Apple repair policy critic vows to fight 'counterfeit' battery seizure by U.S. customs

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 71
    YP101YP101 Posts: 159member
    It is getting funny.. There is nothing even Apple fan boy can cover the shield about this..

    Originally Apple told the customer for he need to pay up to $1200 is completely wrong.
    It is wrong diagnostic from Apple genius bar back end technician.(even looks at the Snazylab iMac Pro vesa mount problem they create. They completely ruin the mount and not even tell the customer and he has to go back and confront them and then they admit this cause by them. Why not tell the customer while in the shop and offer they will replace the iMac pro which they damaged.)

    Anyway.. 2nd battery import stuff. If that battery can be replace by Apple then Apple can say something like counter fit. But Apple refuse to fix it and not provide battery to customer or authorized service center either. So you will throw away functioning product due to Apple say so? This part is wrong doing by Apple.

    Apple always claim how much they can recycle the product but functioning product to recycle due to they don't want to fix it is wrong.

    If Apple willing to swap battery around $80-85 then I would replace my battery without goes to 3rd party repair shop or DIY..

    Right to repair is for when Apple product no longer under Apple warranty and/or Apple refuse to fix it due to they said antique then self repair is right for owner of product.
    Apple and all manufacturer should release all repair documentation and repair parts specification when they announce the product as antique and no longer in support.

    You can walk in any car dealership service center and ask any parts of you car, they will sell it to you. Or any car fixing shop call dealership to ask genuine part(s), they will sell it.
    However you can not buy iPhone battery from Apple shop or even Apple web site. We must pay service fee and sometimes Apple refuse to repair is normal?
    I don't think so.
    edited October 2018 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 42 of 71
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    svanstrom said:
    ascii said:
    mknelson said:
    Even if they are original batteries (and the cost listed is suspiciously low) he doesn't have import rights.
    Oh, I hadn't considered that. I was thinking it could be quickly resolved and Customs probably owed him an apology, but I guess even with genuine products, you don't automatically have the right to send them over international borders. It's up to the government of each country to set the rules at their borders.
    In order to import genuine products, you would need a letter of license from the manufacturer. I'm pretty sure Louis Rossmann doesn't have one. He's an idiot thinking Apple is conspiring with the government. He just got unlucky CBP went through his package. I'm sure CBP saw the batteries and didn't see a letter of license so they assumed the batteries are counterfeit. Either way, Rossmann has no case at all. 
    You’re trying to say that I would need a license to buy stuff via amazon/eBay from someone’s stack of obsolete (ie “vintage”) batteries…?
    This is completely different. This guy is importing stuff for his business so he needs a license. I'm not sure what the requirements are for an individual. Individual or business, it's illegal to import counterfeit products. We don't know for sure if these batteries are actually real or counterfeit. All the stuff on Amazon and Ebay are either aftermarket batteries or counterfeit. 
    edited October 2018
  • Reply 43 of 71
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,273member
    Spoiler alert: he won't win, and Apple will "get away with it."

    Because, as he demonstrated in the CBC hit piece, he's shady AF.
    claire1
  • Reply 44 of 71
    tokyojimu said:
     I didn’t know YouTube repair personalities was a thing. 
    Every thing is a thing now. Even George Lucas unboxing his salad. 

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j4z3xv2l9_k
  • Reply 45 of 71
    tokyojimu said:
     I didn’t know YouTube repair personalities was a thing. 
    Oh, it's not.
    claire1
  • Reply 46 of 71
    PCguyPCguy Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    It is a free world if you want to spend your money on something that is built to fail and which is not supported by the company no one will stop you. I am not seduced by Apple. If you gave me a brand new anything that Apple made i would not take it out of the box. I would sell it on Ebay or Craigslist and not even guarantee it how could I. Logitech is another company that builds things they dont fix. I have spent my last money on their stuff now.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 47 of 71
    majorslmajorsl Posts: 119unconfirmed, member
    slurpy said:
    tokyojimu said:
     I didn’t know YouTube repair personalities was a thing. 
    He is a good repair guy. But he is a bit nuts. I think he is doing valuable work for the Apple ecosystem. 
    What's "valuable" about his work? Encouraging people to open up their modern Macs and repair them themselves, using a soldering iron? His only "value" is enriching himself with all the Apple hating zealots that subscribe to his channel. 99.9999% of people wouldn't benefit an iota from any of his videos. He's not popular on Youtube cause he's a "repair guy", he's popular because of his incessant and vitriolic Apple hatred. 


    Cleary you haven't watched many, if any, of the repairs he does at length. He has the equipment to do it, and does a ton, by all accounts.  As a techie, his videos are amazing to me.  I can solder some pretty small items, but I could never reball a surface mount chip and have it just work.

    Many if his videos specifically point out fail points of some Apple designs where adding a better component would likely make it never fail again - and he does.  This is someone that can read the diagrams and understands them.

    Can he be quirky and have some Apple hate, sure, but if he was working for Apple making videos about component level repairs for them while wearing a blue polo shirt with an Apple logo on it, the more rabid fans of the reality distortion field here would be signing his praises at how skilled Apple employees are.
    dysamoriamacguimuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 48 of 71
    I recently bought an aftermarket iFixit iPhone battery for $13.99, and installed it in about 10m, dropping the old one off for recycling at BestBuy.
    So far it seems great. Nuff said?
    That’s awesome! No problem with that, that’s how it’s supposed to work. 

    But that ifixit battery didn’t have a counterfeit Apple logo printed on it, and ifixit didn’t charge you $50 for what it claimed is an “original”—whatever that means—battery. Note the youtuber doesn’t claim they are genuine Apple batteries.

    He says he’s been doing this—by “this” I guess he means using counterfeit knockoffs with fake Apple logos and defrauding customers—for years. 

    He’s lucky Customs is letting him off with forfeiture; he violated Federal law. If he’s stupid enough to fight this, he may well find himself criminally charged. 
    edited October 2018 claire1racerhomie3
  • Reply 49 of 71
    I suspect now, his company is marked for importing counterfeit goods. And no doubt anything and everything he may import as a commercial venture would be subjected to inspections, and delays.
    Only an idiot imports a branded product with absolutely no rights to do so. It's fair to say these batteries had somewhere apple name or brand.

    Also, the exporter from China is also breaking the law (yes they do exist) to export a brand requires a license, so you can assume the export documentation didn't say Apple batteries. It is very hard to export products with batteries from China unless you find a company willing to take a risk, and fake the documentation.
    Just a product with a CR3020 inside rings alarm bells with Fex-Ex to the point you have goods sitting around.

    I like some his videos, they are entertaining, but he does have a chip on his shoulder almost the size of google pixel 3 XL Notch.


    PickUrPoison
  • Reply 50 of 71
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    First off, customs claims they are fakes because they look “suspiciously similar” based on markings.

    ”Original” doesn’t mean “original Apple” it means “not fake”.
    Obviously any part replacing an Apple part will be very similar to the original.
    Even a phrase like “designed by Apple” might be open to interpretation, because the design is arguably Apple’s or else it wouldn’t work as replacement.

    So expect a good amount of lawyering.

    in any case I hope he wins this, out of principle.
  • Reply 51 of 71
    majorsl said:
    slurpy said:
    tokyojimu said:
     I didn’t know YouTube repair personalities was a thing. 
    He is a good repair guy. But he is a bit nuts. I think he is doing valuable work for the Apple ecosystem. 
    What's "valuable" about his work? Encouraging people to open up their modern Macs and repair them themselves, using a soldering iron? His only "value" is enriching himself with all the Apple hating zealots that subscribe to his channel. 99.9999% of people wouldn't benefit an iota from any of his videos. He's not popular on Youtube cause he's a "repair guy", he's popular because of his incessant and vitriolic Apple hatred. 


    Cleary you haven't watched many, if any, of the repairs he does at length. He has the equipment to do it, and does a ton, by all accounts.  As a techie, his videos are amazing to me.  I can solder some pretty small items, but I could never reball a surface mount chip and have it just work.

    Many if his videos specifically point out fail points of some Apple designs where adding a better component would likely make it never fail again - and he does.  This is someone that can read the diagrams and understands them.

    Can he be quirky and have some Apple hate, sure, but if he was working for Apple making videos about component level repairs for them while wearing a blue polo shirt with an Apple logo on it, the more rabid fans of the reality distortion field here would be signing his praises at how skilled Apple employees are.
    You do realize that Apple has board level guys ,in the depots.It is just not possible to have them in all Apple stores. At the scale Apple operates it’s not possible to spend the time & money on board level work in every store
    By the way ,I like his work, and as I stated before he does a valuable job for the Apple community.But I believe,he is getting angrier day by day. He should being so angry at random companies.Companies are just a bunch of people working together.
  • Reply 52 of 71
    rcfa said:
    First off, customs claims they are fakes because they look “suspiciously similar” based on markings.

    ”Original” doesn’t mean “original Apple” it means “not fake”.
    Obviously any part replacing an Apple part will be very similar to the original.
    Even a phrase like “designed by Apple” might be open to interpretation, because the design is arguably Apple’s or else it wouldn’t work as replacement.

    So expect a good amount of lawyering.

    in any case I hope he wins this, out of principle.
    No, they weren’t “suspiciously similar” as you misquote, they instead had “markings which are substantially indistinguishable from” genuine Apple batteries. They were counterfeit. 

    They could have been marked XYZ Battery company model #DSDDZ-99999 but they weren’t. They had counterfeit Apple markings and were therefore confiscated as counterfeit. Importing counterfeit product is a Federal offense and these parts are used to defraud customers into paying higher prices for genuine Apple batteries when in fact they are fakes. 
  • Reply 53 of 71
    PCguy said:
    It is a free world if you want to spend your money on something that is built to fail and which is not supported by the company no one will stop you. I am not seduced by Apple. If you gave me a brand new anything that Apple made i would not take it out of the box. I would sell it on Ebay or Craigslist and not even guarantee it how could I. Logitech is another company that builds things they dont fix. I have spent my last money on their stuff now.
    Why are you here then?  This is the same guy (Louis Rossman) who made a You Tube video stating that Apple would never be able to fix the throttling issues on the Core i9 MacBook Pro because the voltage regulators could never supply enough power.  Then, 48 hours later, Apple pushed out a firmware update fixing the throttling issues on the Core i9 MacBook Pro.  I wouldn't trust a word this guy says .. he is living off of "Fake News" .. A technology equivalent to Info Wars.

    You need to stop listening to his outrage and parse his story carefully..  He is suggesting that these batteries (for older MacBooks) could have been pulled from working machines or "DEMO UNITS."  That would make them old worn out batteries that he spent $1000 on?  I think the reality here is that he was trying to import counterfeit batteries.
    edited October 2018 racerhomie3
  • Reply 54 of 71
    My family has been caught out twice by fake repairs. Both involved batts that failed by expansion in less than 12 months. The second illustrates why, in my opinion, after market repairs are bad for everyone.

    My daughter purchased a supposed brand new iPhone 6s off a work acquaintance who stated she had only opened the box to check it before selling it as she had ended up with two due a gift from parents. The phone failed in 8 months due many counterfeit parts and was unrepairable. 

    Ay phone purchased secondhand has a major risk of having a substandard repair because people do cheep repairs then ditch them straight away. This risk Destroys the second hand market for all. Apple acts for the health of the ecosystem and I agree with them. This fake repairer costs the majority more than he saves and his “ off-the-back-of-a-truck parts should be Seized! 
    racerhomie3PickUrPoison
  • Reply 55 of 71
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,350member
    My family has been caught out twice by fake repairs. Both involved batts that failed by expansion in less than 12 months. The second illustrates why, in my opinion, after market repairs are bad for everyone.
    BAD repairs are bad for everyone, not 'aftermarket repairs'. By that logic, there should be no 'aftermarket' parts or repair shops and only dealerships allowed to repair anything.

    Let's also get rid of ebay and the like while we're at it, because it's possible to buy counterfeit or defective items sold as original and working. Give old stuff away but only allow it to be legally sold through a dealer. Yeah that fixes everything.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 56 of 71
    Kudos to Rossmann!  Where do I go to contribute to his defense fund?
    If only in a small way, Thank God someone's got the chutzpah and tenacity to stand up to Apple's greed ... lusting for yet more shekels from its customers.
    – Loyal Mac User, from the '85 Fat Mac onward.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 57 of 71
    Kudos to Rossmann!  Where do I go to contribute to his defense fund?
    If only in a small way, Thank God someone's got the chutzpah and tenacity to stand up to Apple's greed ... lusting for yet more shekels from its customers.
    – Loyal Mac User, from the '85 Fat Mac onward.
    Actually he lied to everyone and knew about these batteries being counterfeit. 

    https://np.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/9pd7xo/apple_used_ice_to_seize_louis_rossmanns_shipment/e81th4f/?context=3
    and
    https://np.reddit.com/r/hardware/comments/9pe9yd/us_customs_border_protection_seizes_louis/e81sp9s/?context=3
    This guy is a fraud and a liar!
    mikeybabessvanstromascii
  • Reply 58 of 71
    Well, if they're truly counterfeit/dishonestly labeled, then I'm wrong ... but if they've been pulled from other Apple laptops, then he has a case, IMO.
  • Reply 59 of 71
    Kudos to Rossmann!  Where do I go to contribute to his defense fund?
    If only in a small way, Thank God someone's got the chutzpah and tenacity to stand up to Apple's greed ... lusting for yet more shekels from its customers.
    – Loyal Mac User, from the '85 Fat Mac onward.
    Those who import counterfeit parts are part of the problem. They make it hard for legit shops to make a buck, since those who don’t defraud customers with counterfeit goods can’t charge as high a price for their correctly labeled aftermarket parts. 
  • Reply 60 of 71
    Well, if they're truly counterfeit/dishonestly labeled, then I'm wrong ... but if they've been pulled from other Apple laptops, then he has a case, IMO.
    "Usually I ask them to sharpie out the Apple logo, and usually they do. Problem solved. Why that did not happen here is beyond me" 

     In his video he specifically gives a 'what if' statement, that 'these batteries could be salvaged parts not counterfeit', he avoids saying they are or proving they weren't.



    edited October 2018
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