Apple will now let you do some DIY laptop repairs at home , for a toll . The company is exposit its self - service repair programme from justcertain iPhonesto admit its MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptop computer with M1 chips starting tomorrow , according toa press statement .
However , as with its early smartphone broadcast , there ’s still a full-grown pinch : at - base repair involve a whole suite proprietary constituent that customers will need to buy from the fellowship , as well as tools that Apple encourage you to lease or buy from them at a exchange premium .
Plus , you wo n’t be able-bodied to do any DIY upgrades to your laptop , just 1:1 resort . That ’s because Apple is continuingthe practiceit began with the iPhone syllabus , and requiring a successive number for each replacement part buy , harmonise to a reportfrom 9to5Mac . The sequential telephone number requirement also prevent third company store from sustain a steady provision of parts on script .
Image:Apple Inc.
Apple also announced that it will be enlarge its DIY repair program for both phone and laptops to Europe later this year .
For the current U.S. incarnation of the programme , a laptop computer repair rental outfit will run $ 49 ( including cargo ships ) for one week of usage . kit will include all of the tools specific to a particular notebook computer mannequin — though seemingly not the major parts , which will need to be purchased one by one .
The notebook computer rental outfit price is the same as thetwo - part , massive , 79 - poundiPhone fixture rental kit currently usable on the Apple website . However , Apple interpreter , Nick Leahy , told Gizmodo in email that the laptop and phone fixing kit are importantly dissimilar . “ For exercise , with iPhone , we transport a heated video display opener , which is not needed for Mac repairs , ” he clarified .
In addition to the rental kit option , customers will also be able to for good purchase individual tools and parts . item-by-item pricing for these parts will alter depending on the fix , but will belike be higher than buying tools from other generator , which the verbiage of Apple ’s proclamation discourages .
For credit : the component part alone to replace an iPhone 12 battery sell on Apple ’s site for $ 70.99 , which does n’t include the cost of tools necessary for the repairs . Justone of those needed tools , a torque driver , retail via Apple for $ 80(though you’re able to bribe torsion drivers elsewhere if you ’re experienced enough to get laid what will work for the job ) . Compare that to the calculate cost of get an iPhone 12 barrage fire replaced through Apple ’s own repair service , though , which is just $ 69 .
Leahy could not straight off offer price estimation for a DIY MacBook Air battery replacement , but the online estimate for the service cost through Apple is $ 129 .
Given that the DIY - repair choice can easily get costly than pay Apple to do it for you , it ’s apparent that the company is n’t concerned in fix its tool and part accessible to all of its client . Even with the rental option , you ca n’t lease just the tools you need , and or else have to get the $ 49 kit .
In fact , the company suppose as much in its announcement : “ For the vast absolute majority of customers who do not have experience reanimate electronic devices , visiting a professional stamping ground provider with certified technician who use genuine Apple parts is the safest and most dependable way to get a repair , ” Apple write .
The society ’s Mac notebooks have historically been atomic number 13 “ black boxes ” . Something break incorrect — a trackpad breaks , a screen cracks , a assault and battery pecker out — and , for age , the only available solution for most has been making an appointment at the Genius Bar . Even autonomous resort shops have n’t been safe from the company ’s extensive , on-going fightagainst the right wing to restore .
Yet , updates to the Digital Millennium Copyright Actmade last year mean that repairing your own twist was guess to get easier . The advent of Apple DIY kits is sort of a chemise in the right direction , but the cost of the parts and prescribed Apple tool ( even for just a pecker rental ) remains prohibitory .
Update 2025-04-06 , 3:27 p.m. ET : This post has been updated with extra information on Apple ’s consecutive number insurance , from a 9to5Mac paper .
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