Fed up with the cost of MacBook repairs? New unofficial tool might be a glimmer of hope
An Apple MacBook had a sensor repaired by a German repair shop, which managed to bypass the company’s security measures put in place to prevent unauthorized third parties from carrying out such repairs.
Forbes reports that NotebookNerds (in Dortmund, Germany) achieved this feat using a tool (called ‘Nerd.Tool.1’) built specifically to ease a single MacBook repair. Namely the lid sensor (on the MacBook Pro and Air) that detects whether the laptop is closed.
If that lid sensor goes wrong, the MacBook owner will be faced with a notebook that no longer detects that the lid is closed (and thus stays on), preventing the screen from turning off and wasting battery when it should be saving energy ).
Although a duff sensor can be cured by removing corrosion, for example, the sensor may need to be replaced if one is present. The problem is that it’s not as simple as removing the non-functional sensor and installing a new one.
Even if you can make that repair, Apple has a system where some components (like this sensor) are linked to the circuit board and require a special calibration tool to ensure that the new sensor is accepted (or that it works). completely – it may work at first glance, but certain features may not). That tool is of course used by Apple and supplied to certified repair shops, but otherwise third-party repair shops do not have access to it.
So basically, NotebookNerds has created its own version of this tool which, according to the report, allows for a lid sensor replacement. Although it must be said, experts are surprised that this solution can be implemented.
Forbes spoke to Ricky Panesar, founder of iCorrect (a repair company), who said of the bungled tool: “We all thought the (lid angle sensor) was tied to the motherboard in a way that you couldn’t copy the data… but he was able to copy that data, which is genius.
Note that it only works for this one repair, but there is a possibility that the concept can be extended to other components that require similar authentication to work properly when replaced.
Analysis: A fairer and affordable price for repairs?
This is a pretty big deal. Why? Because if these kinds of hacks and tools become more widespread—and actually help a replacement part gain full MacBook functionality—many more repair shops will be able to repair Apple laptops.
And the third-party repair companies that can join in can save consumers a lot of money with the prices they offer (which are notoriously high at Apple). And with more competition in repair work, prices will naturally come down.
However, Apple won’t let this happen. Will it? Well, the company could certainly take action to prevent such workarounds in the future. As Ricky Panesar also told Forbes, such tools wouldn’t work with the iPhone 15 because it uses deeper encryption than the MacBook, so Apple might move in that direction with its laptops as well.
We can’t imagine that Apple will be happy with this development, but on the other hand, the company has relaxed its attitude towards repairs a bit. As Forbes notes, replaced selfie cameras on iPhones have recently regained some features that were previously disabled. In addition, in the US we have seen Apple pledge its support to California’s Right to Repair law.
These types of actions could be happening because Apple has received quite a bit of criticism for what is seen as consumer-unfriendly policies in this area (not to mention environmentally unfriendly), and the company is trying to undo the damage.
As iFixit, another big name in the repair community, recently put it: “Based on the way Apple designs their products and its relentless, unparalleled focus on user experience, they could easily be a leader in creating the best self-repair experience in technology. Yet we don’t see that. Apple needs to do better.”
Okay, so steps to do better may now be starting to sink in – we hope. Although Apple’s response to this episode could be telling in terms of how far we can expect the MacBook maker to go in changing its repair policy.