About a week ago, Apple published an internal document explaining future repairs on new Macs.
The document was leaked to MacRumors and Motherboard. According to the document, the T2 chip is designed to partially prevent repairs by third parties. The T2 coprocessor is responsible for managing the SSD, encryption and the "Hey Siri" function, among other things. It also stores the biometric data from Touch ID.
Apple diagnostic tool required
If a Mac with the chip in question is repaired, Apple's diagnostic tool (AST2) is required at the end of the process. The special software carries out a complete diagnosis after the repair - if this is not done, the device can no longer be started. However, this step is only necessary when replacing certain components.
According to the internal document, this includes the logic board, the top case and the Touch ID bar on the MacBook. The affected parts on the iMac Pro are the logic board and the flash memory.
Now the iGroup has commented on the issue to The Verge and confirmed the procedure. The security of user data is very important to Apple, which is why this procedure was introduced for certain repairs. In the statement, Apple itself only spoke of replacing the Touch ID sensor and the logic board. A comprehensive list was not provided - to the annoyance of many repair providers.
Ultimately, such repairs can only be carried out by Apple directly or by authorized service providers (Apple Authorized Service Providers). This means that there is no need to go to independent repair shops, which often offer such services at a lower price.
