Apple announced the launch of Self Service Repair — where users of Apple devices will be able to repair their iPhone or Mac, among other things, with official instructions and parts from Apple.
The program will “allow customers who are comfortable with completing their own repairs access to Apple genuine parts and tools.” Self Service Repair will be available initially for iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. Macs with M1 chips will be supported at a later date.
The launch of the service is scheduled for early 2022 in the United States. In other countries, the program will appear within the next year.
In the future, repairing Apple hardware will no longer only be possible in the 515 Apple Stores and, according to current statistics, more than 5,000 authorized Apple Service Providers (AASPs) and 2,800 independent repair providers, but end-users themselves will be able to obtain original spare parts and the tools required for the repair.
Apple explains that in the first phase of the program, the focus will be on the most frequently serviced components, including the display, battery and camera of the two smartphone series mentioned.
Additional repairs will be available at a later date in the coming year. In the future, more than 200 individual parts and tools are to be offered in a new store in order to be able to carry out the most common repairs on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 and later also on Mac.
Self Service Repair is primarily intended “for individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices.”, writes the company, suggesting “the vast majority of customers” to continue to use the authorized service providers to get “safest and most reliable way to get a repair.“
