Planned wear and tear on your iPhone: French government sees clues

The French government has launched an investigation into the lifespan of your iPhone. Because the country sees indications of planned wear and tear. We tell you more.

French government investigates iPhone parts

The French government will investigate whether Apple deliberately makes older iPhones unusable by limiting the repair. If you now want to replace a part of your iPhone, you are required to enter the serial number of your device. Only ‘new’ parts can be put in your iPhone that match this serial number.

Also Read: ‘Third parties can’t repair iPhone’s screen and cameras’

Do you still opt for a newer part with a different serial number? Then there is a chance that your iPhone will become unusable. For example, a replaced iPhone X screen recently became unusable after the phone was updated to iOS 16. Apple’s software therefore recognizes which parts do and do not fit the device. Some parts will then be blocked. And that is against the sore leg of the French government.

Repairs are limited by Apple policy

Due to the strict policy that Apple has in the field of new parts, you cannot go to all companies that repair phones. You can currently only be sure that your iPhone is made with the correct parts at authorized Apple sellers.

These parts are no longer available after a while, so the wear and tear of your iPhone cannot be prevented. The French government is now investigating whether Apple is unnecessarily limiting the life of Apple devices as a result.

According to Apple, the Self Service Repair program is a godsend in replacing parts. This is Apple’s own service, where you can order replacement parts online as soon as your iPhone starts to show signs of wear and tear. Here, however, you still run into the same problem, because here too you have to enter the serial number of your device. So you are still limited to Apple’s own parts.

Another French fine for Apple?

If the French government decides to issue a fine for Apple’s repair policy, it wouldn’t be the first fine Apple faces in France. The company was previously fined for deliberately slowing down older iPhones without informing consumers. At the time, Apple had to pay 25 million euros to the French government.

Also Read: This Wi-Fi Trick Will Make Your iPhone Battery Last Longer

At the beginning of this year, Apple was fined again in France, this time for the privacy policy in the App Store. Apple collected data from App Store visitors there, without asking permission. This is required by French law, which means that Apple also had to pay a sum of money for this. It was then an amount of 8 million euros.

Apple: quality iPhone parts guaranteed

According to Apple itself, this policy is necessary to guarantee the quality of the parts. By putting parts with the correct serial numbers in the iPhone, the quality of the device remains as new, according to the company. In practice, of course, this means that as a consumer you are obliged to buy new parts from Apple, from which the company earns quite a bit.

So it remains to be seen whether Apple will again have to pay a substantial amount of money to the French government. Given previous lawsuits, it is quite possible that Apple will be punished again. Moreover, the repair policy must then be relaxed, which could also have consequences for policy in the Netherlands. In any case, for now we are still obliged to purchase parts from Apple.

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