MacBook Repair Parts Facing Delays, Apple Letting Customers Take Devices Back Home While Waiting for Parts

Triggered by ongoing supply chain issues, Apple will now let customers take their devices back home in the event their repair will take longer than expected due to a missing part that's backlogged. Once the part has arrived at the location, customers can return the device to complete the repair.

iphone self service repair 2
In the case a customer takes their device back home, they'll be informed when the part needed for their repair arrives. From that day, customers will have five days to return the device back to the service center before the repair is canceled.

The new policy is available in select locations, and it's up to the service center whether or not a customer is eligible to take their device back home as they await repair parts. Logically, this only applies to customers with devices that are functioning and in a usable state.

Apple has been dealing with ongoing supply chain challenges that have impacted the iPhone and the Mac in the last several months. According to sources speaking to MacRumors, repair parts for the MacBook Pro, such as the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ display, are currently taking up to two months to arrive in certain regions.

Other parts, such as the top case for select models of the ‌MacBook Pro‌ and MacBook Air, which includes the battery, keyboard, and internal chassis, could take several weeks.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

Blackstick Avatar
33 months ago
Mac Genius ‘07-14… we all know the status: Awaiting Parts. If a customer made the case their Mac was usable, but still needed the repair, a Lead Genius would allow them to hold it and our Admin would call them to bring it in when the parts arrived… I only remember that happening once in awhile. Added a good amount of overhead and turn around time.

Apple was really good about getting us most parts within 24 hours in those days… even esoteric Mac Pro parts like Xeon processors and heat sinks. Occasionally, they’d let you sub a part, like BTO iMacs that were ordered with 320GB drives and they only had 500s – or iPod Classics with 80/120GB and they only made 160GB. Never anything too exciting though, you couldn’t change the color of your iPod or top case, for example.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_Spinn_ Avatar
33 months ago
Feels like the supply chain issues are never going to be resolved :(
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DMG35 Avatar
33 months ago

All good until the customer takes it home and either damages it/damages it further or has it nicked. Fringe cases but can happen, particularly if parts are backordered for a long while. This has to do be done with the caveat of "if you muller it while it's at home, additional parts may be required and warranty coverage may be affected".
Not really sure how its a concern if Apple is just telling customers to take their devices back home with them. Would you prefer that Apple keep them and let them sit around while they wait for a part for it?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OS X Dude Avatar
33 months ago
All good until the customer takes it home and either damages it/damages it further or has it nicked. Fringe cases but can happen, particularly if parts are backordered for a long while. This has to do be done with the caveat of "if you muller it while it's at home, additional parts may be required and warranty coverage may be affected".
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
foobarbaz Avatar
33 months ago

All good until the customer takes it home and either damages it/damages it further or has it nicked. Fringe cases but can happen, particularly if parts are backordered for a long while. This has to do be done with the caveat of "if you muller it while it's at home, additional parts may be required and warranty coverage may be affected".
That's a weird concern. These fringe cases might also happen after a successful repair, so (other than waiting for a functioning device) the customer isn't really worse off due to taking it home.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jacoblee23 Avatar
32 months ago
Interesting. My 14" MBP had keyboard marks on screen and they replaced the screen the same morning it was received and I received it the next day. I guess it just depends maybe.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)