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1 Inside the iPhone Repair Ecosystem - Great Read!
MacRumors wrote what appears to be a bit biased piece on the iPhone repair industry.
Inside the iPhone Repair Ecosystem: Where Do Replacement Parts Come From and Can You Trust Them?
This gets into what do you expect! A self taught person won’t be as good as a trained person. This is were the hardware makers need to offer service manuals and training to a larger group than the AASP’s as well as access to sanctioned parts. If they don’t want to get into the parts industry, work with their suppliers to open access to them. They also need to listen! Even the AASP’s find some of the actions Apple forces on them as asinine! Sometimes we have more skills then Apple has!
Back in the 1980’s the Japanese camera makers opened up releasing service manuals and offering parts in doing so they got much better repairs from the independents and in doing so they sold more cameras! The companies that held back lost market share.
Society of Photo-Technologist (SPT) and in New England another group was also a major force Amateur/Professional Equipment Repair (APER) sadly its now gone. Both SPT & APER has had to change with the market from film to digital cameras. The skills they had where in the same class as a watchmaker! Optometrist and even a machinist! Over the years they have also needed to learn basic electronics and advanced digital electronics to keep up.
It was their efforts that forced the camera makers to be more open. Both groups ran training programs and even traveled to some of the companies to get more in depth training. A few independent training groups worked diligently with workshops traveling to quite a few countries spreading the word of good skills and proper methods. Most of this happened before the rise of the internet!
Computer, phone & tablet repair is following the same path! The Camera groups had it a bit easier! They could get it done privately.
Today its harder as the companies like Apple are more steadfast so we need to go into the battlefield of the political arena which is a slower process! The Right to Repair bills across the different states is going to be a long slog but in the end its worth it!
Is this a worthwhile discussion?
"It was their efforts that forced the camera makers to be more open" obviously that did not last long. Try to get a manual for a Nikon or Canon ;-), ain't happening. That is why it has to be legislated and made enforceable. This is not an industry that can be allowed to self govern!
by oldturkey03
As it turns out they did reduce access to their documentation with the intro of digital cameras! They limited it to shops they had a history with. Also keep in mind there was a very large shrinkage in number of shops in the 1990's as the movement to digital cameras had started and film cameras were on the decline.
The ones that took the leap into digital cameras are still repairing! Most companies also require NDA's now so the information doesn't get to their competitors.
Yes, for a newer person trying to get in it can be daunting! As you now need to prove your education level in a technical school and apprentice at a known shop. Many manufactures are supporting independent training. So you can get the training but you need to pay for it.
And if you are just a man off the street its just not possible! Most shops will sell parts to you and let you look at the manuals (not copy).
Not agreeing this is right, but it's a lot better than what we have in the computer, phone & tablet repair industries! Go to an Apple Store or AASP and ask for a part or a glance of a manual - Nope!
by Dan