Later this fall, Apple will enable customers and independent repair shops to utilize used Apple parts in repairs, which helps improve the product’s longevity while minimizing the environmental impact of a repair.
With that, used genuine Apple parts will now benefit from the full functionality and security afforded by the original factory calibration, just like new genuine Apple parts.
“At Apple, we’re always looking for new ways to deliver the best possible experience for our customers while reducing the impact we have on the planet, and a key part of that means designing products that last,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “For the last two years, teams across Apple have been innovating on product design and manufacturing to support repairs with used Apple parts that won’t compromise users’ safety, security, or privacy. With this latest expansion to our repair program, we’re excited to be adding even more choice and convenience for our customers while helping to extend the life of our products and their parts.”
Apple says that even biometric sensors will work in the future for self-service repair. To simplify the repair process, customers and service providers will no longer need to provide a device’s serial number when ordering parts from the Self Service Repair Store for repairs that do not involve the replacement of the logic board.
How used parts in the iPhone repair is bad news for thieves
Apple will expand the popular Activation Lock feature to iPhone parts to prevent thieves from stealing other people’s iPhones and then selling the disassembled parts. As requested by customers and law enforcement officials, the feature was designed to limit iPhone theft by blocking a lost or stolen iPhone from being reactivated. If a device under repair detects that a supported part was obtained from another device with Activation Lock or Lost Mode enabled, calibration capabilities for that part will be restricted.
In addition, users can always check if their device uses genuine parts on the Parts and Service history tab located within Settings on iOS; later this fall, Apple says it will expand this functionality to show if a part is a new or used genuine Apple part.
BGR will let you know once people can take advantage of used Apple parts to repair their iPhones.
