- With the iOS 18 update, Apple is making it easier to repair your own iPhone, without the headache.
- The "Repair Assistant" feature will recognize genuine iPhone parts, allowing them to function properly.
Apple is finally allowing customers to repair or replace parts in their iPhones without (as much) of a headache.
In its iOS 18 update — rolling out on September 16 — the tech giant is introducing a feature called "Repair Assistant" to its iPhones, MacRumors first reported, citing screenshots shared on social media.
The new feature, which Apple first announced in April, will run through a calibration process to authenticate genuine new or used iPhone parts users have installed on their own. Previously, when a user replaced one of the parts inside their iPhone, the device would often refuse to recognize it and even stop performing essential functions related to the part that was repaired, according to The Verge.
But now, your iPhone will recognize the repaired part and function as it's supposed to.
"The process of confirming whether or not a repair part is genuine and gathering information about the part — often referred to as 'pairing' — is critical to preserving the privacy, security, and safety of iPhone," Apple wrote in a press release in April when it first announced the new feature.
Apple said at the time that the feature would be available starting in the fall, but didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Apple is also making device repairs easier by no longer requiring the device's serial number in some cases, adding a section of settings that shows users the history of their device's parts and repairs, and introducing a new anti-theft feature that will block the repair if the new part was from a phone that had been reported lost or stolen.
For years, Apple users have fought for the right to repair their own devices, while the tech giant lobbied against it. A trade group representing the company had argued that users shouldn't be able to access sensitive diagnostic information and software because it would jeopardize the safety of their devices and put them at risk for fraud and data theft.
But consumers' rights groups have been gaining ground recently.
In 2021, after President Joe Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FTC to tamp down on companies' efforts to block users' right to repair, Apple introduced a "Self Service Repair" program. And by 2023, Apple itself was endorsing California's "Right to Repair Act," which aimed to "prohibit intentional barriers and limitations to third-party repair."
The dispute over the right to repair goes back to Apple's earliest beginnings, when cofounder Steve Wozniak wanted users to be able to access the products' internal systems, while Steve Jobs did not.
Wozniak has stood by that position, saying in 2021, "It's time to recognize the right to repair more fully."