You no longer have to wait in a Genius Bar line to get your Mac fixed

Author: Clare Duffy / CNN Business
Published:
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 28: A man wearing a mask carries an Imac computer while waiting outside the Apple Store in SoHo as the city continues Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on July 28, 2020 in New York City. The fourth phase allows outdoor arts and entertainment, sporting events without fans and media production. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

If you’ve found yourself sprinting into an Apple Store with a coffee-drenched Mac in hand, only to find yourself in an hour-long line for the Genius Bar, you may soon be in luck.

Apple is making it easier to access repairs for Mac computers by expanding a program that allows independent repair shops to fix its devices. The program, which launched last fall, was previously available only for iPhones.

Apple’s independent repair program supplies qualifying repair shops with Apple-certified tools, parts, repair manuals and diagnostics, as well as free training.

The expansion could make it faster and easier to access repairs for most common out-of-warranty issues with Macs. Problems that fall under Apple’s warranty need to be fixed at an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, such as Best Buy.

More than 140 independent repair businesses with more than 700 US locations are now a part of the program, and this summer Apple announced the program’s expansion to Europe and Canada. The repair shops will complement Apple’s global network of more than 5,000 Authorized Service Providers, and will have access to parts and tools at the same price as those providers.

The news comes after Mac sales rose nearly 22% year-over-year during the quarter that ended in June, likely boosted by work-from-home policies during the coronavirus pandemic. And it’s not just Apple — there is a widespread laptop shortage as remote working continues and as many students prepare to attend school from home this fall.

During the pandemic, Apple has had to close, reopen and then re-close some of its retail stores as coronavirus spread throughout the United States.

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