Apple’s Remote Administration and Disabling of Devices

There is an endemic and entirely not discussed problem that is well known to users of computers and smartphones, that is that the vast majority of these devices are remotely administered. Ostensibly this is not happening nor is this fact disclosed in the terms of service or end-user license agreements that are provided by technology and telecommunications companies. I have experienced numerous problems with devices in my possession that were caused by people controlling the devices from distant locations, certainly, this is a common phenomenon, with persistence it can be limiting.

Problems with remote administration are particularly pernicious in the case of products that are manufactured and controlled by Apple Inc. Planned obsolescence is the practice of designing a product that will by design become impractical or unusable after a predicted duration causing the person in possession of the item to purchase a new replacement item following a planned depreciation. Unlike situations where an electronic device will fail due to damage or wear, Apple intentionally limits its devices using remotely controlled commands and then attempts to attribute the problems that manifest to physical damage necessitating the replacement of electronic parts.

I have for over one year been working on an administrative problem with an iPhone SE. The phone, purchased in 2017, operated without interruption until January of 2021 when the touchscreen became intermittently unresponsive making the iPhone unusable. I took the iPhone to The Apple Store for service and was told that the problem resulted from damage to the glass display. There is a hairline fracture on the face of the iPhone that is visible in direct light, the incidence of that damage did not correlate with the start of the touchscreen problems. Having used touchscreens with extensive cracking on other devices I was not convinced. I filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging deceptive acts or practices in violation of New York General Business Law § 349, Apple’s lawyers responded and the case was dismissed. Amazingly the functionality of my iPhone SE was completely restored after I filed.

Less than a year later the touchscreen problems returned, there were additional problems with phantom inputs made by a remote administrator of the device, I found that this phenomenon is commonly known on enthusiast websites as “ghost touch.” Presented with the return of the technical problems I took my iPhone to The Apple Store for an assessment of my options. After an intake consisting of an appointment, submission of account and customer information, and a brief discussion of the phone’s touchscreen problems the Genius Bar expert began a diagnostic procedure to determine if the problem could be fixed by downloading and reinstalling the system software. The software reinstallation had no effect, my remaining option was to order a replacement display out of warranty.

Although it’s not explicitly stated, The Apple Store employees seem to know about the administrative limitations of the devices that they sell and service, they are of course prohibited from attributing technical problems to remote administration by Apple Inc. Presumably, they don’t really know and the facts of the matter have never been directly stated, unlike people with the knowledge, authority, and access to remotely administer Apple’s phones and computers, they’re just not there.

Certainly, a person with the necessary status and connections could accomplish the restoration of my iPhone SE, as an ordinary customer, I am far from being able to do anything. Apple’s bureaucracy for technical administration is not only inscrutably opaque, it is also used to disable devices while denying that such practices exist, Apple will blame the problems that they caused on physical wear and damage. I’m not unsympathetic to decisions made by Apple Inc. or any technology company to pursue profit, even by intentionally limiting the usability of their products. My objection is to a secret and deniable bureaucracy that employs fraud and deception to advance its interests at the expense of uninformed and out-of-status customers.