Starting with iOS 15.2, Apple is adding a new parts and service menu for the latest Apple or an authorized service provider.
self-repairs for M1-powered Macs will also be coming at some point. And that's great for savvy s wanting to repair their own devices.
And while the Self Service Repair program hasn't launched just yet, Apple is introducing a new parts and service history menu on the iPhone. According to an Apple document, the company will be launching this new menu as part of the iOS 15.2 update. For iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, iPhone SE (2nd generation), and later, s will be able to see if the battery has been replaced. For iPhone 11 and later, display replacements will be shown in addition to battery replacements. And for iPhone 12 and later, s will be able to see camera replacements in addition to battery and display replacements. The menu will also alert s if there's a non-genuine part, if the part was previously used in another iPhone, or if there's an issue with the replacement part.
A Step In The Right Direction
Apple has long been alerting s of non-genuine parts being used in its device. The company has even gone as far as disabling certain features such as True Tone or Face ID when a non-genuine part is detected by the OS. But this also applied to simply swapping parts from the same model of iPhone across two devices. That's because specific components such as the display, camera, and battery are serialized and software-locked to the particular device at the factory.
And to be clear, this new service menu won't magically make those issues disappear. Instead, it simply creates a menu that allows s to see if a repair was done safely and correctly. This won't change until Apple launches its Self Service Repair program next year, which will allow Apple to release the software tools to s to pair new displays, batteries, and cameras for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13.
Source: Apple