Pavel Jelic A few days ago, Apple finally launched its Self Service Repair program. In case you don't know what this program is for, anyone can use it to repair an Apple device by themselves, using original Apple parts. Currently, this program is only available in the United States of America, with Europe coming next year. At the same time, it is necessary to mention that for now it only supports iPhone 12, 13 and SE (2022) - original parts for older Apple phones and Macs will be added in the coming months. To be honest, the Self Service Repair program surprised me in many ways - which we will talk about in this article.
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Flying around the world with Apple Affordable prices
Right from the start, I would like to focus on the prices of spare parts, which in my opinion are completely acceptable and justified. Some spare parts that you can buy on the Self Service Repair website are of course more expensive than non-original parts - for example, batteries. On the other hand, for example, replacement original displays cost practically the same money as non-original ones. But in all cases, you get the best quality you can buy. Apple has developed and tested each replacement original part for a long time, thus guaranteeing quality without compromise. So you don't have to worry about the fact that, for example, your battery will stop working after half a year, or that the display will not have ideal color rendering.
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Vratislav Holub Pairing of spare parts
Some of you may already know that select hardware components inside the iPhone are paired with the motherboard. This means that they have a unique identifier that the motherboard knows and counts on. If you replace a part, the identifier will also change, which means that the motherboard recognizes that the replacement has been carried out and subsequently informs the system about it, which will display a corresponding message in the settings - and this also applies to repairs using the original part. In order for everything to work 100%, it is necessary to enter the IMEI of your device when filling out the order, and for the selected parts, it is also necessary to carry out a system configuration that can be remotely called up by Self Service Repair support, via chat or by phone. Specifically, this applies to batteries, displays, cameras and possibly other parts in the future. You can find out in the manuals whether it is necessary to perform the system configuration after replacing a specific part.
Huge tool boxes
In order to be able to correctly replace the ordered part, you will also need special tools for this. This tool will be provided by Apple itself, specifically in the form of a rental for one week for $49. Now you are probably thinking that these are small cases with screwdrivers and other tools, but the opposite is true. There are two suitcases with tools that Apple rents - one weighs 16 kilograms, the other 19,5 kilograms. If you put both of these suitcases on top of each other, their height will be 120 centimeters and the width will be 51 centimeters. These are really massive boxes with wheels, but in which you will find everything you need, including professional tools that are used in authorized service centers. If you repair the device within one week, then you just need to return the tool boxes anywhere to a UPS branch, which will take care of the free return.
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Credit system
I mentioned on one of the previous pages that the prices Apple offers for Self Service Repair are more than acceptable. Here I specifically talked about classic prices, but the good news is that repairers can lower their prices even more thanks to a special credit system. For selected parts, if you purchase them and then return the old or damaged ones, Self Service Repair will add credits to your account, which you can then use for a significant discount on your next order. For example, if you decide to repair the battery of the iPhone 12, then after returning the old battery, you will get a credit worth $24, and for the display, then less than $34, which is definitely absolutely great. In addition, you are assured that the returned old parts will be properly recycled, which is very important in today's world.
Parts and tools from Self Service Repair
Apple is not directly behind it
At the very end, I would just like to mention that Apple itself is not behind the Self Service Repair store. Of course, they sell parts that come directly from Apple, but the point is that the store is not run by Apple, which some of you probably already guessed from the design of the website. Specifically, the online store is operated by a third-party company called SPOT. Among other things, you can find this information on the left side of the footer of the website.
