Apple to Allow Used Parts for Repairs, Starting With iPhone 15 Lineup

Apple today announced that customers and independent repair shops will be able to utilize used genuine Apple parts in repairs starting later this year.

Apple Self Service Repair Program iPhone
Apple told The Washington Post that the new policy will initially apply to parts for iPhone 15 models and newer, including screens, batteries, and cameras. Apple's press release said the policy will eventually extend to used biometric sensors for Face ID and Touch ID. Apple's existing parts "pairing" process will confirm whether or not a used part is genuine.

In the fall, Apple says calibration for both new and used genuine Apple parts will happen on device after the part is installed. If an iPhone has been repaired, a "Parts and Service History" section appears in the Settings app under General → About, and Apple says it will be expanding this section to show whether a genuine part is new or used.

Apple also announced that customers and service providers will no longer need to provide a device's serial number when ordering parts from its self-service repair store for repairs not involving replacement of the logic board.

To deter stolen iPhones from being disassembled for parts, Apple said it will be extending its Activation Lock security feature to iPhone parts:

Apple will also extend its popular Activation Lock feature to iPhone parts in order to deter stolen iPhones from being disassembled for parts. Requested by customers and law enforcement officials, the feature was designed to limit iPhone theft by blocking a lost or stolen iPhone from being reactivated. If a device under repair detects that a supported part was obtained from another device with Activation Lock or Lost Mode enabled, calibration capabilities for that part will be restricted.

Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus said the new policy will be more environmentally friendly by extending the lifespan of parts:

For the last two years, teams across Apple have been innovating on product design and manufacturing to support repairs with used Apple parts that won't compromise users' safety, security, or privacy. With this latest expansion to our repair program, we're excited to be adding even more choice and convenience for our customers, while helping to extend the life of our products and their parts.

Apple said the policy will apply to future iPhone models.

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Top Rated Comments

AgeOfSpiracles Avatar
15 months ago

To make sure an owner with two broken iPhone can't end up with a working iPhone...

FTFY
If you own both phones, then why would activation lock have any impact on you?
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AgeOfSpiracles Avatar
15 months ago

Because the parts are still LOCKED. Apple's not going through the trouble of determining WHO owns the lock.
Uh, then unlock them? If you own the broken phone, you can remove the activation lock. If you buy a broken phone, then the seller should remove the lock. If you buy a stolen phone, then yeah, you're going to have a problem.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TokyoKiller Avatar
15 months ago

If you own both phones, then why would activation lock have any impact on you?
Just rage farming.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AgeOfSpiracles Avatar
15 months ago

I love Activation Lock on paper, but in practice it seems like would-be thieves haven't gotten the memo yet.
In practice, do you see a lot of iPhone thefts? I'm sure it happens, but anecdotally it seems like it is way down since activation lock was implemented. Looking on eBay, locked phones are nearly worthless compared to clean phones, and extending it to all the serialized parts in a phone will take that value to the friggin' basement.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AgeOfSpiracles Avatar
15 months ago

Making iphones stolen or maybe simply lost, unusable, will be more environmentally friendly ?
Truth is icloud block is only apple's another greedy way to make money, masked by the best antitheft system ever.
A thief will get a sitting phone on a table regardless if its an cheap android or an iphone 15. It's an occasion to get it so he will get it! What then? He will sell it anyway, even for few bucks. BUT when it will realize that its worth 0, he will throw it. No money for thief, no phone for the victim, who will buy another one. One iphone stolen = one more iphone sold by apple. Yeahthe victim may have the satisfaction that damn thief doesnt earned a buck, however another big thief earned a lot more...
Another example not involving thiefs. My friend works in a big company, where workers are given phones, some iphones some androids. When they stops working there, they obviously return those phones. Well, no one checks the state of those phones and most of them are given back locked. While u can unlock androids, iphones are unusable. My friend sent my once a photo of a box full of locked iphones... Again apple earns, my friend's company loses...
That's a process problem. Not a tech problem. Just poor asset management and poor policies; there are plenty of solutions to your friend's problem, they just require planning.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JonnyMacx86 Avatar
15 months ago
I love Activation Lock on paper, but in practice it seems like would-be thieves haven't gotten the memo yet.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)