After decades of secrecy, Apple is spilling some information about who makes components for them. Some of the companies named for the majority of what is made for Apple: Intel Corp., Broadcom Corp., Amphenol Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. Why is this important or not important for you? Before we go there, what has Apple really told the world - probably not a lot of information.
What is OEM?
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. In the case of the repair of your iPad, that would be the company that made the glass (for example) for your iPad in the first place.
Just because Apple named some names, the game still remains.
China has a population about four times the USA. As you can imagine, there are manufacturers everywhere in that population. Intel Corporation (for example) may be one of Apple's suppliers, but the bigger question is, who are Intel's subcontractors in China? It could be a very long list.
Add to that: China is famous for making good copies and bad copies of nearly everything. In other words, if you hold a replacement glass for the iPad in your hand, and it has the Apple logo on it, you have no way on this earth of knowing if it is OEM or not. All you CAN know is - does it fit properly and work properly?
Is it important to use OEM parts?
You may have seen the insurance company ads. Usually, it is an ad by an insurance company suggesting you use them because they insist your car be repaired using only OEM and not "after market" parts. They might show you a car repaired with a poorly made after market fender, and the same model repaired with the correctly fitting OEM fender. Why do they do this?
The insurance company wants you to believe that they have superior standards, and therefore it is worth paying their superior premiums.
What can you do if you can't tell if a part is OEM?
If you have your Apple device repaired by Apple, the parts will be OEM. If you have your Apple device repaired by an independent Apple device repair shop, they won't know if what the parts they use are OEM. They may tell you they are OEM. They may believe they are OEM, but there is no way for them or you to know for sure.
Here's what to do:
As in anything, there are good, great and so-so iPhone, iPad and iPod repair shops. The good independent shops use parts which fit well and work well. Those same shops offer a real warranty that covers parts and labor.
Your job is to let them know (before they work on your iPad) that you expect a part which fits perfectly, and operates perfectly - up to the standard of the original.
WARNING:
Take a few minutes while deciding where to have your iPhone, iPad or iPod fixed, to go to the review websites, and see if you can check out the repair shop you're thinking of using.
Look, yelp, Google, Yahoo and others are not perfect, by far.
A small business can be a 5 Star one day, and fall to 3 Star with a few bad reviews. We were 5 Star on yelp. One day, a very happy customer wrote a perfect review, but for whatever reason, didn't rate us as 5 Star, but did rate us as 4 Star. That great review lowered our yelp rating to 4.5 Star.
However, that doesn't mean that review websites don't matter, they do. Do your best to a feel of the flavor of the place from the reviews. Once you get to the shop, remember to make a big deal about how critical you're going to be about the repair - you'll be looking at the fit, finish, and function of the repair. Remember to make it a big deal before they do the repair.
What is OEM?
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. In the case of the repair of your iPad, that would be the company that made the glass (for example) for your iPad in the first place.
Just because Apple named some names, the game still remains.
China has a population about four times the USA. As you can imagine, there are manufacturers everywhere in that population. Intel Corporation (for example) may be one of Apple's suppliers, but the bigger question is, who are Intel's subcontractors in China? It could be a very long list.
Add to that: China is famous for making good copies and bad copies of nearly everything. In other words, if you hold a replacement glass for the iPad in your hand, and it has the Apple logo on it, you have no way on this earth of knowing if it is OEM or not. All you CAN know is - does it fit properly and work properly?
Is it important to use OEM parts?
You may have seen the insurance company ads. Usually, it is an ad by an insurance company suggesting you use them because they insist your car be repaired using only OEM and not "after market" parts. They might show you a car repaired with a poorly made after market fender, and the same model repaired with the correctly fitting OEM fender. Why do they do this?
The insurance company wants you to believe that they have superior standards, and therefore it is worth paying their superior premiums.
What can you do if you can't tell if a part is OEM?
If you have your Apple device repaired by Apple, the parts will be OEM. If you have your Apple device repaired by an independent Apple device repair shop, they won't know if what the parts they use are OEM. They may tell you they are OEM. They may believe they are OEM, but there is no way for them or you to know for sure.
Here's what to do:
As in anything, there are good, great and so-so iPhone, iPad and iPod repair shops. The good independent shops use parts which fit well and work well. Those same shops offer a real warranty that covers parts and labor.
Your job is to let them know (before they work on your iPad) that you expect a part which fits perfectly, and operates perfectly - up to the standard of the original.
WARNING:
Take a few minutes while deciding where to have your iPhone, iPad or iPod fixed, to go to the review websites, and see if you can check out the repair shop you're thinking of using.
Look, yelp, Google, Yahoo and others are not perfect, by far.
A small business can be a 5 Star one day, and fall to 3 Star with a few bad reviews. We were 5 Star on yelp. One day, a very happy customer wrote a perfect review, but for whatever reason, didn't rate us as 5 Star, but did rate us as 4 Star. That great review lowered our yelp rating to 4.5 Star.
However, that doesn't mean that review websites don't matter, they do. Do your best to a feel of the flavor of the place from the reviews. Once you get to the shop, remember to make a big deal about how critical you're going to be about the repair - you'll be looking at the fit, finish, and function of the repair. Remember to make it a big deal before they do the repair.
