Apple has made some changes to its repair policy as per which the company said it will stop repairing iPhone devices marked as lost or stolen in the GSMA Device Registry. This is not completely a new development though as Apple has already been denying repair of lost or stolen devices. However, so far this applied to devices that have the Find My feature enabled. With the latest restriction, even iPhone with the Find My tracking disabled will henceforth not be eligible for repair in any Apple Authorised Service Providers or Apple Store.
This can also be considered as a move to make stealing an iPhone a lot less appealing. That said, with repair from official Apple channels out of the question, it is the third-party repair shops that stand to gain from the development. However, Apple also said its staff and technicians would be ready to consider those iPhone devices where the user is able to produce the original bill or such supporting document. Else, the iPhone won’t be repaired even if it is within the warranty period.
As for the GSMA Device Registry, it happens to be a global database comprising of the device serial numbers and includes information on whether it has been stolen or lost. It is like if users report to the law enforcement authorities that their device has been stolen or lost, such devices are marked accordingly in the GSMA database. Apple said it will be referring to this database to carry out repair works from now onwards.
