Apple extends its self-repair service to European countries

After successfully launching Apple Self-Service Repair earlier this year, the tech giant will now be extending this service to Apple customers in eight European countries. 

As of today, customers in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and Spain can purchase genuine Apple parts and tools to fix their own devices at home. 

Rather than visiting an Apple store, iPhone 12 and 13 users, and some Macbook owners will now be able to buy official parts and tools online and watch online tutorials for some repairs. 

The repair kits will include access to repair manuals and over 200 parts and tools. The parts are the same ones as those available to Apple’s network of authorized repair providers. 

When making the announcement, Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer said:  “We believe the best technology for our customers and for the planet is a technology that lasts, which is why we design our products to be durable and rarely require maintenance or repair. 

But when a repair is needed, we want customers to have many options for safe, reliable, and secure repair. That’s why we’re excited to launch Self Service Repair in Europe, giving our customers direct access to genuine Apple parts, tools, and manuals.”

In recent years, Apple has nearly doubled the number of independent repair providers, and now has a global network that supports over 100,000 technicians. 

However, the US self-repair service was originally launched in 2021 after pressure from campaigners, who argued that needing to visit an Apple-approved store for repairs made the process more expensive for users and hurt independent tech shops. 

Since its introduction, the US service has faced some criticism over how difficult it is for the average customer to fix their device. Furthermore, if the repair goes wrong, the customer is no longer covered by any existing warranty. Apple maintains that only those who are “comfortable” with carrying out their own repairs should attempt it.