Right to Repair - We beat Apple at their own game - let the unauthorized calibrations BEGIN!
Apple has refused to provide the calibration tool for the sleep sensor to independent repair people. A German repairman has beaten Apple and developed a calibration tool.
TL;DR: The MacBook orientation sensor
...wasn't nearly as exciting as I or the title expected. C'mon now, why clickbait; also why is the comments section treating this so godly
EDIT: I just realized they DEVELOPED THE CALIBRATION SOFTWARE TO MAKE THIS THIS EASY. It's still just the angle sensor though, which is a very small fraction, but still very important regardless. You need to buy the software (one time) for €169 though
This is actually a pretty big deal. I got a lot of text coming up, but the short of it is that apple requiring calibration/pairing and not offering the tool to independent repair shops resulted in these shops being forced to offer substandard results to customers because of issues with a part that costs 6-8 dollars. This often put people in a position where they need to pay 1000+ dollars to get their whole logic board replaced by Apple or pay a reasonable price for minor repairs and not be able to have their laptop sleep when they close it.
With the previous models using a nearly identical lid angle sensor you could simply swap in a new one and it wouldn't need calibration. With the apple silicon MacBooks, if you were to swap the display assembly or the lid angle sensor was damaged you would typically end up with a laptop that would not sleep when you closed the lid or would sleep at a weird angle along the path and wake up when fully closed. Only apple and apple authorized repair centers had access to the tool to calibrate an angle sensor. This is a problem because under Apple's system if there are any signs of liquid on the logic board you would be forced to either get a whole new logic board or decline all repairs even if the issue was just the sleep sensor and the only issue on the logic board was a water sticker going pink. For anyone who doesn't have a spare 1000+ dollars to tackle an issue with a 6-8 dollar part (likely cheaper through Apple's supply chain) independent repair is the only real choice. This tool enables independent repair shops to perform this simple repair as opposed to an extremely difficult repair to try to fix the original lid angle sensor. It also avoids them being forced to return an improperly functioning laptop to the customer if they find an issue with the sleep sensor after doing board repair or god forbid they accidentally damage an 8 dollar part and can't just swap in a new one on the house.
In isolation this tool seems pretty boring, but this sleep sensor issue has been genuinely worrying for the future of independent repair and what apple could do next along with artificially making independent repair seem far inferior to apple authorized repair. Someone creating a tool to solve the issue independently is a great sign that if apple tries to monopolize repair through artificial limitations then people can still find ways to work around them.
This guy is always on a crusade.
This guy is always super duper clickbaity and has this holier-than-thou attitude all the time. Thank you for summing it up so I don't give him the clicks.
Just don't buy that crap. I'm perfectly satisfied with a rooted chinesium Android machine for a third of the money. It's actually better in many regards than my cousin's iphone14. Hardware wise. And oh, you can change parts rather easily. These are so easy to root, I don't know why not everybody does it. Or give it to someone you know / in the family to do it. Had a Huawei before this for 6 years, changed the battery and the screen. Still kinda love my old brick.
These are so easy to root, I dont know why not everybody does it.
Probably because not everyone has a valid reason to root. What about people who use GrapheneOS? Rooting does involve valid security risks that doesn't make it suitable for every single person.
This is about Macbooks though. It's an interesting video, the guy who created it will even open source the little device after 350 orders.
Any recommendations on those chinesium devices? My Pixel 4a is getting a little long in the tooth and I'm in the market for a new Android phone with a vanilla Android experience.
Quick! Get it before they sue!
Can it wait a bit? I'm in the middle of some calibrations.
Unexpected Mass Effect, but appreciated nonetheless
Don't worry, it'll be all over torrent before we know it!
Wouldn't this technically qualify as reverse engineering?
My new hero!
We wholeheartedly invite your valuable input and suggestions, as they play an integral role in our continuous improvement efforts. To facilitate this collaborative approach, we have committed to releasing our source code for public access after reaching a milestone of 350 orders.
Yeah, but that means people are going to want to wait until it's open source which means less people will buy it initially. Maybe enough will buy before someone or something else comes along.
Hurt 'em harder Louis!!!
Tim Apple and his critters prolly already got a report from their crawlers and verbally assaulting their legal team: How is this legal?! Make it illegal!
Why is this downvoted? Seriously asking.
I doubt they even care. they just don't care to provide tools and support outside their program.
If they did not care, they would would not put software blocks ;)
What are you on about?
Sorry, did you somehow not know that Apple are some of the most litigious bastards on the face of the earth?
Uh ooooh
I can’t believe a company that’s been this shitty to its customers, openly, for literal decades is still in business.
Thanks for reminding me to never, ever buy Apple.
But i will say this... hats off to the M-series chipsets... silent powerhouse!
the effects of R&D on tech evolution, chef's kiss 👌🏿
Yep. I use a pixel 6 and a MacBook Air m1. It's the best of both worlds.
They build fantastic laptops.
As a side rant, I just want to say that I've never had a laptop that was able to maintain consistent speed and reliability better than this machine. Every other windows-based laptop I've had has crapped out after 3 years. This thing just keeps on going, regardless of the fact that I've had about 100 tabs and 3 browsers open for the majority of its lifespan.
Marketing is powerful.
Cult indoctrination is even more powerful.
I am unique! I have personality tied to a device!
Not just still in business, absolutely dominating the competition.
Well… 17% market share isn’t exactly “dominating”. https://www.counterpointresearch.com/insights/global-smartphone-share/
A lot of people who buy apple stuff just plain don't care. If you break it, you immediately buy a new one. But even if you don't, you'll get a new one when you can. For a lot of people it's also a status symbol, where a lot of ego is involved. You still see this every time camera discussions come up, where sometimes you'll see a 15 Pro compared to an HTC Hero for shot quality.
This should never be a problem, but we live in a dystopia
Most people aren't repairing their iPhones and most people will just carry the damaged iPhone before repairing and buying another because of money but also, it is an iPhone.
It's only being shitty to your customers if your customers weren't so willing to just keep buying them when they can.
you sure about that? It only affects consumers who want to repair it themselves
Not only those who want to repair it themselves, but those who want to have it repaired by a third party whose best interest is not claiming that the phone is irreparable and that the customer should buy a new one.
Never claimed I was.
Neither are you, considering your posts.
So please, elaborate on how @bleistift2 is not very smart so people can have a discussion versus just you going “lmao gottem”.