A cell phone technician received an official notification from Apple, after having success repairing branded devices considered “useless”.
The Colombian Wilmer Becerra developed a technique to recover damaged cell phones, but the North American company demanded the end of offering support for Apple products.
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After receiving notification from the brand's legal representatives, Wilmer Becerra decided to create an important debate about the consumption of electronic products.
“The owner of a iPhone aren't you free to decide where to repair the equipment you have... In this world so saturated with electronic waste, offering a alternative to give life to a device and prevent it from being thrown in the trash and polluting is wrong?”, replied the Colombian on his networks social.
The technician's venture became popular on the web when he began recovering phones considered lost, due to problems such as broken screens and damaged batteries.
In this way, his service prevented a large amount of products from becoming electronic waste, generating more pollution.
Wilmer Becerra, Colombian who recovers “unrecoverable” iPhones. (Image: Wiltech/Reproduction)
Becerra told the newspaper El País that he has always been interested in electronics, so he dedicated himself to learning and understanding how they work. “Ever since I got a job fixing laptops, I said, ‘That’s my thing,’” the technician told the newspaper.
When he started serving directly, he noticed that many people complained about the service they received at Apple stores. They stated that repairing the items was very expensive, almost worth the price of a new product.
The entrepreneur noted that such equipment needed to be recovered, due to the high market value. Therefore, they should not be discarded easily, as often happens.
Therefore, he dedicated himself to learning the configurations and parts of the devices and developed his own way of repairing them. Afterwards, he took advantage of the visibility of social networks to share his work, mainly on TikTok.
His business gained notoriety in several Latin American countries. Therefore, in August, he received a communication from Apple's legal representatives to end services with the brand's products, as mentioned above.
Apple's goal was to prohibit it from using the logos or information that it was an authorized service.
In response to the technology company, Wilmer Becerra pointed out that consumers have the right to choose who they will repair their devices with.
Furthermore, it stated that it did not present itself as an authorized service and that it had not used the brand's products “for a long time”.
The debate also raised another discussion in Colombia, as other countries, such as U.S, have already ordered companies, such as Apple, to make parts and repair manuals available to anyone who purchases their items for 10 years.
“It’s a question of consumerism. Large manufacturers limit the useful life of components to continue manufacturing more. In the end, the user is the one who loses, because they previously bought a device that lasted 20 years. Now, with the telephone, they take the 15 and say that the 14 is old”, Becerra highlighted.
As a result, her complaint encouraged Colombian senator Laura Fortich's initiative to create a law guaranteeing consumer rights in the Colombian Congress.
In addition to offering people alternatives, the measure, if approved, will also promote a reduction in environmental impact by reducing the amount of electronic waste generated annually.