Posted on 10/13/2017 7:22:56 PM PDT by markomalley
The release notes for iOS 11.0.3—an iPhone operating system update pushed to customers Thursday—comes with a not-so-subtle warning: Don't get your phone fixed by anyone who isn't Apple.
The update fixes a few bugs, namely one that caused a loss of touch functionality on a small subset of phones that had been repaired with certain third-party screens and had been updated to iOS 11.
"Addresses an issue where touch input was unresponsive on some iPhone 6S displays because they were not serviced with genuine Apple parts," the update reads. "Note: Non-genuine replacement displays may have compromised visual quality and may fail to work correctly. Apple-certified screen repairs are performed by trusted experts who use genuine Apple parts. See support.apple.com for more information."
This is a reminder that Apple seems to have the ability to push out software updates that can kill hardware and replacement parts it did not sell iPhone customers itself, and that it can fix those same issues remotely.
This message is the latest salvo in an ongoing cold war between Apple and the independent repair world. Apple will only sell official parts to "authorized" repair providers—a program that costs money to join and limits the types of repair that companies are allowed to do. And so independent repair stores have long turned to the grey market, which is made up of largely of Chinese suppliers. Third-party screens do vary in quality—some are just as good as Apple's original parts (many are made in the same factories, according to people in the repair business)—while others are indeed inferior. Replacement screens are also purchased from electronics recyclers and LCD refurbishers.
Though replacement screens vary in quality, most repair shops do their best to get parts that are just as good as the ones Apple uses (there are several Facebook groups where repair pros name and shame bad suppliers).
The point is, you should be able to go to an independent repair shop to get your iPhone fixed if you want to. They're often cheaper and faster than going to the Apple Store.
So let's consider what actually happened here. iPhones that had been repaired and were in perfect working order suddenly stopped working after Apple updated its software. Apple was then able to fix the problem remotely. Apple then put out a warning blaming the parts that were used to do the repair. Poof—phone doesn't work. Poof—phone works again.
In this case, not all phones that used third party parts were affected, and there's no reason to think that, in this case, Apple broke these particular phones on purpose. But there is currently nothing stopping the company from using software to control unauthorized repair: For instance, you cannot replace the home button on an iPhone 7 without Apple's proprietary "Horizon Machine" that re-syncs a new home button with the repaired phone.
This software update is concerning because it not only undermines the reputation of independent repair among Apple customers, but because it shows that phones that don't use "genuine" parts could potentially one day be bricked remotely.
A scare like this happened last year. "Error 53" bricked many iPhones that had third party screen replacements. After widespread consumer outrage, Apple fixed the bug. It's because of situations like this that activists are lobbying states to pass "Right to Repair" laws, which would require Apple and other electronics companies to sell official replacement parts to the masses, and would prevent software locks that could make phones unusable because they include third-party parts. Apple is lobbying against those efforts.
Agreed. If you fix the phone with lousy parts, who gets blamed when something subtle goes wrong as a result? Apple. So, Apple prevents crappy repairs however possible.
Maybe others will follow this plan by Apple.
Imagine the damage caused purposely. What next? tv sets, cameras, any electronic gizmo such as a Telsa?
Maybe that house you bought, shame if your window was to be broken unless you buy from us.
Caterpillar does not want farmers to have 3rd party companies repairing or the farmers themselves fixing what they own.
Would you buy a brand of car if you could only get parts and service and maintenance at the dealer’s shop?
You need to buy Apple’s hardware to get their software. It’s a software company with a hardware lock, if you will. You can’t get their source code to port it over to your own hardware. The software is the heart of the Apple experience.
Android oem’s don’t have much interest in you after you buy their phones. Android is already developed - they just port it to their model phones and tweak it. Practically all their money comes from the device sale of the hardware. They don’t get a cut of Google Play sales unlike Apple with their app store, and few people are using their own specialty upsale bloatware apps unlike native apps in Apple’s ecosystem.
Hell if I know. You will have to pick your own poison. I have had Samsung Motorola, and HTC... are they crooked? They all seemed like a better value than Apple.
What happened to our resident Apple booster, Swordmaker? I guess I will put out the signal for him.
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If you want to KNOW that your financial, personal and business information is kept confidential then your only choice is Apple.
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Or you could just not put sensitive information on your “phone”. Opt out of the insecure digital information world.
Sorry, you’re completely wrong. Apple’s revenue stream from software is minor compared to their revenue stream from hardware. Apple gives away most of the software they publish including their operating systems and most of their productivity apps, and provide free updates as a service to their customers who buy their hardware.
The 30% sales commission Apple collects on third-party apps in the iTunes App Store, when you account for the better than 75% of apps that are FREE, covers costs of maintaining the infrastructure and operation of the App Store, which is there mainly to provide apps as a benefit for users of Apple hardware. . . so that more people will buy more Apple hardware in the Apple ecosystem. As of the tenth anniversary of the iPhone, Apple has distributed to independent app developers over $70 Billion for the apps those entrepreneurs have created and sold through Apple’s various App stores around the world.
On the Mac computer side, one is free buy software from anywhere, but software on the Mac App Store is certified safe. . . and there is a lot of free stuff there as well.
Incidentally, you can run all Windows software on a Mac if you desire.
Apple is not a software company.
In terms of performance the iPhone 8 smokes the Samsung 8. Go to YouTube and type iPhone 8! Vs Samsung Geek Bench. The price difference verethe phones is about the same.
Oh I updated up to iOS 11.0.3 and all my software is working fine.
Used to be back in the Jobs days that an email to Steve would resolve the issue quickly - usually with a brand new product, even if the problem was with an older version, ie old iMac would be replaced with the latest current iMac, same for iPhones.
Does that still work today with Cook? Don’t know as I haven’t heard any stories yet.
Care to share the details? My 6S stopped working so I went to the local Genius Bar. They couldn't fix it so they gave me a new one (under AppleCare). No fuss, no muss.
People buy Tesla’s. Good luck finding aftermarket parts or repair shops
No surprise here, they did the same things with Mac Book Pro’s with third party SSD’s years ago.
Can’t really disagree with this policy.
It’s quite possible that the parts installed could have compromised firmware. Exploits like this have been demonstrated out in the wild.
Totally different operating system. had to learn many commands over again"
I assume you are posting about iOS11, which on iPhones is not radically different than iOS 10. yes, there are a few changes in how one pulls up controls, and depending on the iPhone model, you may have more functional multitasking. Otherwise - there were no significant changes in how the OS operates (to the user). A few visual/appearance updates and a few added features. Again - not something users ought to find burdensome as you have to look for them.
Screwed up access to the web
Can you elaborate? There were no changes in how an iPhone utilizes the internet - unless you are referring to the rest of that paragraph:
Have to put in password every time, and certify the same computer over and over and over
I have experienced this - iOS 11 turned on "Two-factor verification" - a well-publicized security feature being pushed across the industry. But this is still optional and can be turned off in the settings and in your iTunes/Apple ID account, just as you can completely turn off any need for a passcode to open and use your iPhone (though I highly suggest you don't).
And I will absolutely confirm that the constant demands for validation from another device is annoyong and not necessarily the most simple or seamless implementation. Every time the OS on my MacBook Pro is updated (and as a part of the beta program, that happens with regularity) or with my iPhone/iPad - the whole validation thing starts again with iTunes and other apps...
Hard reboot your phone (depending on which model -hold at the same time either the home button and power button until it completely shuts off - then power back on, or iPhone 7 and beyond: Press the power button and the down volume button until it shuts off, then turn it back on). Fixes nearly every one of the “slowed my iPhone down” issues.
All bets are off if your internal storage space is nearly full...
If Apple actually USES this “back door”- I would think a few states already could bring a lawsuit against Apple - with their consumer protection legislations and regulations already on the books.
This is a major part of the reason Apple doesn’t sell/license its OS version (MacOS, iOS, tvOS, etc.) to other makers.
The Windows/PC world is the glaring contrast - anyone can build a PC with whatever parts he/she can find at whatever price they find it at - and cobble together a PC - a practically infinite number of parts combinations that are possible with quality ranging from horrid to super-premium and great. Then Microsoft sells an OS that you can (attempt) to run said hardware with. Microsoft attempts to include enough drivers and generic “Universal” software to attempt to cover every one of these possible combinations (and impossible task). Then, most manufacturers of components also provide drivers (often times tragically outdated and unsupported), and often of dubious quality and even sometimes with nefarious code embedded. Users install these drivers when MS’s OS can’t deal with the hardware. More hooks and ties into an OS that may or may not play well together...
And on and on it goes - a never-ending battle that the “average” PC user has no patience for or desire to deal with.
Or Apple’s contrasting model: they make the hardware, so the component combinations are FAR more predictable because they have hand selected/specified those components. They know what they are dealing with. They set the driver rules. They set the compatibility thresholds. And then they develop the OS to fit that integrated select set of hardware. The positives are - consistently less compatibility issues and software conflicts, and overall far more reliable function (the industry leader, despite very vocal minority of dissatisfied users). Further - a much longer usable life to the hardware produced by Apple because of this drastically limited set of hardware combinations.
But its all a trade-off - users are somewhat limited in what they can customize and upgrade.
I prefer to spend my time in more productive endeavors than tinkering and trying to kludge things into working. I don’t have the time to tinker (that was my hobby as a youngster). I want things to just work, and I want to get maximum life/use out of what I invest in. Apple provides that.
I know a LOT more than necessary to operate pretty much any OS device - Android, Windows, Chrome, or Apple’s OS’s....
I choose Apple because I have better use for my time.
Kind of like GM/Ford/Fiat-Chrysler etc.. won't warranty a car that's been repaired with third-party parts, not using OEM parts.
Been there, done that!
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