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Apple vs. the Right To Repair (bloombergview.com)

Posted by timothy on from the but-it's-intuitive dept.

retroworks writes: Bloomberg columnist Adam Minter takes on Apple's "Error 53 Code" and the precedents being challenged by the Right To Repair movement. Apple claims that bricking the phone if it's repaired by a non-Apple certified repair shop protects you from tampering with, say, the fingerprint scanner. But the column documents how the number of "certified" repair shops is under attack. If you can't open it, do you really own it?

12 of 381 comments (clear)

  1. It really is about security, not repair by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But then again, anyone could have told you that including biometric security on a smartphone was just inviting this kind of hardware signing.

    Where outside of China are you going to find the components and the equipment to repair any of these electronics, anyway? Everything's microsoldered to a circuit board the size of a credit card, and the tiniest slip of your all-too-human hands and you've ruined a trace on a different circuit.

    1. Re:It really is about security, not repair by mrex · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you could replace the touch ID sensor with any old thing, then they'd publish about "SECURITY FLAWS IN TOUCH ID ARCHITECTURE DISCOVERED" instead.

    2. Re:It really is about security, not repair by mrchaotica · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It shouldn't even matter! The CPU should be doing the authentication anyway, with the sensor simply sending the bitmap (or whatever) to it. Having the sensor be a "trusted" part of the authentication system is just as stupid as requiring a "trusted" keyboard for putting in passwords would be.*

      (* Yeah, yeah, keyloggers -- but don't even try arguing that angle, because anybody who cared about that wouldn't have chosen to have their phone repaired with un-vetted parts in the first place.)

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    3. Re:It really is about security, not repair by sjames · · Score: 4, Insightful

      OTOH, instead of locking up the whole phone, they could just have it refuse to accept the fingerprint ID and let you continue to use other authentication methods.

    4. Re:It really is about security, not repair by Maritz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Plus as I understand it, PIN entry is required for setting up TouchID, which strongly suggests that falling back to PIN when TouchID has a problem would be completely reasonable. Apple obviously disagree and instead prefer to brick the phone, whether that is a commendable position in terms of security or a cynical way of selling another phone depends on what you think about Apple I suppose. Personally I'd say it's overzealous...

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    5. Re:It really is about security, not repair by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But since it doesn't throw the error when the repair is done but months later when an update is applied kinda makes all of this pointless. I could swap the sensor and access all the data I want the way it works now if I was trying to do so and this "security" measure would not stop me since it doesn't kick in at the time of the swap out. The way it stands now its really only enforcing "apple only" repairs and not any form of security.

  2. Popup by bondsbw · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Would you like to use this new fingerprint scanner? [Yes] [No]"

    Yes -> "Please enter your password."

    See that wasn't so hard.

    --
    All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
  3. Property by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Property for peasants is so last century.
    Welcome to the 21st century, where property is only for corporations, copyright is eternal and everything is under license.

  4. Your government is untrusted with your data. by tlambert · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Your government is untrusted with your data.

    But escaping that is "fashionably trendy".

    Got it.

  5. Re:If I can't fix the FPU in my Pentium III... by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Are there any tamper-proofing features in the P3 that would prevent you from doing this? Or is your inability simply due to your not having the right tools, not that anyone does?

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. Separate issues by sjbe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Where outside of China are you going to find the components and the equipment to repair any of these electronics, anyway?

    Umm, you can buy things from China. If you need proof of this please visit your local Walmart.

    Everything's microsoldered to a circuit board the size of a credit card, and the tiniest slip of your all-too-human hands and you've ruined a trace on a different circuit.

    The practicality of actually doing a repair or modification is not relevant to whether or not one should have the right to attempt the repair or modification. Those are separate issues.

  7. Fixed a mistake in the article by Khashishi · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How can I avoid Error 53?
    Don't buy Apple