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      MacBooks, Chromebooks lead losers in laptop repairability analysis

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 7 February - 23:14 · 1 minute

    A stack of broken Chromebook laptops

    Enlarge / A stack of broken Chromebook laptops at Cell Mechanic Inc. electronics repair shop in Westbury, New York, U.S., on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. (credit: Getty )

    Chromebooks and MacBooks are among the least repairable laptops around, according to an analysis that consumer advocacy group US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) shared this week. Apple and Google have long been criticized for selling devices that are deemed harder to repair than others. Worse, PIRG believes that the two companies are failing to make laptops easier to take apart and fix.

    The "Failing the Fix (2024)" report released this week [ PDF ] is largely based on the repairability index scores required of laptops and some other electronics sold in France. However, the PIRG’s report weighs disassembly scores more than the other categories in France's index, like the availability and affordability of spare parts, “because we think this better reflects what consumers think a repairability score indicates and because the other categories can be country specific,” the report says.

    PIRG's scores, like France’s repair index, also factor in the availability of repair documents and product-specific criteria (the PIRG’s report also looks at phones). For laptops, that criteria includes providing updates and the ability to reset software and firmware.

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      You can now access Apple’s official diagnostics tool online for DIY repairs

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 13 December - 23:20

    The front of the iPhone 15 Plus, with the Dynamic Island

    Enlarge / The iPhone 15 is part of Apple's self-repair program now. (credit: Samuel Axon)

    Apple today expanded the Self Service Repair program it launched in April to include access to Apple's diagnostics tool online and the iPhone 15 series and M2 Macs.

    The online tool, Apple said in today's announcement, provides "the same ability as Apple Authorized Service Providers and Independent Repair Providers to test devices for optimal part functionality and performance, as well as identify which parts may need repair." The troubleshooting tool is only available in the US and will hit Europe in 2024, according to Apple.

    Upon visiting the tool's website, you'll be prompted to put your device in diagnostic mode before entering the device's serial number. Then, you'll have access to a diagnostic suite, including things like a mobile resource inspector for checking software and validating components' presence, testing for audio output and "display pixel anomalies," and tests for cameras and Face ID.

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      Google extends Chromebook support from 8 years to 10 after heightened backlash

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 14 September, 2023 - 20:52

    Close-up of the corner of a Chromebook

    Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg/Getty )

    Google announced today that it's extending Chromebooks' automatic update support from 8 years to 10 years for devices released from 2019 and later. The move follows increasing criticism from consumers, schools, and advocacy groups around the many Chromebooks in use and on sale with looming death dates.

    "All Chromebook platforms will now get regular automatic updates for 10 years," Google's blog post says. Numerous Chromebooks released in 2019 were about to expire next year. Now, no Chromebooks should be expiring within the next two years.

    Google's blog continues:

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      Hell freezes over as Apple supports right-to-repair bill

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 24 August, 2023 - 18:32

    Repairing an M1 MacBook

    Enlarge / Repairing an M1 MacBook. (credit: Apple )

    Somewhere, ol' Beelzebub is putting on his thickest coat, because Apple has endorsed a right-to-repair bill, suggesting hell has frozen over. In a letter dated August 22, Apple showed its support for California's right-to-repair bill, SB 244 , after spending years combatting DIY repair efforts.

    As reported by TechCrunch , the letter, written to California state Senator Susan Eggman, declared that Apple supports SB 244 and urged the legislature to pass it.

    The bill requires vendors of consumer electronics and appliances to make sufficient documentation, parts, and tools for repairs available to customers and independent repair shops. The big exceptions are video game consoles and alarm systems.

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      “Absurd”: Google, Amazon rebuked over unsupported Chromebooks still for sale

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 4 August, 2023 - 21:14

    “Absurd”: Google, Amazon rebuked over unsupported Chromebooks still for sale

    Enlarge (credit: Getty )

    Google resisted pleas to extend the lifetime of Chromebooks set to expire as of this June and throughout the summer. Thirteen Chromebook models have met their death date since June 1 and won't receive security updates or new features from Google anymore. But that hasn't stopped the Chromebooks from being listed for sale on sites like Amazon for the same prices as before.

    Take the Asus Chromebook Flip C302. It came out in 2018, and on June 1—about five years later—it reached its automatic update expiration (AUE) date. But right now, you can buy a "new," unused Flip C302 for $550 from Amazon or $820 via Walmart's Marketplace (providing links for illustrative purposes; please don't buy these unsupported laptops).

    That's just one of eight Chromebooks that expired since June while still being readily available on Amazon. The listings don't notify shoppers that the devices won't receive updates from Google. The US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) pointed this out in a press release Wednesday, sharing screenshots of the models:

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      Microsoft keeps pushing toward repairability, now with Xbox controller parts

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 1 August, 2023 - 15:35 · 1 minute

    Still from Microsoft's repair video for Xbox Elite Series 2 controller

    Enlarge / Microsoft does not currently sell an Xbox-branded repair tray with dozens of perfect little slots for screws and components. But there's nothing stopping them from doing so, I might suggest. (credit: Microsoft/YouTube)

    If you're the type of person who hates the idea of giving Microsoft another $65 for a new controller (or more than $100 for an Elite Series 2) because you know there's just one part broken, Microsoft has a store for you. It's small, but it's something.

    Direct from Microsoft, you can now buy a half-dozen Xbox repair and replacement parts for both the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 and the standard Xbox Wireless Controller. Each controller has top cases and button replacement sets in black and white, plus the two inner circuit boards that provide charging, input, vibration, and, of course, sockets with new potentiometers installed to fix stick drift.

    Parts on their own aren't that helpful to most of us, though, so Microsoft is also providing written and video guides . The videos are essentially full teardowns of each controller. The Elite Series 2 requires a plastic pry tool (aka spudger), a T6 and T8 screwdriver, and tweezers. The videos are helpful and aimed at all skill levels. "Always push away from yourself when using pry tools, so if you slip you won't harm yourself" is advice I have refused to accept a number of times.

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      Man open-sources the self-repairable AirPods Pro case that Apple won’t make

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 26 July, 2023 - 19:19

    Consumer tech has faced scrutiny over the years around "planned obsolescence": making devices so difficult to repair that shoppers have to buy new products and toss devices sooner than they'd like. Now, one do-it-yourself-er is on a mission to prove that it doesn't have to be this way. And he's starting with the (original) Apple AirPods Pro.

    Ken Pillonel is no stranger to tweaking popular designs in the name of user convenience and sensibility. We've covered other projects of his, like a $38 part for making the AirPods Pro case self-serviceable and support USB-C, and adding Apple's Lightning port to a Samsung Galaxy A51 . He has also modded the iPhone to use USB-C .

    Today, the technologist revealed his latest concoction: an AirPods Pro case with a user-replaceable battery, USB-C port, and open source designs.

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      Logitech taps iFixit to sell mouse parts for DIY repairs

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 17 May, 2023 - 17:35

    Logitech MX Master 3's feet being pried off

    Enlarge (credit: iFixit )

    Logitech has joined the likes of Google and Samsung in tagging iFixit to help build a self-repair program. iFixit will sell spare parts for Logitech's MX Master and MX Anywhere series of mice and provide relevant repair guides in the US this summer.

    The iFixit Logitech Repair Hub will stock parts for what iFixit said in its announcement today are the most common repair needs, namely for replacing the mice's feet and rechargeable battery and opening the device.

    "Once in store, the replacement parts for feet and batteries will be available for purchase individually or in our complete-solution Fix Kits," iFixit said, noting that the kits include tools like opening picks and a screwdriver handle and bits.

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      As smartphone upgrades plummeted, used iPhones sold like hotcakes

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 26 April, 2023 - 16:17

    Woman repairing mobile phone at home, changing damaged part.

    Enlarge (credit: Getty )

    Selling a new smartphone is the hardest it has been in years. Rising device costs, limited differences between model upgrades, and economic and environment-related desires to keep electronics alive as long as possible are making people turn to refurbished phones, data shared this week by analyst Counterpoint found. And if someone is buying a refurbished phone, there's a good chance it's an iPhone.

    According to Counterpoint, Apple represented 49 percent of refurbished phones sold worldwide in 2022. The number of refurbished iPhones sold increased 16 percent year-over-year, with the overall used smartphone market growing 5 percent year-over-year, Counterpoint said. The numbers would be even higher, but a reported 17 percent drop in refurbished smartphone sales in China—driven, the firm said, by an increase in COVID-19 cases and related policies—was detrimental.

    By Counterpoint's measures, Apple grew its market share here from 44 percent in 2021 to 49 percent. Samsung is the biggest competitor, but it lost market share.

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