector, a fragile little antenna mount, a chassis clip -- it never fails.

    fastasleep said:
    [...] Apple is under no obligation to build your Frankenstein Mac, but you can. 
    I don't expect Apple to do ANYTHING except get out of the way. I'm not asking Apple to build my Frankenstein, I'm asking them to stop creating unnecessary barriers to others doing it (or me doing it myself).
    Nobody from Apple tried to stop me. And hire someone with steady hands if you can't do it. Like I said, it took like an hour to migrate the entirety of a MBP from one case to another along with a new display.
    Noted. And to be clear, I understand that Apple won't try to stop me. What I said is we may not be able to do that anymore by the time the current crop of Macs are old and wearing out, because Apple is creating conditions that will result in only authorized service outlets having the means to reactivate a device after repair. They're not doing that to be evil -- there are benefits to Apple's approach -- but the restrictions result in some negative consequences. It's a question of who gets to decide the balance of priority between security and cost: Apple or the owner of the hardware.
  • Reply 125 of 127
    mrjvazquezmrjvazquez Posts: 1unconfirmed, member

    "For historical perspective, data collated by AppleInsider going back to nearly 2000 suggests that Apple's move in the Mac ecosystem to more sealed devices like the 2012 Retina MacBook Pro and later have cut failure percentages in half. More on that in the coming months as we continue to evaluate the data, though."

    What your own data 'suggests' is irrelevant because 1) you are not Apple and therefore any data that you may have on the failure rate of Apple devices is at best, nothing more than a guess. 2) Using your own data to support your own outlandish claims is...well, full of bias and quite problematic. 3) But most importantly, the alleged data used to support your outlandish claims has never been published and very likely will never be published. The reader is only told "there will be more on that in the coming months." And you are criticizing the CBC over a lack of proof??? How is that possible???

    Hypocrisy has no place in responsible journalism.

    edited April 2019
  • Reply 126 of 127
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator

    "For historical perspective, data collated by AppleInsider going back to nearly 2000 suggests that Apple's move in the Mac ecosystem to more sealed devices like the 2012 Retina MacBook Pro and later have cut failure percentages in half. More on that in the coming months as we continue to evaluate the data, though."

    What your own data 'suggests' is irrelevant because 1) you are not Apple and therefore any data that you may have on the failure rate of Apple devices is at best, nothing more than a guess. 2) Using your own data to support your own outlandish claims is...well, full of bias and quite problematic. 3) But most importantly, the alleged data used to support your outlandish claims has never been published and very likely will never be published. The reader is only told "there will be more on that in the coming months." And you are criticizing the CBC over a lack of proof??? How is that possible???

    Hypocrisy has no place in responsible journalism.

    Given that the data is coming from Genius Bars and Apple authorized service centers, it isn't a guess, nor is it "full of bias and quite problematic." Data that you don't personally like, doesn't make it bad data.

    Re-read the editorial. This editorial is about them being wrong about Apple's service policies and how it works, again and still, and not bothering to check beyond a single data point that supported their pre-supposed conclusion. And, they just did it again. They have a habit of taking one thing, and saying AHA, WE'VE GOT THEM NOW, and declaring that's how it is, universally, across every aspect.
    edited April 2019 fastasleep
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