Apple yesterday made its diagnostic tools available in Europe. They help identify hardware issues on supported devices. We did the test on an iPhone.
These tools appeared in the United States at the end of last year. Yesterday, they were made available in Europe and other countries. The objective has not changed: to allow a diagnosis of a possible hardware failure on an iPhone, a Mac or Apple screen. Oddly enough, iPads are not (yet?) supported.
These tools are available free of charge and online. There are, however, some conditions to be met. For iPhones especially, you need at least a 12 running iOS 17 (macOS 14.1 for a Mac). The device must be able to start and connect to Wi-Fi. You must also have a device that will serve as a console. The choice is flexible: any Mac or PC with a recent browser. You can also do it from an iPad (iPadOS 13 at least) or even another iPhone (iOS 13 at least).
Prepare your iPhone for diagnosis
To diagnose an iPhone, you will have to turn it off. Before that, be sure to go to Settings > General > Information to note the serial number. You will be asked. On the console device, open the tools page, indicate the type of device you want to test and enter its serial number. The next page indicates that the connection is ready to start.
Once the phone is turned off, you must press both Volume buttons. While holding them in this position, plug in a power cable connected to a charger of at least 20 W or to a computer connected to the mains. Apple warns: anything that serves as a hub is not supported, the power supply must be direct.
When the apple logo appears, you can release both buttons. The iPhone then boots into Diagnostic mode. From there, everything is in English on the phone and you will have to choose a Wi-Fi network to connect. This is required for the tools to work. The console device must be connected to the same network.
Use the tools
Once the iPhone is in Diagnostic mode, you can click on “Start session” on the web page, entirely in French. A connection is then established, the site providing information on what is happening. Same thing on the phone, which always indicates the current step.
When the connection is made, we access a list of operations. The first is to perform a series of general tests to interrogate all the major components: battery, Bluetooth, camera, mobile baseband, display, eSim, Face ID, LiDAR, sensors, Wi-Fi, wireless charging, etc. Software and system monitoring also takes place.
After a few minutes, the result appears in the browser, with green, yellow or red dots depending on whether the test passed or failed. For example, you may have a yellow sticker with a question mark in front of Software. This is the case when a newer version of iOS is available, but has not yet been installed.
This series of tests essentially ensures that the basic building blocks are present and carries out basic checks. It can’t spot common problems like dead pixels or crackling in audio.
The site therefore offers more detailed tools for audio output, pixel anomalies on the screen, multi-touch, Face ID and camera image quality. These tests must be supplemented by manipulations on the phone. For pixels, however, the iPhone will display a bright red light to better identify problems. The user is prompted to touch areas where pixels are malfunctioning. It can even draw a frame if several are in the same area.
Okay, what next?
These tools are dedicated to diagnosis and do not, by themselves, allow you to repair anything. A software tool would be unlikely to be able to remedy a hardware problem anyway.
On the other hand, they can be useful to confirm a suspected problem, or before an appointment at an Apple Store or an authorized store. In this case, it is possible to save time by telling the person what has been spotted.
Above all, this service fills a gap. Apple in fact offers tools in many countries (including those in Europe) to repair your devices yourself. So it was strange that they were available even before the diagnostic service.
Note also that even if the set is quite easy to use, these are in no way tools that can be used by ordinary people. You have to know what you are doing and have certain reflexes and knowledge to exploit them.
