iPhone 11 With iOS 13.1 Warns Users About Third-Party Screen Repairs
Like many large manufacturers, Apple has never been a fan of people repairing its products, especially iPhones, on their own. Whether it's to protect their reputation, cover their legal bases, or simply create another source of revenue, Apple has always discouraged third-party repairs and, worse, non-genuine replacement parts but it can't exactly crack down on those with lawsuits. What it is doing, in this latest case, is to make sure iPhone 11 owners are always reminded they aren't using sanctioned Apple services or parts like screens.
Apple offers warranties and extended warranties for a price but those don't last forever nor are they available everywhere. After those expire, Apple product owners are left to fend for their own, often paying high prices for the peace of mind that an authorized Apple service center is promised to bring. Those prices deter many people, though, and a few authorized personnel aren't exactly credible as reported by some consumers and sites.
In some cases, Apple's side is clearly warranted. One wouldn't want hacked or compromised Face ID components being installed on their iPhones after all. But replacing batteries and even screens are less critical but it might be Apple's good name on the line in those cases. Whatever its reason, the company is now putting very visible and incessant warnings that users won't be able to get rid off if they got their iPhone 11 screen replaced by a third party.
iFixit reports that the newest iPhone 11 will a persistent notifications on the lock screen for the first 4 days, in the settings app for 15 days, and then in the About section of the Settings app informing users and Apple technicians that the phone is using an unverified or non-genuine Apple display. This could then be used by authorized service centers as grounds for refusing to repair the iPhone or charging extra.
This "features", according to the site, is new specifically in iOS 13.1. The slight problem with Apple's implementation is that the warning appears even when using a genuine Apple screen replacement as long as it was done by an unauthorized person without access to Apple's special tools and software. Unsurprisingly, it isn't sitting well with proponents of the "right to repair" movement that affects not just smartphones but even equipment like tractors.