Photo by Russ Hendricks of ToolsAreHome.com
Apple Confirms That the T2 Chip Limits Mac Repairs
A leaked Apple internal document indicates that new Macs equipped with the T2 chip could be rendered inoperable after repair unless the technician runs a special Apple utility distributed only to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers. Apple has now confirmed this fact with The Verge. While Apple was vague about which repairs would require that proprietary software, the leaked document specifies that it applies to the display assembly, logic board, top case, and Touch ID board in the MacBook Pro, and the logic board and flash storage on the iMac Pro. The new MacBook Air and Mac mini are also undoubtedly affected. This requirement is ostensibly a security measure, but it can also be seen as Apple throwing another obstacle in front of DIY repairers and independent repair shops and refurbishers (see “Amazon Kicks Out Unauthorized Apple Refurbishers,” 12 November 2018).
Insert cursewords here.
I’m about to need a third motherboard replacement for my late-2011 miserable graphics-inflicted MBP. Apple’s repair lasted four months, just past their repair warranty. At least the third party guys offer a six-month warranty. And I don’t think Apple is ever going to fix the problem so all I can get is board swap band-aids.
Is there any MBP later than December 2012 (supposedly the end of the obscenity-deleted gaphics chip problem) – anything user-repairable anyone can recommend?
Obviously I don’t want a new Apple product. I had a 540c “Blackbird” and a Lombard and a Pismo, all of which required repeated AppleCare vacations and were eventually fixed by third party repair shops that were capable of identifying problems Apple never could.