iPhone independent repair gets "glitchy" in iOS 18 RC previews
Apple claims to have replaced its dreaded Important Messages with the new Parts and Service History menu in the latest iOS 18 RC build, the first rated to make third-party repairs easier by allowing the user to remove the "software locks" on some one-to-one replacement parts once installed in their handset.
It was found to work in a new Phone Repair Guru post, allowing the vlogger to swap some parts between 2 units of the 15 Pro Max - unless it encountered Apple's new Activation Lock instead, another iOS 18 feature intended to make it harder to strip a stolen iPhone for parts and sell them by locking those very components to the iCloud account of the original owner.
Accordingly, it might negate the new ability to configure genuine replacement parts to work in an iPhone - however, it was also occasionally subject to "glitches" in Phone Repair Guru's new video.
In addition, it seems that some small, yet potentially important, components such as the LiDAR scanner for the 15 Pro Max' rear cameras are still resistant to calibration, as is the Flood Illuminator essential for Face ID, as also reported by electronics repair group iPad Rehab.
Furthermore, the use of iOS 18's new Repair Assistant is contingent on accepting an agreement to send all of an iPhone's identifying data to Apple in order to use the new service. All in all, it seems that the company's newly "expanded" independent repair options still come with compromises in other areas.
