He takes the MacBook to Apple for repairs. They immediately claim it’s water damaged and the entire logic board (and, for some reason, the top of the case) need to be replaced at a cost of $1200. When taken to a board repair expert, he spends a few minutes nudging a pin into place, fixing the issue. This kind of practice from Apple has been an open secret for years, but it’s good to see pressure from a news organization on it.
Apple’s been charging people huge repair bills for years, which usually ends up converting someone into just replacing the machine outright. At the same time, they’ve been fighting hard against our right to repair our own machines, exploiting law enforcement or loopholes in copyright laws to interfere with repair shops who fix the machines Apple refuses to. Apple has massive leverage and needs to be checked through legislation. Luckily there are many Right-to-Repair bills being proposed in state legislatures, and if even only one or two pass, they would force companies like Apple to provide resources to these shops. And while Apple is a huge offender, they’re not alone, as more companies emulate their model and lock down their devices in order to sell you new products when yours become prematurely obsolete.
Consider supporting one of these Right to Repair bills in your state or country.