Image via **Apple iPhone 13 Repair Manual**

28 APRIL 2022 - Good news for you do-it-yourselfers: Apple’s Self Service Repair program has opened for folks in the U.S. Engadget ran a report Wednesday saying that people with:

…an iPhone 12, iPhone 13 or third-generation iPhone SE, (…) can buy key parts (such as batteries, cameras and displays) from a dedicated store and consult official repair manuals as you fix a device yourself. You can even spend $49 to rent a toolkit for a week if you'd rather not buy tools you're unlikely to use often.

“The program will expand to other countries later this year,” according to the piece, “starting with Europe.” It’ll also expand to include Macs later this year, though only those of the M1 variety.

Right-to-Repair-Bears Sort of Stoked (But Only Sort of)

While right-to-repair advocates see the program as a step in the right direction, they would like to see more. MacRumors had iFixit's Elizabeth Chamberlain indicating in a blog post Wednesday that:

…the biggest problem with Apple's program is that parts must be paired with a device. When purchasing parts from Apple's Self Service Repair Store, a customer must enter a device's serial number or IMEI, and any parts ordered need to be paired with the same device after installation.

The way she sees it, that pairing “sets Apple up as the gateway to approve—or deny—any repairs in the future, with parts from any source.” That said, she does like the free peek Apple’s giving everyone under the hood. Apple has posted repair manuals for iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and the latest iPhone SE - and that makes Chamberlain happy. As she will tell you. Quoting her post:

We are really happy to see Apple making repair manuals available for everyone for free online. Like, seriously happy. Like, we've-been-asking-for-this-for-twenty-years happy.

She’s also cool with the tool sales and rental from Apple. And seems to see the program as a good start. Quoting Chamberlain one more time:

At least Apple is getting some of their homework done in advance… Manufacturers know the right to repair is coming—we'll get the rest of their assignments in due time.

Less enthused is Nathan Proctor, the right to repair campaign director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. While a piece from Apple Insider has Proctor saying that his org is “really pleased to see” the program, they’d like to see some ease to the program. The piece has Proctor saying:

While this is a start, there are still too many hoops to jump through to fix phones. As it's becoming clear that Apple and other manufacturers can give us the Right to Repair, we should require them to… And we should have more options. Not just one set of parts. Not just a few manufacturers. No product should be tossed in the scrap heap, wasting money and adding to our toxic electronic waste problem, because the manufacturer doesn't properly support repair.

But he’s really pleased…