Apple’s self-service repair kit is colossal waste of money.

If you missed it, Apple’s self-service repair business is a parts and tools shop disguised as a concession to the right to repair movement.

Its manuals are complex and opaque and only make sense if you utilize Apple’s special tools, which are not user-friendly and come in two suitcase-sized pelican bags.

The Verge’s Sean Hollister tested the service this week and discovered that it is even worse than it seems on paper.

It has several flaws, the most egregious of which is the pricing: he spent $69 for a new battery for his iPhone Mini, the same amount that the Apple Store charges for a battery and installation, and $49 to rent the Apple-approved toolset for seven days.

A $1,200 credit card hold is also required for the toolkit, which is lost if the toolbox is not returned within seven days. Except for Hollister, who received the batteries two days after the toolkit, he only had five days to finish the repairs, which were as unpleasant and tough as you’d anticipate.

Then his iPhone refused to accept the battery as genuine. It wasn’t supposed to happen. Following the installation of new components, you must contact a third-party firm and grant them remote control of your device in order for the parts to be verified.

You might as well have opened your own repair shop at that time.