How Apple, Samsung and Microsoft prevent you from repairing your devices

“You have to buy everything.This is a revolution !".The youngest of you are probably not remembering this Sketch des Guignols de l'Info featuring Tim Cook, CEO of Apple.At the time, the authors made fun of the lack of innovation of each new iPhone version while the price remained very high.

Today, you probably have other reasons to "buy everything".A wifi problem?A breathless battery?A broken photo sensor?There was a time when these problems could be resolved in two screwdrivers or by contacting an approved repairer.This time is now over.

According to the IFIXIT CEO, specialist in the repair of electronic devices, this situation results from a desire for manufacturers to prevent repairs.Purpose ?Replace a defective product with a new model.And for that, all means are good.

Unavailable spare parts and modified circuits

During a public hearing on the right to repair organized in Australia, Kyle Wiens, CEO of Ifixit, returned to the stratagems set up by Apple, Samsung and Microsoft to prevent the repair of their products.

In Korean, the batteries of the Galaxy Buds (wireless headphones), from the German brand Varta, are unavailable in spare parts.This repair brake is even engraved in marble since it is a clause of the contract between the manufacturer and the supplier.

For its part, Apple changes certain components so that they cannot be replaced.Kyle Wiens gives the example of MacBook Pro, equipped with an integrated chip to manage recharge.This chip is a modified version of the standard circuit.

In the contract signed between Apple and the manufacturer of the chip, it is stipulated that the latter cannot sell the modified version of the chip in spare parts.Problem: in the event of a breakdown, this is the only component accepted by the MacBook Pro.

Still according to Kyle Wiens, Apple therefore prefers to keep all these spare parts in huge warehouses, then destroy them rather than sell them to repairers.

You think you've seen it all ?Waserve to know how Microsoft prevents repair of its surface computers.The American received the catastrophic repairability note of 0/0/10.The reason is simple: the computer battery is stuck and any attempt to access the components cause irreversible damage.

Repairability

Within the framework of the anti-winning law, the French government has set up the repairability index.In 2020, only 40% of the broken electrical and electronic devices were repaired.Within five years, the authorities aims to reach 60%.

The repairability index, what is it?Since January 1, 2021, all electrical and electronic products have received a repairability note (out of 10) according to a series of criteria defined by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.The higher the note, the easier the product, the product is.

The fact remains that this device is purely informative.The last decision -maker remains, as often, the consumer.Alternatives already exist on the smartphone market.Fairphone, for example, has made sustainability and respect for the environment its creed.With a relative success ...

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