DamianTV
02-16-2016, 04:44 PM
Slashdot: Apple vs. the Right To Repair
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/16/02/16/1511248/apple-vs-the-right-to-repair
Bloomberg columnist Adam Minter takes on Apple's "Error 53 Code" and the precedents being challenged by the Right To Repair movement. Apple claims that bricking the phone if it's repaired by a non-Apple certified repair shop protects you from tampering with, say, the fingerprint scanner. But the column documents how the number of "certified" repair shops is under attack. If you can't open it, do you really own it?
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CultOfMac.com - Everything you need to know about iOS’ crippling ‘Error 53’
http://www.cultofmac.com/411395/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ios-crippling-error-53/
Apple is in the midst of an all-new controversy, thanks to the mysterious “Error 53” message that is bricking iPhones without warning.
The problem can hit DIY types or anybody who has ever had a Touch ID sensor (or other iPhone hardware) replaced by a repair shop not authorized by Apple. When they update iOS, the device locks down, displaying the cryptic Error 53 message and rendering the iPhone virtually worthless.
Apple says Error 53 is actually a security feature of iOS 9 that keeps your personal information secure, but customers aren’t convinced. Cult of Mac talked to iPhone repair and and parts experts to find out what exactly is going on. The truth is that Error 53 has plagued many iPhone owners, not just those who have replaced Touch ID — and it’s not totally clear why.
What is Error 53?
Error 53 is an unfixable error code displayed by iTunes when restoring an iPhone that is found to have an unidentified or unexpected Touch ID module. The error message is terse — and almost always terminal for the device in question.
...
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Bloomberg View - Why Can't You Repair an iPhone?
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-02-15/why-can-t-you-repair-an-iphone
Imagine if Ford remotely disabled the engine on your new F-150 pickup because you chose to have the door locks fixed at a corner garage rather than a dealership. Sound absurd? Not if you're Apple.
Since 2014, the world's most profitable smartphone company has -- without warning -- permanently disabled some iPhones that had their home buttons replaced by repair shops in the course of fixing a shattered screen. Phones that underwent the same repair at Apple service centers, meanwhile, have continued working just fine.
The message seems clear, at least to the multibillion-dollar independent repair industry: Your phone is yours until you decide to get it fixed. Then it's Apple's.
...
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(Note: Slashdot usually has just short stories and links to other material that I usually dont copy and paste from embedded links. This time I grabbed partial excerpts from their referenced source material.)
When you buy something, do you own it? Should that include the Right to Repair whatever it is that you bought? Im sure there are big differences between, for instance, a car that could be either leased or purchased. Im trying to focus on the stuff that has been purchased. Do you think that a Right to Repair stuff that you own needs to be recognized?
Debate.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/16/02/16/1511248/apple-vs-the-right-to-repair
Bloomberg columnist Adam Minter takes on Apple's "Error 53 Code" and the precedents being challenged by the Right To Repair movement. Apple claims that bricking the phone if it's repaired by a non-Apple certified repair shop protects you from tampering with, say, the fingerprint scanner. But the column documents how the number of "certified" repair shops is under attack. If you can't open it, do you really own it?
---
CultOfMac.com - Everything you need to know about iOS’ crippling ‘Error 53’
http://www.cultofmac.com/411395/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ios-crippling-error-53/
Apple is in the midst of an all-new controversy, thanks to the mysterious “Error 53” message that is bricking iPhones without warning.
The problem can hit DIY types or anybody who has ever had a Touch ID sensor (or other iPhone hardware) replaced by a repair shop not authorized by Apple. When they update iOS, the device locks down, displaying the cryptic Error 53 message and rendering the iPhone virtually worthless.
Apple says Error 53 is actually a security feature of iOS 9 that keeps your personal information secure, but customers aren’t convinced. Cult of Mac talked to iPhone repair and and parts experts to find out what exactly is going on. The truth is that Error 53 has plagued many iPhone owners, not just those who have replaced Touch ID — and it’s not totally clear why.
What is Error 53?
Error 53 is an unfixable error code displayed by iTunes when restoring an iPhone that is found to have an unidentified or unexpected Touch ID module. The error message is terse — and almost always terminal for the device in question.
...
---
Bloomberg View - Why Can't You Repair an iPhone?
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-02-15/why-can-t-you-repair-an-iphone
Imagine if Ford remotely disabled the engine on your new F-150 pickup because you chose to have the door locks fixed at a corner garage rather than a dealership. Sound absurd? Not if you're Apple.
Since 2014, the world's most profitable smartphone company has -- without warning -- permanently disabled some iPhones that had their home buttons replaced by repair shops in the course of fixing a shattered screen. Phones that underwent the same repair at Apple service centers, meanwhile, have continued working just fine.
The message seems clear, at least to the multibillion-dollar independent repair industry: Your phone is yours until you decide to get it fixed. Then it's Apple's.
...
----------------------------
(Note: Slashdot usually has just short stories and links to other material that I usually dont copy and paste from embedded links. This time I grabbed partial excerpts from their referenced source material.)
When you buy something, do you own it? Should that include the Right to Repair whatever it is that you bought? Im sure there are big differences between, for instance, a car that could be either leased or purchased. Im trying to focus on the stuff that has been purchased. Do you think that a Right to Repair stuff that you own needs to be recognized?
Debate.