Using Apple’s Tools to Fix My iPhone 

I work at an Apple-"authorized" shop. The reason it goes back to diagnostics mode after System Configuration is you're supposed to then run the Post-Repair Diagnostic to ensure everything works. I'm surprised to see they skipped that here. Perhaps it's to save time in the phone call?

Great overview. Yeah that end part is definitely something we could do on our own.

Been a Apple employee, who repairs phones in the apple stores, those are the same tools we use, the heating element you didn’t use correctly, you have to continue to cut the adhesive and heat till the screen separates within the heating machine. Makes removing the display much easier.

I work at Geek Squad, and we're apple certified. This is every tool we use, and the guides. People wonder why it takes us like an hour(sometimes less, sometimes more), well now you know why! All of these arbitrary tools and steps.

That's a lot of packaging coming from a company that's saving the environment every 5 minutes.

Kinda wondering if they actually give you an extra set of adhesive, or if it's just because you ordered parts for two separate repairs. Does seem like it would be helpful to have the spare in there though.

As someone who had to do 9 of these just today (work @ an apple store) feel my pain with the adhesives, our poor hands cryjj, also never put pressure on the back of the display, cup it from the edges and push the suction cups onto the display, thats how they have us do it. Also you were right, the diagnostics mode is totally separate, it's so we can run diagnostics and never risk accessing customer data, its pretty cool.

This video was way more interesting and watchable than I thought it would be. Apple overkills on everything, but these iPhone are really works of art. That said, the repair program is no good and overcomplicated. Appreciate your taking the time to walk through the whole process.

This very much seems like a legal box checking exercise. I’d love to see the actual number of non-content creators opting for this.

Worked for Geek Squad when they started doing Apple repairs. Same exact process and tools. Opening the device was easiest part of iPhone repairs. Dealing with Apple's systems were a nightmare. Glad everyone gets to see the process.

Fun fact about these “screw holders” Yes, they are doing exact same thing in the Apple Store. This is for technicians so they don’t have to worry about screwing too long screw and it’s just faster. This is very clever in my opinion.

I need to show this to all my clients to indicate how "fun" iPhone 12-13 repair is. "Why does a screen repair take so long?" #1 questions of my client's. Also note, this repair looked like it was a pretty smooth one. I've had repairs on these generations of phones where the adhesive took hours to remove.

I believe this is what is called "malicious compliance" lol. Apple clearly didn't want to make a repair program.

So I was a genius and repairing in the room. The parts are basically the same as our repairs. The tools are the same the stand is the same everything. Diagnostic mode is something we need to trigger to confirm the repair and the display is correct. This very much the process in the Genius Room to fix a screen or battery. Hope people understand why repair take up to an hour.

As an apple tech, you need to move fast when it’s done heating. Due to apples built in passive cooling and the heat conduction of the aluminum sides, it cools down almost instantly. You need to go lightning mode moment the heating is done or it won’t help.

Awesome; really struggled with a lot of the other tutorials on the net until I came across yours; it was super easy. Thanks a lot mate.

It’d be funny to crack open those tools but I don’t want you suffering whatever consequences come with it. Also everyone else has hit it on the head but the fact that this is such a complex task clearly shows Apple is only doing this to save face on RtR movements and this is very counterproductive to their “environmental” footprint. And no need to mention these aren’t well designed for repair without these massive tools

19:35 "It makes Apple feel like they care and they love me! Which they don't."

Fascinating, I tempered my judgment while watching as we all know the years of frustration with repairs - this is definitely better than nothing. And the call center authentication step feels quite surreal (not necessarily in a good way). I guess nothing has changed in the process, it’s just now we’re able to do it. If anything I even more appreciate the struggles 3rd party repair shops go through.

It's a spudger. Been using them for decades. They're a must have for all kinds of things. I have a variety of them at my desk.

Ok, this was very interesting, a few take on the video 1 Those tools are definitely not meant to make the repair easier or faster but more consistent and as someone who actually repairs computers and phones for a living it makes a lot of sense, yes I could do a screen and battery replacement faster and with less tools needed but if I had a big company and my goal is to do a lot of those and I can't supervise everyone all the time those tools can ensure a level of quality with almost no additional training needed, specially that press, it is really neat. 2 This move clearly is just because they are fored to do it, the tools are cool an all but this in no way is beneficial to the end user, seein this you would be better of taking it to the apple store (and I'm sure thats what apple wants) since the price is basically the same and depending on location it might even be faster, so I dont expect this program to get any better, they'll do the bare minimun every single time 3 the part where you have to call them is STUPID, yes I know they probably do it to make counterfeit harder but still is stupid 4 So bottom line for a repair shop specialized on iphones those tool could come in a bit handy for for self repair at home this changes absolutely nothing

It would be super interesting to order this repair, yet install a 3rd party display or battery instead to see if you can pair them to the phone through apples diagnostic…

I enjoyed watching you go through the whole process, Quinn! This whole process seems ridiculously cumbersome, especially for individuals fixing their own phones. That process of serializing the new parts with the phone at the end is just weird. That phone call could easily be an online form or something similar that the user could fill out on their own. The fact that it needs to be a LIVE person on the other end…Apple clearly wants to exact as much control over this whole process as possible, even though you paid for the equipment and parts, and you know for certain that the parts are genuine.

Man, I enjoyed watching this video, thank you SnazzyQ 👍

1:40 they should bring this breakthrough technology to their studio display!

I remember when Blackberry had removable batteries and also expanded battery packs to get more usage time if you didn't mind the extra "bump" on the back. Good times.

This is the video that needed to be done! Im so glad! I personally prefer to just take it to an apple store, and have them deal with the replacement. After seeing the video, im even more sure on never ever doing these types of repairs on my own.

Wera is a local company of my city in Germany. Nice to see that products designed(and manufactured I guess) here have such a good reputation in the world :)

I'd like to see a "race" between you and a person following an ifixit tutorial. I feel that that display suction cup thing isn't really the most efficient thing, everything seems quite over-complicated. I'm not a repair technician but I've repaired plenty of phones, from iphones to crappy $90 Huaweis lol. Friends love me That 90° holder with suction cups is pretty neat tho. Waiting for a 3d-printed model haha And I agree, that press is neat And definitely open these if you feel like you can deal with the consequences lol. I'm interested!

The laughs with the iMac power cable… my same reaction when I set our store’s heated display removal tool up 1.5 years ago, lol. Looks so goofy, then just had to remind myself it’s Apple.

so far, this is best video on the topic that I have seen, good job!

Cool video! That Display press was probably the best tool yet & we're finally getting somewhere albeit in a really zig zaggy way

After watching this video it seems clear to me that Apple has designed their whole repair equipment and process to seem intimidating and tiresome to discourage people from using it.

The same could be said about the tools in the automotive dealer service departments. The engineers design a specialized tool for everything. In reality your general mechanic uses generic tools that can be used in a broad set of scenarios and make/models of vehicles. The job may not be done to factory standards, but the end result is close to the same.

Thanks for fixing the audio! And also thanks for the content!!

This was awesome to see. Thank you, Sir.

2:32 Btw, those are Wera ESD safe electronics screwdrivers. In contrast to the normal Wera electronics screwdrivers, these are twice as expensive

Today I replaced the battery on my four year old Poco F1. All I used was a screwdriver. Used two heads. A T4 and a Phillips. And guess what. It can even run windows 11(smoothly).

Great Performance! Thank you 🙏

Quality of these tools and these replacement parts look insane I have to say

This is the Apple SSR video I was waiting for.

Love how the office has come together!

This video really showed every steps 😃

I think the reason they gave you 2 adhesive strips is because one was included with the display and the other was included with the battery as the seal has to be broken in either of the cases And that’s also why you got 2 sets of bottom screws

You obviously know that Apple wants to make the repair process SO COMPLICATED that people are demotivated to fix it themselves and to consider taking their device to Apple. It can be way easier than it actually is

Thank you for this video! I've personally replaced the battery in my iPhone 5S and original SE, and now when it's time to replace a battery in my 12mini I'm going to let Apple do it. That $70 is cheap compared to the possibility of breaking the screen while attempting this myself.

Been a technician for a truck and bus repair workshop some years ago. Some OEM's implemented parts registration/verification after installing it. Otherwise, it would display a warning on the dash. Separate ECU for the transmission which needed to be programmed to work.

Clearly they don't really intend for anyone to use this service. I'm going out on a limb and assume that they're going to argue that no one uses this service is a reason why right to repair is bad in general. Nonetheless I think it's pretty cool that they make these tools available for renting and even purchasing. Some of it looks like a pretty good investment for repair shops or maker spaces. As an end user I wouldn't think of using this, not just because the price difference is not enough for taking on the risk, but also because shipping 100 pounds of equipment across the country is a disaster from an environmental standpoint.

That was a very valuable walk through and review. To me, “right to repair” should be defined as: “repair services should be substantially cheaper than the new product”, i.e. Apple and competition should provide repair at their service centers at a fraction of the cost of a new device. This would give the incentive to keep things alive as long as possible and this protect the environment and customers pockets. I would not request to always be able to do this myself. I have repaired a lot of my things in the past. It is fun and satisfying to take care of your computers and own bikes, even though the latter requires a substantial investment in tools as well. I started doing all of my bike stuff when the dealer told me that an oily disc brake requires a complete replacement at a cost almost equal to half the bike’s original price. It does not - just a careful deep cleaning. But I am not ready to start dealing with all these adhesives. I can see that the screen needs some form of glueing to the back to be water tight and also because of its thinness. Otherwise the frame would have to be on top and push down the edges with some rubber seal behind. And in addition to a not so elegant bezel, that might create too much bending stresses. But the battery could be clamped in, as it was done in the windows phones. So happy that none of my iOS devices required a repair yet.

I was super interested to see how this would show up in GSX (Apple repair system), as I have yet to see one of these done. There was actually a formal repair created with the listed issue as "Self Service Repair | Self Service Repair Issue."

Great Video! I don't even have an iphone, and I don't know why I watched the entire video, but still, really cool!

I bet if you installed "non-genuine" parts but gave them genuine serial numbers, they would still get rid of the "non-genuine" warnings.

I'd love to see a video on disassembling these tools and the consequences.

Some of your best content to date right here.

Thank you for the review, really appreciate it.

the call with Apple was the most insane part to me. the way she can fully control your phone and run diagnostics remotely

All of this equipment is probably great for quickly and consistently doing hundreds of screen replacements, specially in parallel, but for your average consumer this is sooo complicated and overengineered, it's 2 PELICAN CASES for a screen replacement.

This was really interesting. And nice Grand Seiko 👍

I work for apple and repair iPhones & this was extremely fun and nail biting to watch 🤓

The last part of the repair disturbed me. They could have bricked your phone if they wanted too. I can only conclude you do not own your iphone, Apple does.They merely allow its use for some reason, that may or may not be nefarious. Who is to say?

Make sure not to press on the new oled screen, just apply a little pressure at the edges of the screen

I loved your Grand Seiko snow flake! Great watch!

I am pretty impressed by the display removal machine. I like it.

Been a while since I’ve watched a 30+ minute long RU-vid video. Apple could just make a simple website link to address the battery and screen legitimacy like what google does to reactivate the under display finger print sensor in the pixel phones when you do a screen repair. Would at least cut down on the weirdness

I work on an Apple Authorized Service Provider in Mexico and we use the exact same tools, and they charge us for every single one without asking. We have to have them all to be able to offer repairs for any single device model. And normally they change for every model. They have made them more modular in the last years, like the trays and the press, but normally we have a lot of those laying around with no use. When I saw the self repair kit I though it was a joke. It's really overkill for a normal user to use all of this and learn all this technical stuff just for a battery swap. As you said, they do it because they have to, but it seem like they make it harder and more expensive so you would prefer to take it to the store.

Yup…when we did Genius Bar repairs in store we went through each step of this process while telling the customer to lunch/dinner or come back when convenient for pickup.

I just watched the whole video.... I must be a nerd.... or your video is really great and entertaining... or both. Keep it up! 🙂

so quinn does a full repair with all apple parts including the tools, and the phone still says "we can't verify that these new parts are genuine" and you have to call a support person to reboot your phone 5 times just for faceid to work... what a joke, apple

1:28 I actually have to agree with Apple on that one, why buy genaric cables when you manufacture one needlessly?

That Grand Seiko looks beautiful :)

This video was great. Thanks for taking us through the whole process. 1 question: Do you think "regular people" would be able to handle this repair on their own? Or should they just go through Apple or an independent repair shop if they don't have a lot of technical knowhow?

I'm really of two minds on this. On the one hand I do feel like this is Apple trying to sandbag the process. However, I also understand Apple's desire that a first party repair should be as perfect as possible. And a large part of that is taking the user variability out of it. For example, I think that the battery press is just as justified as a torque screwdriver. If you know how much force needs to be applied to fully activate the adhesive, how do you communicate that to a user? Not only that, but, how do you ensure that every user applies the adequate force without applying too much. That press is a key part of something called process reliability.

Great video. Every-time I see the iphone opened I am reminded that they are designed to be easy to maintain and only by Apple. Comparing this old phones we could have a removable back cover and there would be no need fffor replacing the display assembly for changing something that is by law a a disposable item.

Very interesting. Thank you

That was fun to watch. Thankfully it only took one try. (:

Why, you would almost think that they intentionally made the process comedically absurd in order to deter people from using it.

Checkout lock picking lawyers video on removing security seals - intact

This is so funny. Awesome review- *subscribed*

Really cool to see the procedure 👍 regarding the calling Apple part to make genuine part genuine….

I fixed iPhones, iPads, macbooks/iMacs/Mac Minis etc. for a few years. The process is way simpler than Apple makes it with these tools. You can easily get an iPhone screen off with a hardware store heat-gun in about 5 minutes, not the 10+ it appeared to take you here. The molds clearly make things more difficult as well; if you ditched them you can manipulate the phone a whole lot easier. The part with the roller going over the battery to adhere it to the adhesive was hilariously over complicated -- classic Apple. As Aarav Chawla put it, Apple is clearly trying to demotivate the general public from trying to fix it themselves. This is clearly is not anything close to right-to-repair, and anyone suggesting it is is basically slapping 3rd party repair stores in the face.

Great video also Nice Grand Seiko

These new videos have a more natural flow to them. Keep it up.

Diagnostic mode can be accessed anytime. When the phone is off, plug it into power, hold volume up and volume down at the same time. Continue holding until you see the Apple Logo. Once you see the Apple logo, release the volume buttons. This mode exists so that repair technicians can verify that your device is functioning properly without invading a customer's privacy within the OS. This is why Apple stores don't ask for passcodes when servicing your device. All about privacy.

And my viewers think a Whitestone Dome Glass install is too complicated.

YOOOO that intro slaps!

Great overview, thanks Quinn. So if you say, also had a 12 Pro to repair, do they send you 2 trays, 1 for the mini and another for the larger Pro?

Despite loathing apple. this is genuinely amazing. The devices are honestly so funny. The heat press suck thing with the LCD screen is so overkill and it makes me laugh. They could've just put an LED that blinks slowly when powered, blinks rapidly while heating or whatever, and then was just steady for 15 minutes. Anyway, great video. I really love the end screen, that's very cool.

I think the double adhesive and double screws are because you are technically performing 2 repairs, a screen replacement and a battery replacement, and I assume each kit comes with it's own screws and adhesive.

Keeping these tools around for disassembling iPhones and the like might really put the LAB into Snazzy Labs

Just noticed Quinn's wearing Silver Cup merch! Love your siblings music!!

I disagree with Snazzy's take, they DON'T have to they absolutely WANT to make the repairability process complicated. The apparatuses they sent are unnecessary, the average customer won't know what to do with them and repair shops have their own devices that work. As was obvious to see the pairing of components not related to the actual repair (remember this was a screen repair but FaceID didn't work and the battery stopped reporting in settings), even though Snazzy used genuine parts sent by Apple. The wait time for the apparatuses and replacement parts to be delivered is bad if you only have one phone and that's the one needing repair. The cost is also not viable for average consumers, this was intentionally designed to discourage repair. Finally, let's not forget Apple claimed going green by removing accessories from the phone (without lowering the price), yet look at all the waste that was sent. None of this was necessary, the entire repair process is complicated because Apple intended it to be that way. Another case and point, none of Apple's devices are waterproof they are water resistant so using the super glue that they use is unnecessary. There is so much wrong with Apple and it was on display here. But still Snazzy and others will defend Apple and their practices. What a waste.

Thanks for suffering this process for the rest of Us! I've a few screen and battery repairs on various iOS devices and didn't have these special tools. Still doable, but janky. All worked out though. You can get the job done with some less fancy tools, but I guess this is the "Proper" way of doing it. Honestly, this is Apple in a roundabout way discouraging people from wanting to do it, but also, to possibly gain public support for their anti self repair stance. I will however give Apple credit for starting this Program.

Great video Quinn

its fun watching this after I just replaced a screen on a phone for the first time ever earlier today and seeing everything I did wrong

I don’t understand how they can stock enough of those tools to dole out for what I know is a such a common repair thing. Maybe they’re hedging it by the fact that they only services the newest iPhone models. Bizarre!

It is there so Apple can say their phones are repairable and eco-friendly while giving the potential customer that they need to use the big scary tools whilst it should be repairable without most of those tools

That’s like the most amazing Video on RU-vid in a long time. Where can I buy this device?

I hope you have a video showing the tools taken apart

I can’t wait for the pro version of this, or better yet, the air. 😂

Great Video! From a repair perspective it’s hard to believe how much effort they put into making this as complicated as they can. The call at the end is really just a job creation measure for me! Oh and please, open the tools! :D