The Apple Pencil on your iPad Pro may not work properly if the display is replaced with a non-genuine Apple part, or even a screen from another iPad. This, a repair expert has claimed, is part of an increasing effort by Apple to add software locks to hardware components, which makes simple repairs harder and more expensive.

The practice, known as “serialization”, makes it difficult for third parties to properly replace parts in broken Apple devices because they are paired to the logic board. If, for example, I wanted to replace my iPhone 14 battery, I would need to use a genuine part from Apple with a corresponding unique serial number and the parts have to be synced-up using proprietary Apple software.

If I use a third party battery (also known as an “aftermarket” battery) the battery health meter may be disabled. For other unofficial repairs a warning may flash up.

This has now been extended to the displays of fifth and sixth generations of the iPad Pro 12.9-inch and third and fourth generation 11-inch tablets, repair expert Ricky Panesar, founder of iCorrect.co.uk, told me. While repairing a customer’s device, Panesar found that the Apple Pencil wasn’t delivering straight lines when the iPad display was replaced with a screen from another Apple iPad.

“We found with the newer versions of the iPad that when you put a new screen on, even if it’s taken from another iPad, the pencil strokes don’t work perfectly.” Panesar explained to me.

“They have a memory chip that sits on the screen that’s programmed to only allow the Pencil functionality to work if the screen is connected to the original logic board.” He continued. In practice, Panesar found that lines drawn on the replaced display (Panesar says he doesn’t use aftermarket parts for repairs) with the Apple Pencil aren’t completely straight.

Panesar isn’t the only person to discover this, a Reddit post from May complained about the same issue. The poster claimed to have bought a sixth generation iPad Mini from a reseller, which is having the same squiggly line problem. Commenters pointed out that the issue is likely related to serialization and linked to Panesar’s video above.

There are several more posts on Reddit from iPad users struggling to draw a straight line with their Apple Pencil. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The tech police are watching

Panesar thinks serialzation is a major problem for consumers. “Apple are punishing you…they’re creating a monopoly where it means in the future, you have to go to Apple to have your device repaired.” This matters, Panesar says, because of the price difference between getting a repair from Apple versus third party repair shops, who use genuine parts from other broken models, is huge.

DGCCRF’s investigation is part of a wider issue Apple, and other major tech companies, are fighting right now. A recent European Parliament ruling is seeking to make batteries in portable electronic devices easier to remove and replace by consumers who buy the product. Apple is likely to argue that its devices are already repairable because it ships repair kits to consumers.

Panesar says that the backplate on the iPhone 14 is easier to remove than previous models, YouTuber Jerry Rig Everything agrees describing the iPhone 14 backplate as “the easiest iPhone back glass removal in a decade” in his teardown video. New European Union rules are also the reason Apple is switching to USB-C for future iPhones.

We will have to see if France’s investigation into serialization yields a similar consumer rights win. For now, iPad users with an Apple pencil that isn’t drawing lines, Panesar says consumers have a couple of options. “If it has been repaired somewhere else, try and get your original screen back. We can save the functionality by transferring the chips. If that isn’t possible, unfortunately there isn’t a fix. You will have to go back to Apple and pay for an out of warranty repair.”

by Janhoi McGregor for FORBES