Apple considering Russian repair center in wake of local iPhone lawsuit - report

Posted:
in iPhone
Apple is reportedly contemplating some form of central repair center in Russia, following a lawsuit from customer who found he couldn't get his iPhone screen fixed or replaced directly by the company.




The center could cost between $1 million and $2 million, a source told Russia's Vedomosti, quoted by The Moscow Times. If Apple does go ahead with the project, it's not known when it would open.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Dmitry Petrov, was unwilling to get his on-warranty device exchanged either through Apple or an outside party, and also refused to pay a third party up to 30,000 rubles ($469) for an outside screen repair.

Petrov argues that Apple is violating Russian consumer protection laws by not providing a supply of repair parts. In letters to the court seen by Vedomosti, the company noted that most Russian customers are given complely new devices at service centers, and that it doesn't repair or replace broken displays. Replacing an iPhone screen involves a calibration procedure with "big and expensive" equipment, plus iOS access, the company said.

U.S. Apple Stores have been swapping out iPhone displays since 2014. Apple doesn't have a first-party retail presence in Russia though, hence the need for a dedicated repair center.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    He’d rather get the broken one repaired than take a brand new device?
    jbdragonicoco3indyfxlatifbpmoreck
  • Reply 2 of 15
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    lkrupp said:
    He’d rather get the broken one repaired than take a brand new device?
    He'd rather have his jailbroken phone than a new one that isn't. Piracy is fairly big in Russia.
    jbdragonDeelronlatifbpjony0moreck[Deleted User]
  • Reply 3 of 15
    volcanvolcan Posts: 1,799member
    I thought there were already some authorized Apple service providers in Russia.
  • Reply 4 of 15
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    The Russian pirate can go and screw himself.

    The iPhone was under warranty and they could have easily gotten a brand new one. The Russian refused to have it exchanged.

    Too much vodka, too much piracy, too much hacking going on there.
    indyfxlatifbpmoreck
  • Reply 5 of 15
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,032member
    Such a repair center doesn't need to be that hard to set up. About 20 years ago I worked for a Japanese company in Russia that, among other things, managed warehouses in Russia that stored parts for Japanese consumer goods manufacturers to do warranty repairs. ( I remember Seiko Epson, Matsushita, but there were others)
    edited July 2016
  • Reply 6 of 15
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    evilution said:
    lkrupp said:
    He’d rather get the broken one repaired than take a brand new device?
    He'd rather have his jailbroken phone than a new one that isn't. Piracy is fairly big in Russia.
    Are the latest IOS versions even jailbroken?
    Seems Apple is really turning the screws on jailbreaks,
    very soon it will take at least a year to get the first one!
    moreck
  • Reply 7 of 15
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    foggyhill said:

    Seems Apple is really turning the screws on jailbreaks,
    very soon it will take at least a year to get the first one!
    Which is good for the majority of users. It means Apple is finding and fixing flaws. Actually it’s a symbiotic relationship. The jailbreak developers (not the jailbreak users) find a flaw to exploit and Apple patches it shortly thereafter. Eventually the jailbreak developer community will “develop” itself right out of business. 
    latifbpmoreck
  • Reply 8 of 15
    NemWanNemWan Posts: 118member
    If he thinks his phone is still going to be jailbroken or have any of his data on it after Apple does a hardware repair on it, he's mistaken. Even if Apple sets up shop to do in-store screen replacement, the phone will be erased to do the calibration AFAIK.
    moreck
  • Reply 9 of 15
    sekatorsekator Posts: 7member
    lkrupp said:
    He’d rather get the broken one repaired than take a brand new device?
    There is an important inaccuracy in the article. The exchange costs $450 not the repair. The 3rd party services cannot repair iPhones because Apple doesn't supply spareparts. So, if your screen or anything else got broken (your fault) you have no option but to get a replacement for $450. 
    moreck
  • Reply 10 of 15
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,032member
    sekator said:
    lkrupp said:
    He’d rather get the broken one repaired than take a brand new device?
    There is an important inaccuracy in the article. The exchange costs $450 not the repair. The 3rd party services cannot repair iPhones because Apple doesn't supply spareparts. So, if your screen or anything else got broken (your fault) you have no option but to get a replacement for $450. 
    The article may be inaccurate but I don't understand why a third party can't repair the phone.  They can get parts from China just like anybody else.  They're even closer too as it is a border country. 
  • Reply 11 of 15
    williamh said:
    sekator said:
    There is an important inaccuracy in the article. The exchange costs $450 not the repair. The 3rd party services cannot repair iPhones because Apple doesn't supply spareparts. So, if your screen or anything else got broken (your fault) you have no option but to get a replacement for $450. 
    The article may be inaccurate but I don't understand why a third party can't repair the phone.  They can get parts from China just like anybody else.  They're even closer too as it is a border country. 
    By a third party I meant an authorized service. You can easily repair an iPhone somewhere else (that's why it has never been a big deal), but this most certainly violates the Apple warranty conditions. And not getting repaired with official spareparts, as the guy figured out, violates the Russian law. 
  • Reply 12 of 15
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    sekator said:
    williamh said:
    The article may be inaccurate but I don't understand why a third party can't repair the phone.  They can get parts from China just like anybody else.  They're even closer too as it is a border country. 
    By a third party I meant an authorized service. You can easily repair an iPhone somewhere else (that's why it has never been a big deal), but this most certainly violates the Apple warranty conditions. And not getting repaired with official spareparts, as the guy figured out, violates the Russian law. 
    Also, some parts, like Touch ID, can't really be fixed correctly by a random third party it seems.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    Going by the highly intelligent comments in here (minus the usual vodka and piracy drivel of course), this fellow can easily get his phone fixed, so it has to be the PRINCIPLE of the issue that concerns him and , judging by its possible effect (i.e. Apple opening up parts and servicing centres in Russia), is justified...
  • Reply 14 of 15
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,032member
    foggyhill said:
    sekator said:
    By a third party I meant an authorized service. You can easily repair an iPhone somewhere else (that's why it has never been a big deal), but this most certainly violates the Apple warranty conditions. And not getting repaired with official spareparts, as the guy figured out, violates the Russian law. 
    Also, some parts, like Touch ID, can't really be fixed correctly by a random third party it seems.
    True but that's not often the damaged part and not in this case if the article is describing it correctly..  When it's a broken screen, you transfer the touchID to the new screen.
  • Reply 15 of 15
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,032member
    Going by the highly intelligent comments in here (minus the usual vodka and piracy drivel of course), this fellow can easily get his phone fixed, so it has to be the PRINCIPLE of the issue that concerns him and , judging by its possible effect (i.e. Apple opening up parts and servicing centres in Russia), is justified...
    I don't think this is a matter of principle.  There are two possibilities to my mind:  1) he jailbroke the phone or there is some other reason why it is important that he has that particular unit, or 2) he is following the time-honored Russian principle of trying to screw everyone over. (ok maybe it is a matter of principle)
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