The Apple Pencil on your iPad Pro may not work properly if the display is replaced with a non-genuine Apple part, or even a screen from another iPad. This, a repair expert has claimed, is part of an increasing effort by Apple to add software locks to hardware components, which makes simple repairs harder and more expensive.
The practice, known as “serialization”, makes it difficult for third parties to properly replace parts in broken Apple devices because they are paired to the logic board. If, for example, I wanted to replace my iPhone 14 battery, I would need to use a genuine part from Apple with a corresponding unique serial number and the parts have to be synced-up using proprietary Apple software.
If I use a third party battery (also known as an “aftermarket” part), or even a genuine Apple battery, the battery health meter may be disabled. For other repairs that have not gone through the process of pairing the component to the logic board using Apple’s software, a warning may flash up.
This has now been extended to the displays of fifth and sixth generations of the iPad Pro 12.9-inch and third and fourth generation 11-inch tablets, repair expert Ricky Panesar, founder of iCorrect.co.uk, told me. While repairing a customer’s device, Panesar found that the Apple Pencil wasn’t delivering straight lines when the iPad display was replaced with a screen from another Apple iPad.
“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.” Panesar explained to me.
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“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.” He continued. This means third party repair shops that use other Apple devices for parts now have to order replacements directly from Apple for them to work properly, which is more expensive for the consumer and less environmentally friendly. In practice, Panesar found that lines drawn on the replaced display (he says he doesn’t use aftermarket parts for repairs) with the Apple Pencil aren’t completely straight. This is demoed this in the video below.
Panesar isn’t the only person to discover this, a Reddit post from May complained about the same issue. The poster claimed to have bought a sixth generation iPad Mini from a reseller, which is having the same squiggly line problem. Commenters pointed out that the issue is likely related to serialization and linked to Panesar’s video above.
There are several more posts on Reddit from iPad users struggling to draw a straight line with their Apple Pencil. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The tech police are watching
France’s Department of Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) have been investigating the serialization issue since December 2022, according to AFP News. This follows a complaint from consumer rights organization, Halt Planned Obsolescence (HOP), which claims that serialization lets Apple restrict repairs and remotely downgrade devices that house third party components.
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Panesar thinks serialzation is a major problem for consumers. “Apple are punishing you…they’re creating a monopoly where it means in the future, you have to go to Apple to have your device repaired.” This matters, Panesar says, because of the price difference between getting a repair from Apple versus third party repair shops, who use genuine parts from other broken models, is huge.
There are, of course, different types of repair shops fixing your tech at varying levels of skill. Many, Panesar says, use cheap unofficial parts, which is a practice Apple is trying to stop. But simple repairs, like a screen replacement for your iPad Pro, now require a specialist who knows their microelectronics, or your Apple Pencil functionality could break. “What this means for consumers is if you damage your iPad screen, you now need to find a specialist. Repairs have to go through specialists and there are not many of us in the UK and there’s not many of us globally.”
DGCCRF’s investigation is part of a wider issue Apple, and other major tech companies, are fighting right now. A recent European Parliament ruling is seeking to make batteries in portable electronic devices easier to remove and replace by consumers who buy the product. Apple is likely to argue that its devices are already repairable because it ships repair kits to consumers.
Panesar says that the backplate on the iPhone 14 is easier to remove than previous models, YouTuber Jerry Rig Everything agrees describing the iPhone 14 backplate as “the easiest iPhone back glass removal in a decade” in his teardown video. New European Union rules are also the reason Apple is switching to USB-C for future iPhones.
We will have to see if France’s investigation into serialization yields a similar consumer rights win. For now, iPad users with an Apple pencil that isn’t drawing lines, Panesar says consumers have a couple of options. “If it has been repaired somewhere else, try and get your original screen back. We can save the functionality by transferring the chips. If that isn’t possible, unfortunately there isn’t a fix. You will have to go back to Apple and pay for an out of warranty repair.”
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