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With the Self-Service Repair Program (SSRP), Apple offers original spare parts for end customers who want to repair their devices themselves. In the USA, customers have been able to test their devices with a tool called “Apple Diagnostics for Service Repair” for several months. As of today, the tool is available in 32 other countries. In addition to Great Britain, these include France, the Netherlands and Germany.
What the diagnostic tool can do
Apple Diagnostics supports iPhones, Macs and the Studio Display. The tool is part of the operating system and is activated when the iPhone or Mac is restarted using a key combination. Various tests then appear on the screen. Apple Diagnostics can be used to play test tones over the speakers, display test images for displays or check the functionality of sensors. Apple Diagnostics displays the test results via a web portal that can be accessed via the browser of another device, such as a Mac. This is intended to help customers more easily identify problems before repairs and determine which parts need to be repaired or replaced. A nice side effect is that you can also further test used devices before buying them.
Until now, the Apple Diagnostics web portal was only available to end customers in the USA and could only be accessed from Germany via a detour. Authorized workshops have been able to use the diagnostics for some time. Mac & i explains how Apple Diagnostics works in a separate article.
Whitepaper explains longevity
Apple today also the white paper “Longevity, by Design” publishedwhich explains Apple’s approach to the longevity and repairability of its products.
In the document, the company explains, for example, that the longevity of Apple products should continue to increase and that “hundreds of millions of iPhones will be in use for more than five years.” In addition, the service rates are an indicator of quality and reliability. According to Apple, the out-of-warranty repair rate fell by 38 percent between 2015 and 2022, and the number of accidental damages fell by 44 percent. This is due, among other things, to the improvement of the casing. Since the introduction of water protection with the iPhone 7, repairs for liquid damage in Apple workshops have fallen by 75 percent.
Apple states that newer devices are designed to be easier to repair. In the paper, the company presents four principles of repairability. These include the environmental impact of a product, access to repair services such as authorized workshops, security and privacy, and transparency in repairs. In the white paper, Apple also comments on controversial topics such as the safety of counterfeit batteries or the controversial coupling of spare parts.
What the repair program covers
Apple started selling spare parts through the Self-Service Repair program in the USA in 2022, also to forestall the coercion of a general right to repair. The program has been available in Germany since 2023. Although these are original Apple parts and Apple also offers high-quality tools, repairing some devices is by no means trivial. In addition, Apple charges quite high prices for self-repairs, which are hardly lower than a repair by a certified workshop. In addition to Macs with Apple’s own M processors, the program includes iPhones (from the 12) and the Studio Display. As of today, the program also covers spare parts for the MacBook Air with M3 chip.
(hze)