Apple recently announced two new measures related to iPhone repair parts, aimed at reducing carbon emissions and preventing thieves from using parts on stolen iPhones. One of the measures allows users to use used components to repair iPhones that are out of warranty. This will take effect this fall and will be useful to help people be more conscious of preserving old components, thereby helping to reduce electronic waste. However, it will not apply to new iPhones that are still under warranty.
The second measure is aimed at preventing thieves from selling stolen iPhone components. When an iPhone is stolen, users can block access to the device, but thieves can still disassemble the components in the device to sell them in parts. To avoid this, Apple will add a feature called activation blocking, which means that stolen iPhone components cannot be used on other devices. As a result, even if the component is original and the iPhone they are about to be installed on is also original, they are disabled. These components will become useless as soon as the iPhone that owns them is marked as lost. This lock will be placed with the rest of the iPhone when marked as lost.
Apple’s efforts to improve the anti-theft system will not stop thieves from committing theft, but it will more or less give them less reason to steal. If your iPhone has been repaired, a new “Parts and service history” section will appear in the Settings app > General > About. It will display information about whether the components used in the repair process are genuinely new or used. Currently, the iPhone repair price remains the same, and Apple has not announced a price policy when using old components.