WiGoMan Blog - Tech Care (Repair, Reuse, Recycle) Industry Leader

I've said it before and I'll say again and again - Independent Tech Repair People are some of the best and brightest people I know! We need them now more than ever!! A couple of months ago I posted in the Tech Care Association blog about how I know that " Tech Repair People Are Amazing - All Tech Can/Should Be Fixed ". Allow me to drill down on that point and show you how independent tech repair allows for creative independent thought that should be welcome by the OEMs and other big tech companies because it makes your product better. Not only does it make your product better, it will certainly make your customer happier. Christmas Day 2021 - A Personal Story My daughters needed new phones this year since both of them have much older, very beaten up phones that have been repaired multiple times -- my oldest completed a screen replacement herself about a year ago (picture on the right).  Both of them had previously purchased unlocked Nokia phones that they had certainl

The warning signs appeared in late September 2021 when Apple stunned the tech repair industry with a small piece of software that would disable Face ID if you were to replace the front screen assembly on an iPhone 13 -- even if you used a screen from another iPhone. This is a process known as part serialization that requires the tech working on a device to sync the serial number of the part to the device. A process that can only be done by the OEM (in this case Apple). This wasn't Apples first move to disrupt the tech repair industry. FIRST MOVE: PART SERIALIZATION Part serialization is not new to Apple or to other OEMs. The tech repair industry first saw it with Apple battery replacements back in August 2019 . Here again the tech needs to sync the part to the device -- a process that can only be completed by authorized representatives of the OEM. If the part is not properly authenticated then the user would get an error message followed by certain features not working. In this c

The Tech Care Association (TCA) issued a dual appeal to Apple today (11/30/21) to open it's repair program to independent tech repair locations. They have also asked Apple to make progress on its decision by the end of this year so that the tens of thousands of small business people in the industry can make better plans for their future. This two pronged appeal from the TCA consists of a video message and an open letter to the CEO of Apple, Mr. Tim Cook, and its board of directors. The video (below) has a personal message from TCA founder & CEO Rob Link as well as messages from various industry people who articulate their message well on why Apple should work with our industry. Here is the YouTube Video: In the letter to Mr. Cook and the Apple board of directors Mr. Link points out the tremendous accomplishments that the independent tech repair industry have given to Apple over the years. As stated in an earlier post on the TCA blog he believes that "Tech Repair People Ar

In case you've been living under a rock Apple recently did a 180 on repair and announced a new program that will allow its customers to purchase its fancy, expensive, exclusive genuine OEM parts. This is a huge win for the right to repair movement for consumers and I want to congratulate all of the folks that have been toiling away at this goal for many years (shoutout to Kyle Wiens of iFixit & Nathan Proctor of U.S. Prig especially - good guys who have been fighting the good fight for a long time).  RECENT UPDATE :  MacRumors has seen some internal Apple memo  and reported on 11/22/21 that 1) manuals will be available on the Apple Support Website and 2) that it’s online parts store will be operated by an unspecified third party. While this is a huge win for consumers it is NOT a win for independent tech repair shops or for the greater tech care industry. I repeat this is NOT A WIN for the thousands of tech repair people who own and operate small businesses across the countr

This year the brilliant minds that have led the Electronic Reuse Conference (ERC) and E-Scrap Conference (ESC) decided to combine forces in Chicago and put on one combined show. Can I just say, yes please!   Combining the resources of these two organizations was a great move and something that should become permanent for years to come. I attended all three days of the show (Mon/Tue/Wed.) and was able to sit in on multiple sessions and networking events while also meeting many of the exhibitors in the exhibition hall.  First Enjoy this video overview of our visit to ERC/ESC 2021 Most of the conference sessions I would grade an A+ with experienced speakers and thoughtful moderators. The sessions were broken down into specific segments of the industry, joint sessions, and App only sessions. Like most conferences it's tough to get to everything, so it was nice that some of the sessions were recorded App only sessions you could watch later. I got into town late Monday (thanks American

This is a story I HAD put behind me, but it appears some little birdies have been chirping away and trying to trash my reputation as well as get me blacklisted in their circles of influence. So, allow me to set the record straight on what really happened when/why I left The Repair Association (TRA) after giving them a year of my life.   Let me preface this piece by saying I've tried to take the higher ground even though I got royally screwed TWICE (Screw me once, shame on you...). The TRA holds a lot of industry power and influence, especially the guy on top, who by all accounts is one of the most powerful people in the industry. I'm not going to mention any names in this piece just on the off chance that that I might be misreading them. But I did try to contact a few people to clear this up, including the top guy, and no one would return my calls or email. LET ME BE CLEAR I did NOT steal the TRA member list or misappropriate any of their resources. A truly honest mistake happe