Last September, iFixit declared the iPhone 14 the most repairable Apple device in recent years.
Well-known disassembly and repair specialists iFixit announced on their official blog an unprecedented step – they decided to lower the repairability rating of the iPhone 14, which debuted last year.
Having tested the iPhone 14 immediately after its release in September 2022, iFixit gave it a good score of 7 out of 10. This was the best result of Apple smartphones since the release of the iPhone 7.
However, iFixit has now announced:
We are retroactively downgrading iPhone repairability ratings.
As noted by iFixit, the repairability rating for the iPhone 14 has been changed from 7 out of 10 (recommended) to 4 out of 10 (not recommended).
Title lost: a year after its release, the iPhone 14 became very difficult to repair
The problem turned out to be that software updates released by Apple began to limit many basic repair operations for the iPhone 14. When purchasing components through the Apple Self-Service Repair program, you are required to provide a serial number or IMEI to pair the components with that particular smartphone. Repair centers are also required to purchase parts through Apple’s system and coordinate installation.
The repair must be completed by tuning the system using custom Apple software, which the company says “verifies the authenticity of genuine Apple parts, updates the firmware, and calibrates parts to ensure maximum performance and quality.” Users performing repairs under the Apple Self-Service Repair program also complete the procedure using a special diagnostic mode.
If this is not done, then numerous annoying notifications will appear on the smartphone, and the new components themselves will not be able to work correctly, giving rise to numerous functional problems. iFixit notes that this policy will hurt many independent repair shops.
