IT Home reported on February 10 that although Apple supported the "right to repair" bill in California, it opposed Oregon's new bill to restrict "parts pairing".
According to a hearing released by cybersecurity expert Tarah Wheeler**, Apple's testimony shows that the company does not want to give up full control of repairs. According to John Perry, a senior manager on Apple's security design team, Apple uses parts pairing to "make repairs easier" while ensuring that devices and their data "stay secure."
Unlike the California Act, SB 1596 not only requires companies to provide customers and repair shops with the documentation, tools, and parts they need, but also imposes restrictions on "parts pairing." In short, the bill requires OEMs to refrain from restricting the user's right to opt for third-party repair services or use non-genuine parts for repairs themselves, or to reduce equipment performance or display misleading information through "parts pairing."
sb 1596：As it stands, Apple is already using this tactic to circumvent customers from replacing "non-validated" parts, such as batteries. In addition, once Apple detects that a "non-**" screen is being used in a user's device, they impose restrictions on features such as Face ID.OEMs may not use parts pairing to:
a) prevent or prohibit independent repairers or equipment owners from installing or enabling the functionality of replacement parts or consumer electronic device components, including replacement parts or components not approved by the original equipment manufacturer;
b) degrade the functionality or performance of consumer electronic devices;
c) Cause the consumer electronic device to display an unnecessary or misleading alarm or warning about an unidentified part, especially if the alarm or warning cannot be eliminated.
John Perry said at the hearing that the bill "would compel device manufacturers to allow the use of unidentified parts and consumer devices that would undermine the safety and privacy of Oregon residents." He also mentioned that Apple has updated the parts pairing process so that customers no longer need to contact Apple Support when installing new parts.
"Consumers have the right to choose which parts to use for repair, as long as the device transparently reflects the repair history and the use of the part does not pose a risk to consumer safety and privacy," Perry said. ”
However, his words are obviously a change of concept, not to mention that Apple's self-repair is not applicable to all devices (IT home note: currently only available for some iPhones and Macs), and** higher than third-party repair shops, and not all regions support it, self-service repair plans obviously have a certain threshold, not applicable to all users at all.