Apple is expanding a program in order to supply repair parts, manuals and tools for iPhones to various independent repair shops in 32 countries across the Europe and in Canada. The company began the program last year in the U.S. after many years of lobbying against the ‘right-to-repair’ bills that would have compelled the Cupertino based tech company to provide parts to various independent shops.
For quite a long time, Apple has maintained its network of authorized service providers, in order to perform any warranty work. However, the smaller shops complained, that the program was very costly to join mostly because of commitment that are high value, leaving these shops without any access to genuine Apple parts or the needed software tools to perform some repairs.
“When a customer needs a repair, we want them to have a range of options that not only suits their needs but also guarantees safety and quality so their iPhone can be used for as long as possible,” Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.
Apple launched its program for independent shops in August of 2019, making it completely free to join when a technician completes a training program. On Wednesday Apple said, 140 businesses with over 700 locations have signed up for the program in the U.S.
Thanks to the program, now independent shops can get the much necessary access to various iPhone parts and tools to carry out repairs in the same price as the authorized service centers. The shops can still use the third party products and set their own prices. The program only cover iPhones.
However, these shops must inform Apple if they are using any genuine parts and they need to send the salvaged parts back to the company, where Apple either refurbish or recycle them.