- In December, Stopping Obselescence Programmed filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the firm of creating obstacles to the repairability of its iPhones.
- And this week, an investigation was opened
- In October, iFixit had already alerted on a problem of interchangeability of iPhone parts
After the #Batterygate episode, Halte à l’Obselescence Programmetée filed a new complaint against Apple in December, accusing it of obstructing the repair of iPhones. At a time when the Cupertino company promotes environmental protection, and even offers a way to repair iPhones yourself, HOP points to certain practices. And this complaint has borne fruit, since according to a new press release from the French association, an investigation has been opened by the Public Prosecutor.
“HOP is delighted to learn of the opening of an investigation by the Public Prosecutor and hopes that it will make it possible, thanks to the police powers of the DGCCRF, to sanction and demonstrate the criminal nature of the serialization practices put in place. caused by the association. A first complaint filed by HOP had resulted in Apple paying 25 million to the French Treasury in 2020. The ultimate response to this so-called “batterygate” affair still puts the company at risk of a record sum in the United Kingdom”says HOP.
Apple serialization is singled out
But what, exactly, is Apple accused of? In its complaint, HOP targets a practice called serialization or matching. As the association explains, this consists of associating the serial numbers of the components with that of the iPhone using chips. And according to the association, thanks to this serialization, Apple can limit repairs on commonly damaged items, such as screens, batteries, etc. HOP also claims to have identified cases where the iPhone would not work properly when it is repaired with a part that is not authorized by Apple, even if it is identical to the original part.
In summary, according to this complaint, when the replacement part was not authorized by Apple, it would sometimes malfunction. And in some cases, malfunctions would even be triggered by updates. HOP cites the example of an iPhone XR that had its screen replaced and became “unusable” after an update to iOS 16. Yet, just by reverting to iOS 15, the device would work properly again. In all, the complaint contains 60 pages of demonstrations.
Laetitia Vasseur, co-founder and general delegate of the association, said: “The repairability of objects must be imposed on all players, even the tech giants, who are not above the law, nor the limits of the planet.” Indeed, in addition to making repairs more difficult, if proven, the practices singled out also have an impact on the planet. Note also that this investigation into Apple is open while Tim Cook, CEO of the Apple brand, should go to France in a month, on the occasion of VivaTech.
The same arguments as iFixit
In any case, the accusations of HOP remind us of a publication of the company iFixit, specialist in the repair of electronic devices, which had also pointed the finger at this Apple serialization, in October. “Independent repair centers that join the Independent Repair Provider program can no longer do all the things they did since the early days of phone repair: salvage parts from old phones and give them a second life in a new phone”could we read in this publication.
For example, as part of an experiment, iFixi claims that it swapped iPhone 14 screens. And practically, it’s functional. However, the company says the True Tone and auto-brightness update features are getting lost. Also, the iPhone displays a “genuine part” warning.
