Earlier this year, Apple revealed its long-awaited self-repair program for iPhones, which turned out to be incredibly complicated and a huge mess. Now the company is expanding that program to include fixing MacBook laptops.
Just like the existing program for iPhone, Self Service Repair allows people to fix their devices without taking it to an Apple Store or other authorized repair center. Apple recommends it only for "customers who are experienced with the complexities of repairing electronic devices" -- if you don't have much experience, you should probably hand over your dead MacBook to a trained professional instead.
The repair program is limited to the M1 MacBook Air and all three M1 MacBook Pro models. That leaves out the latest M2 MacBook Air, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, older laptops, and all of Apple's desktop computers. The current tools and manuals can be used for replacing most components, including the audio board, battery, bottom case, keycaps, logic board, Touch ID board, and other parts. Some components are more expensive than others -- now that most hardware is soldered to the logic board in newer Macs, replacing a board for a 32-core GPU MacBook Pro with 32 GB RAM and a 1 TB drive would cost more than $1900. Other components cost less, like replacement speakers for $29.
Thankfully, the Mac repair program seems to be slightly more accessible than the iPhone program, which requires renting a 79-pound toolkit for phone disassembly and a $1,200 credit card hold for the equipment. The rented toolkit for Mac repairs only costs $49, which you can keep for a week before sending back to Apple. Presumably, repair toolkits from companies like iFixit should also work.
Apple says it will expand the Mac repair program to more models and countries "later this year." The company also plans to expand iPhone repairs to other countries.
Source: Apple, Six Colors