Self Service Repair of Apple’s Products Can Now Be Completed Without a Phonecall ⇥ arstechnica.com

Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica:

The company will now provide a “postrepair software tool” called System Configuration that will handle the process of verifying that repairs were done properly, calibrating and updating the firmware of any replaced components and pairing TouchID and FaceID sensors with the device’s Secure Enclave.

Previously, these steps required a call to Apple’s Self Service Repair support team, which would run users through finishing the repair process. Apple says its team will still be on standby if home repairers need help.

Apple is also adding parts and guides tomorrow for the iPhone 14 line and M2 MacBooks, with the exception of the recently launched 15-inch MacBook Air.

The extent of Apple’s commitment to its Self Service Repair store continues to elude my understanding. On the surface, it really does not seem to care much. It is rolling out iPhone 14 parts only now, nine months after the product’s launch, and the store itself is an anonymous-looking site which contains no Apple branding and is, for some reason, typeset in Roboto — the default Android font. But the company really does seem to want this to work. In its press release announcing these updates, it notes how “[w]idespread repair access plays an important role in extending products’ longevity, which is good for users and good for the planet”. This program was expanded to some European countries last year, too.