Although you never want to drop or damage your iPhone, this will more important over the next weeks and months as repairs will take longer to turn around.
Normally the need for a quick repair of an iPhone is not a problem. Apple Stores offer drop-in appointments for repairs, a mail-in service, and in many cased an expedited replacement service. Not in the current climate, with Apple Stores closed, and reports of four week turnarounds and limited availability of replacement units online.
Why is this a problem now, and what can Apple due to support iPhone users?
Firstly, the stock levels on parts and units has diminished due to the restrictions in place due to coronavirus. Secondly, those restrictions have meant that Apple Stores and most authorised repair centers are closed. Finally, if a unit is deemed uneconomical to repair, there are dwindling stocks of replacement units.
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during a product launch event on September 12, 2018, in Cupertino, ... [+]
As the implications of social distancing become clearer and its duration is likely extended, modern technology will become ever more vital to keep people connected. From FaceTime chats with relatives and meetings via Zoom, through streaming entertainment, to working from home and keeping up with vital information from Government and Healthcare Professionals; the smartphone is going to be a vital (and in some cases life-saving) technology.
Any faults or breakages that puts a device out of action is more urgent than it was before. For some the loss of a phone while it waits for a repair or replacement at Apple’s mail-in service will be of little consequence. For others it may be the only significant contact they have with the outside world.
While the world works out how to fight coronoavirus, the ability for manufacturers to repair the vital tools they have sold you will likely remain limited.
I very much doubt that this is a situation that those supporting right to repair would have expected, but I would argue that the current situation is one where the ability for third-party repair shops to have access to the knowledge and tools will help support social distancing while allowing people to stay connected.
Not every repair is going to be a smashed screen. There may be issues with the contact behind a button, issues with blown capacitors and electrical connections that need soldering, data recovery, and out of warranty machines that can be repaired using working parts adopted from unrepairable handsets.
All of these repairs, and more, are possible. But they need suitable support from the manufacturers, not just Apple, but across the board.
In a time everyone is being asked to do a little bit more, to think about how to help their neighbours, and how to best help the fight against the virus, making sure the right people have the right tools is essential.
Given that, it’s time for Apple to put aside its current walled garden approach and distribute the information required to assist independent repairs to serve their communities.
Now read about Microsoft’s changing attitudes towards repairing your Surface hardware…
