Genius Bar caught ripping customer off ON CAMERA by CBC News

Genius Bar caught ripping customer off ON CAMERA by CBC News
Louis Rossmann
Published on Oct 8, 2018
This Macbook has no backlight due to a common error - pin 1 of the LCD cable is bent. Pin 1 is for the LCD backlight. The board's current sensing circuit on backlight output will notice that pin 1 is touching the connector housing itself, shorted to ground, and not send power through to the circuit. Bending the pin back fixed the problem.

At Apple, this issue would have cost the customer $1200. You might not believe me, which is why we have it all on tape.


ALL CREDIT TO CBC NEWS CANADA: WATCH THE ENTIRE SEGMENT ON THEIR CHANNEL HERE: Segment continues starting @ 11:55

Apple under fire for allegations of controversial business practices
CBC News: The National
Published on Oct 8, 2018
The National goes undercover to investigate some of Apple's controversial business practices including allegations of overpriced repair charges and the battery/slowdown scandal.


Apple quotes customer $1,200 to fix one bent pin on a ribbon cable.
https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/9mlkha/apple_quotes_customer_1200_to_fix_one_bent_pin_on/
https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/duplicates/9mlkha/apple_quotes_customer_1200_to_fix_one_bent_pin_on/

Ryowxyz 1045 points 14 hours ago*
"Back when I had an iPhone 4s, the power button was stuck down and worn out I guess.
Apple quoted me over £500 to fix the flex cable that had the power button.
I went to ifixit for the guide and bought the flex cable off eBay for 0.99 and fixed it my self."
...
joshgelua 10.6k points 18 hours ago*
"I also went to this same exact store for a battery problem for my phone. The guy told me my phone was basically broken beyond repair, and that it would be best to get a new phone replacement.
I went up the street to Mobile clinic like 10 mins away and they did a battery replacement for like, $40 or something. My phone still works and I’m currently using it to type this comment.
Their business practice is disgusting, and I’m glad they’re being called out.
Edit: this is an iPhone 6 bought 4 years ago. Given my experience from Apple I am likely to change my game. Boycott!!!"
...
bobsaget112 3395 points 14 hours ago
"A similar thing happened to me. My wife’s phone completely died near the end of our honeymoon with all our pictures on it. We took it to the apple store and they ran a diagnostic only to tell us her phone cannot be repaired and our only hope of getting it back the photos is to use a forensic recovery service called Drive Savers which is approved by Apple (so that we can then then swap out the phone using Apple care).
We sent the phone to drive savers who quoted us $2000 to recover the photos. I spoke to an “engineer” there who told me the phone is severely damaged, (though he couldn’t elaborate how) which explained the price. I told him that’s way too much. He so “kindly” offered me a payment plan. I told him to **** off and send me the phone back immediately.
When we got the phone back I decided to take it to a independent repair shop who took one look at it and said it’s just a bad charge port. $100 later the phone was working like new again."

 

This is nothing new, and it's not just apple doing it. However, apple are leading the charge in trying to stop third party repair shops.

 

I think the problem is Apple (and others) take a macro approach to repairs versus micro.

Instead of actually diagnosing and fixing hardware problems on a micro scale (in this instance a bent contact), they do a general diagnosis based on a macro approach and replace entire assembly pieces (trackpad/keyboard/battery, entire pcb, entire screen, etc..)

Couple this with the well above average cost per assembly piece Apple charges...

Add a sprinkle of horrific thermals which will potentially shorten the life of your laptop and some desktops...

Introduce a touch of Apple's relentless opposition to anything right to repair based and forcing your device into Apple's repair structure...

Finally, add in Apple's component validation software post repair to get the system to actually boot and run...

and you end up with the predicament above and more as time passes.

Don't get me wrong, for as long as you're in warranty and did not damage your device, the AppleCare+ experience is top notch and probably one of the best I've ever encountered when having various phones, ipads and laptops repaired.

The problem is when you are not within warranty; this then puts your Apple devices in potentially troubled waters after your 2/3 year AppleCare+ expires or you damage your device.

And for many the answer isn't, "buy a new device." If I drop 1000-1500 on a phone, 2000-6000 on a laptop or 2000-15000 on an iMac it better perform for well over 2-3 years and I wouldn't feel comfortable
knowing that anytime I'm excluded from the AppleCare+ window due to expiration of warranty or user damage my system repair costs are outlandish (assuming they are offered even depending on situation).

 

Just remember to sell your device before the apple care goes off it. problem solved. ha ha ha!

 

And here we go again..

 

Every experience and every situation is unique, as cliche as that may sound the fact of the matter is that so many people have apple products between iphones, ipads, macbooks etc. it will be very difficult for a fix all situation. I currently live in California and I re-located to California after living in Ohio for many years. In California (Specifically southern California) it seems as if every other car is a Tesla. I have not see Tesla Ratios this high in any other location granted i don't really travel too much but in the few cities i've been in the ratios are very high.

I don't believe you can get a Tesla serviced anywhere else but at a Tesla certified store ie Genius Bar and we're dealing with an automobile here. So it will definitely be interesting for me to observe and think about what's going to happen because I'm on the cusp of purchasing a Tesla but I do have fears of breakdowns or simple wear and tear down the road.

Regarding apple's polices towards repairs etc. I never really cared here because I always bought a new laptop every 2 years regardless, and just passed on my old laptops to family members or friends. But I can assure you I will not be buying a new a car every 2 years although it would be nice, and I could lease. But I buy every car I own/drive....

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9pow06/louis_rossmann_admits_to_using_parts_from_a/

Think Rossman shot himself and his credibility greatly.

Also looks like that whole repair shop incident at the start was semi-staged.

There are things I disagree with Apple on, but Rossman obviously wasn't fully honest in his own practice, in an attempt to rile the Apple hate train.

 

'Complete control': Apple accused of overpricing, restricting device repairs
'Right to repair' movement fights to put fixes back in hands of consumers
Alex Shprintsen · CBC News · Posted: Oct 21, 2018 4:00 AM ET
https://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational...rpricing-restricting-device-repairs-1.4859099

"Apple often overestimates the cost of repairs to its products and threatens third-party shops who are willing to fix them for a fraction of the price, a CBC News investigation has learned.

Customers who enter an Apple Store with a seemingly minor hardware problem, such as a flickering screen, are often faced with a large bill because they are told they need to replace major parts of the device.

Apple only allows its devices to be repaired by Apple Store technicians or "authorized" service centres in order for them to remain within warranty.

Jason Koebler, who regularly covers Apple as the editor-in-chief of VICE Media's technology and science news site Motherboard, said this is a common problem.

"I've broken my MacBook before and taken it to Apple and they wanted $700 to fix the screen. I ended up doing it myself for $50. This happens all the time," he said.

"There are many third-party people out there who can fix things that Apple won't do because it's not profitable to do it at scale, or Apple would rather replace it altogether. There are a lot of reasons why people wouldn't want to become authorized and work, essentially, for Apple, when they can work for themselves."

Motherboard Editor-In-Chief Jason Koebler said Apple regularly charges high prices for repairs, and many customers would rather turn to third-party providers or repair their devices themselves. (CBC News)

Apple declined to be interviewed for this story, but denied that there is a pattern of overcharging customers for repairs.

...check out the rest of the article on their web site...and the reddit thread:"

'Complete control': Apple accused of overpricing, restricting device repairs
https://www.reddit.com/r/StallmanWa...omplete_control_apple_accused_of_overpricing/

 

I've seen it, but thanks for linking it.

I wouldn't call it a shot at his credibility, but I understand.

edit: I am wrong

 

It is if you're saying one thing in a video and another thing on reddit.

 

Valid point, I retract my comment.

 

US passes landmark decision in ‘right to repair’ movement
You can now legally circumvent firmware to fix your stuff
By Joe Osborne 17 hours ago Laptops
https://www.techradar.com/news/us-passes-landmark-decision-in-right-to-repair-movement

"While today’s phones and laptops are only getting more difficult to physically repair, it’s at least getting easier to legally do so following a new decision by the US Library of Congress and its Copyright Office.

The two bodies have issued new rules that will effectively make it legal for consumers and third parties to circumvent digital rights management (DRM) software or firmware installed in electronics in order to properly repair them. Until now, these protections were exclusively in place for tractor hardware, of all things, but have just been expanded to include a wide variety of consumer electronics, including smartphones and appliances among others.

Electronics makers, most infamously Apple, have developed a reputation over the years for installing DRM software in their products to check whether newly installed parts were done so by company employees or those within official third-party repair programs. Many – if not all – of these programs require a recurring membership fee.

Getting around this software outside of official channels (i.e. hacking), before now, could have implications from violating the company’s end user license agreement (EULA) to legal ramifications for infringing on the company’s copyright protections.

As Motherboard reports, this ruling allows third parties (including individuals) to break DRM rules and circumvent these software or firmware locks specifically for “the maintenance of a device or system … in order to make it work in accordance with its original specifications” or for “the repair of a device or system … to a state of working in accordance with its original specifications.”

‘Right to repair's’ first major win in a larger war
These newly published ‘exemptions’ to the US copyright law are rather broad and apply to a wide range of devices and products, whereas before the only exemption made applied to tractors and farm equipment for similar reasons.

This is the US government’s way of saying that consumers should have the right to repair – get it? – their own electronics without the producers of said products being involved in that process. However, there is much more work to be done to truly satisfy the ‘right to repair’ movement in the US and abroad.

Namely, these rulings don’t make it any easier to bypass these pieces of software and firmware much less to physically replace any parts within. Sadly, these rulings could spur electronics companies to make it even more difficult to get around these software protections as well as to physically make repairs, as there is no legal ruling in the US compelling these companies to make circumventing DRM any easier.

It’s important to note this as a positive move toward consumers having the right to repair their own electronics, but equally important to note – and totally unsurprising – that the US government appears reticent to legally compel corporations to recognize these rights.

Until these government bodies come down on these companies to make getting around their software easier, this war between electronics consumers and the companies that produce them may only grow harder fought before it gets better."

US passes landmark decision in ‘right to repair’ movement
https://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/9rqe2s/us_passes_landmark_decision_in_right_to_repair/

 

CBC News Right to Repair Apple Full Documentary
Luna Santamaría García
Published on Oct 8, 2018
CBC News - The National - In Depth
Recorded from Livestream 08 Oct 2018
ALL CREDIT TO CBC NEWS CANADA: WATCH ON THEIR CHANNEL HERE https://youtu.be/_XneTBhRPYk
The Right to Repair discussion starts @ ~07:43

 

If everyone would stop buying products from these companies, they would listen more. I am done with Apple phones after this one for sure. I’m going to do the mid range android phone and watches. Hopefully lg keeps going with their stylo series at reasonable prices.

 

It looks like Apple needs to do more Genius training...

Apple Genius Bar strikes AGAIN!! STOP DOING THIS TO YOUR CUSTOMERS!!
Louis Rossmann
Published on Sep 1, 2019
Don't believe this? CBC News & Terence McKenna have a similar story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2_SZ...

 

CrApple service strikes again !

 

Yeah Louis Rossmanns' videos are amazing and I don't know why people keep letting Apple getting away with this. But until there are sheep there will be wolves I guess.

 

I think CrApple Genuis *Unplugged* edition sounds more appropriate!

 

Correct !!! There are some people who have to find something to worship, whether it's a sports athlete, Hollywood actor, or some type of celebrity. Apple is in this group. It's the reason why you have mindless people shelling out $5,000-$6500.00 for a laptop so they can take it to their trendiest Starbucks and turn on the white Apple logo so people can look at them with admiration. It's the reason Apple exists today and is making huge tons of money off these types of customers.

MacOS is no better or worse than Windows 10. The iOS/iPadOS is not that much better than Android unless you listen to your average CrApple customer who will tell you otherwise such as iOS has much better and longer support than Android. What they don't tell you is that Android has pretty much the same support as iOS and iPadOS. Apple handles their core app updates via a new software release. Android separates their core apps from the OS updates via the Google Play Store.

Features that are now showing up on iPadOS have been done 6-7 years ago on Android and iOS still has not caught up.

I have Android devices that are more than 5 years old still getting the latest app updates via the store. I'm fine with no new OS release which typically slows down the device which is a problem for Apple. The Apple crowd will tell you that your risking security issues and I say that's outright bunk and FUD. Tell that to the millions who are using outdated iOS or Android devices. I use my older Android devices and not once have I encountered a security issue with regards to banking or fraudulent purchases.

So yes Apple markets itself EXTREMELY well to take advantage of it's gullible customers who believes Apple is looking out for them so they are happy willing to pay the Apple Tax.