Apple has rolled out its self-service repair service to the UK, offering customers who want to fix their own phones and laptops access to official parts, tools, and repair manuals.
The company announced yesterday it was expanding the service, which was launched in the US last year, to raft of European countries in a bid to offer tech-savvy customers a new way to repair their devices.
Customers in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Sweden are also set to benefit from the expansion of the service, which will offer customers access to more than 200 parts and tools, as well as repair manuals that can help fix some Macbooks and iPhone models.
Apple’s program is borne from right-to-repair regulation brought in by regulators in the US and Europe to help tackle e-waste and encourage more sustainable use of electronics.
The inaugural US service has faced criticism for being too complicated for the average customer to manage, as well as accusations that it is overly expensive once the cost of tools and parts were factored in.
The program offers customers the option to rent tools for a week at a cost of $49, in order to save them from having to buy equipment for a single repair.
In a statement, Apple said self-repair should only be tapped only customers “experienced in the complexities of repairing electronic devices” and stressed that visiting a professional Apple repair shop remained the “safest and most reliable way” to repair products for the vast majority of customers
It said it had nearly doubled the number of service locations with access to parts, tools and locations over the past three years, and claimed that eight in 10 Apple customers in Europe were located within 30 minutes of an authorized service provider.
“We believe the best technology for our customers and for the planet is technology that lasts, which is why we design our products to be durable and rarely require maintenance or repair,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “But when a repair is needed, we want customers to have many options for safe, reliable, and secure repair. That’s why we’re excited to launch Self Service Repair in Europe, giving our customers direct access to genuine Apple parts, tools, and manuals.”
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