Louis Anthony Rossmann is an American independentrepair technician, YouTube personality, and right to repair activist. He is the owner and operator of Rossmann Repair Group in New York City, a computer repair shop established in 2007 which specializes in logic board-level repair of MacBooks. Rossmann rose in popularity with his YouTube channel showing his repairs to provide as an educational resource, frequently livestreaming repairs on Youtube, Twitch.tv, and Vimeo. On his YouTube channel he also uploads tutorials on life, business practices, and right to repair videos.
Campaigns
On October 8, 2018, CBC News ran an investigative piece on Apple's business practices surrounding repair of their devices. They went undercover in an Apple store with a malfunctioning MacBook Pro looking for a quote on repair. They explained that the screen is simply black and they cannot see anything on the screen. The Apple store quoted a customer in their undercover video $1200 for a logic board replacement, explaining that the liquid contact indicators turned red, and that only happens when in contact with any type of liquid, so the whole logic board needed to be swapped out, in addition to the top case. When taken to Rossmann's repair shop, Rossmann explained that there was no liquid damage, and that simple room humidity likely set off the LCIs. He also explained that a pin that connected the MacBook Pro's backlight was simply not seated properly. After seating the pin properly, the MacBook Pro was seen working again. Rossmann explained his repair shop would likely not charge for simply re-seating the backlight pin. Rossmann has criticised the design of the 2020 Macbook Air. He notes that the fan is not positioned above the CPU, nor connected to it via any radiator circuit, calling it a "placebo fan" which can easily lead to overheating and damage.
Videos
On October 18, 2018 Rossmann uploaded a video entitled "Apple & Customs STOLE my batteries, that they won't even provide to AASPs". In the video, Rossmann explains that U.S. Customs seized his package containing 20 Apple Macbook batteries, worth $1,068 USD, labeling them as counterfeit goods. He explains that they were original, legitimate Apple Macbook batteries, but that they were seized because they bore Apple's trademark. He goes on to explain that he feels it is retribution for the CBC piece, as Rossmann had been importing Macbook batteries for years without incident until shortly after the CBC story was published. On June 5, 2019, Rossmann posted a video on YouTube where he appeared as a key witness in a Norwegian court case, in which Apple Inc. had sued a Norwegian repair shop in an effort to stop them from repairing Apple products. On June 29, he posted a video explaining the case, in which he explained that the case ended in the courts favoring Apple Inc. since the repair shop in question was using counterfeit parts rather than refurbished parts, a detail Rossmann was not made aware of until he became a witness. Several of Rossmann's videos have been removed from YouTube following privacy complaints. These were subsequently revealed to be from lobbyists opposing Right to Repair, and a contractor producing substandard work.
