Apple Pencil’s functionality is apparently limited on iPads that underwent repairs with non-certified screens and even those pulled from other iPads. Forbes spoke to an independent repair technician in the United Kingdom who revealed the latest effort from Apple to stifle repairs performed with non-verified parts.
According to the report, Apple is expanding its serialization efforts to the Apple Pencil when attempting to repair an iPad with non-Apple spare screens. The serialization process is often a post-repair step, in which the system verifies the authenticity of the repaired component and links it to the device’s logic board. If a part cannot be successfully serialized, abnormal behavior may arise, such as certain features getting disabled or a device not working as expected.
We found with the newer versions of the iPad that when you put a new screen on, even if it’s taken from another iPad, the pencil strokes don’t work perfectly. They have a memory chip that sits on the screen that’s programmed to only allow the Pencil functionality to work if the screen is connected to the original logic board.
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Ricky Panesar – iCorrect UK
Ricky Panesar, founder of iCorrect repair shop in the UK, has noticed that the Apple Pencil fails to draw a straight line when an iPad has its screen replaced by a display pulled from another iPad. This strange behavior has been observed on recent iPad Pro models, including the 2021 and 2022 iPad Pro in both 12.9-inch and 11-inch sizes, but it has also been observed in other non-Pro iPads. Forbes pointed out that a Reddit user on the iPad subreddit complained of “jittery” lines when drawing with an Apple Pencil on their sixth-generation iPad mini that had its screen replaced.
Panesar attests that iCorrect salvages spare parts from other Apple devices and does not rely on non-genuine components, but his shop will now be forced to order parts directly from Apple. He further claims that this move will ultimately incur higher costs for consumers as well as the environment. In a YouTube video explaining the situation, iCorrect is able to fix the Apple Pencil functionality by swapping a serialized chip from an old screen-donor iPad onto the repaired iPad which is getting its screen replaced.
Apple’s stance on independent repair
Apple has recently come under fire for its anti-independent repair practices, which are perceived as an unnecessary inconvenience for repairers and consumers alike, in addition to having a substantial toll on the environment. Serialization also affects other essential repairs on other devices like the iPhone, including its battery, camera, and Face ID and Touch ID parts.
The heavy-handed usage of serialization made Apple the subject of a new investigation in France, which alleges that serialization creates a repairing monopoly that favors Apple in addition to enabling the planned obsolescence of the company’s products. Despite this, the company has been lauded for a design change on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus which makes their back glass removal easier than ever, with the devices now included in the company’s Self Service Repair program.
