Macbooks and iMACs locked after service by unauthorized repair organizations!

[gunug]

While I haven't personally seen this I suspect that it may be true from something I read earlier.  We are letting an Apple Authorized repair place do everything while it is under warranty; but we intend to fix things ourselves after Applecare+ is over.

Apple has introduced software locks that will effectively prevent independent and third-party repair on 2018 MacBook Pro computers, according to internal Apple documents obtained by Motherboard. The new system will render the computer “inoperative” unless a proprietary Apple “system configuration” software is run after parts of the system are replaced.

According to the document, which was distributed to Apple’s Authorized Service Providers late last month, this policy will apply to all Apple computers with the “T2” security chip, which is present in 2018 MacBook Pros as well as the iMac Pro.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/yw9qk7/macbook-pro-software-locks-prevent-independent-repair

[Xairbusdriver]

That may be the 'secret' chip the Chinese install on all motherboards of any hardware built there. Bllomberg.com

[gunug]

I'm afraid they won't have China to blame for this; John Deere has tried the same trick and is in court in a number of states over it!

There is a nice new piece at iFixit about the right to repair:

"For some reason, a lot of folks don’t see it that way. So I broke it down real nice and easy. Here are the top ten reasons why you should care about Right to Repair:

    It doesn’t take a Genius to fix your stuff. Over 100 million people come to iFixit every year to learn how to repair their electronics themselves. Many repairs, like battery and screen swaps, can be done on your own—or even by your kids!
    Repair legislation has been passed once before. The same legislation we’re making noise about has already been passed in the automotive industry: Back in 2012, Massachusetts passed a law requiring auto manufacturers to give repair shops and consumers access to spare parts and diagnostic repair information. All it took was one bill passed in one state, and within two years, it became a federal law.
    Manufacturers are making bank. If you can only go to the manufacturer for a repair, they’ll stick you with a pricey out-of-warranty repair fee. And they’ll make even more money selling you a new device when it breaks. Manufacturers are constantly trying to push you into early upgrades when a replaceable part is broken. But you don’t buy a new car when the battery dies or the tire goes flat—so why would you spend money on a whole new phone when the screen breaks?
    When someone says third-party repair shops can’t be trusted—they’re lying. Manufacturers tend to be picky about what types of repairs they’ll perform. Apple refused to repair or sell parts for repair YouTuber Linus’s one-year-old iMac. For Quinn, another YouTube fixer, the Geniuses mucked up their repair on his iMac and damaged his device! And forget about any micro-soldering—Apple wouldn’t attempt board level repair with a ten-foot pole. Luckily, independent repair technician Jessa Jones has your back for that."

https://ifixit.org/blog/11590/10-reasons-to-support-right-to-repair/

[Xairbusdriver]

An update from Motherboard:

Update: iFixit testing has found that Apple’s software locks are not yet operative. “This service document certainly paints a grim picture, but ever the optimists, we headed down to our friendly local Apple Store and bought a brand new 2018 13” MacBook Pro Touch Bar unit. Then we disassembled it and traded displays with our teardown unit from this summer. To our surprise, the displays and MacBooks functioned normally in every combination we tried. We also updated to Mojave and swapped logic boards with the same results.

That’s a promising sign, and it means the sky isn’t quite falling—yet.”

BTW, the 'secret chips from China' have only been discovered in servers, not consumer hardware... so far.

[Paddy]

I suspect if they carry forward with this plan, they're going to find themselves embroiled in a number of court cases. It's a terrible idea, as stated by the folks at iFixit.

Methinks they've put the idea on hold for now, since there seems to be quite a bit of push-back going on in the electronics field.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics_right_to_repair

[gunug]

I am sure that when the Applecare+ runs out on the 200 some iMAC's we bought last year they will have turned on the locks!  That's the buttered side down of it all!