iPhones 'disabled' if Apple detects third-party repairs

[SauRoNZA]

You could never replace the Touch ID yourself before for this very reason.

So it's no surprise that when actually repairing/replacing it this would happen.

No different than ECU's being locked on cars etc.

 

[sajunky]

236UKP Wow!
If you don't need, don't use use TouchID, why you should pay so much?

 

[Dave]

236UKP Wow!
If you don't need, don't use use TouchID, why you should pay so much?

The out of warranty charge is actually £229, still expensive but not the figure quoted by the article.

https://www.apple.com/uk/support/iphone/repair/other/

 

[DA-LION-619]

We want privacy and security, god damn WhatsApp owned by Facebook reading our messages, I'm using Telegram.
OMG, I can't replace a hardware security feature myself :O GTFO

/sarcasm off

 

[noxibox]

Apple may be planning to proactively head off lawsuits and assuage customer outrage. MacRumors has heard from a retail source that certain Apple Stores have received the go ahead from Apple to replace third-party screens and other third-party components to resolve the error 53 issue.

The only way they could head it off would be to re-enable phones as they are. The most they can justify is disabling Touch ID. They fully deserve the bad publicity they're getting, and if this goes to court I hope they get the hammering they have coming.

You could never replace the Touch ID yourself before for this very reason.

So it's no surprise that when actually repairing/replacing it this would happen.

No different than ECU's being locked on cars etc.

Actually it is completely different. You don't even have to use Touch ID to unlock the phone.

 

[prod]

We want privacy and security, god damn WhatsApp owned by Facebook reading our messages, I'm using Telegram.
OMG, I can't replace a hardware security feature myself :O GTFO

/sarcasm off

Most people aren't upset over the security provided...they're upset at the way Apple forced it: Bricking your phone and forcing you to buy a new one, without any warning. They are only now backtracking by offering to repair your bricked device at "select service stores" because of the ****storm.

 

[JimM]

Warning iPhone 6 - Display Replacement

I've not seen comment on here about Apple's latest calamity AKA "Error 53" which can appear after you have had a replacement display fitted, either by yourself or a third party repair shop.

Should you have had such a display fitted, it is recommended NOT to do ANY iOS updates until the situation is resolved.

If you hung on to the old display, then moving the ID Sensor from the old display to the new screen should fix the issue if you actually have an Error 53 problem at the moment.

There are lawsuits already being made in the USA as it has been deemed that this is a deliberate attempt by Apple to keep all repairs in house! As there is no written warning that a self-repair or third party repair could result in an effectively bricked phone, Apple may be further charged with criminal damage!!

Apple had tried to argue that the ID Sensor needs to be protected which industry experts put down to Apple bull...

It now seems that Apple have done their usual trick of going to ground with not so much as a comment...

Moral of the story? Get a handset made by a 'honest' manufacturer next time!

 

[Azgard]

I have to disagree here.

Apple's argument is perfectly valid, they can't guarantee the security of the Touch ID sensor if certain parts of the phone have been tampered with. This could break their whole security model if someone managed to make modifications to the fingerprint scanner.

I do agree that Apple needs to be a little less strict with this.. Or perhaps educate 3rd party vendors on how to properly replace an iPhone display.

Personally I use Apple because I know that their phones are secure, and to me that is important. If that means I have to get my phone fixed at an official repair center, so be it..

 

[sajunky]

Or perhaps educate 3rd-part vendors on how to properly replace an iPhone display.

Incredible naive. [ROFL]

 

[konfab]

Apple's argument is perfectly valid, they can't guarantee the security of the Touch ID sensor if certain parts of the phone have been tampered with. This could break their whole security model if someone managed to make modifications to the fingerprint scanner.

Then alert the user and tell them that they must use their AppleID passwords to access their data until they get their phone's fixed.

 

[JimM]

I have to disagree here.

Apple's argument is perfectly valid, they can't guarantee the security of the Touch ID sensor if certain parts of the phone have been tampered with. This could break their whole security model if someone managed to make modifications to the fingerprint scanner.

I do agree that Apple needs to be a little less strict with this.. Or perhaps educate 3rd party vendors on how to properly replace an iPhone display.

You can not legally break someone's phone all be it remotely! In the US, most states have passed laws stating that ANY device manufacturer must permit the user to repair it themselves (which would include 3rd parties).

Your second line beggars belief! How can you educate someone to change an iPhone 6 display "properly" when this information has been kept secret by Apple? I've had more complaints from Apple repairs customers than those using third party outlets!

If you're an iPhone user, think on this... If every third party repairer stopped repairing iPhone's, when your iPhone does go wrong and you take it back to Apple for repair and get told it'll be eight weeks, I bet you wont smile?

 

[mercurial]

Class-action suit over iPhone-bricking Error 53 filed in California

 

[Creag]

Why Can't You Repair an iPhone?

Imagine if Ford remotely disabled the engine on your new F-150 pickup because you chose to have the door locks fixed at a corner garage rather than a dealership. Sound absurd? Not if you're Apple.

Since 2014, the world's most profitable smartphone company has -- without warning -- permanently disabled some iPhones that had their home buttons replaced by repair shops in the course of fixing a shattered screen. Phones that underwent the same repair at Apple service centers, meanwhile, have continued working just fine.

The message seems clear, at least to the multibillion-dollar independent repair industry: Your phone is yours until you decide to get it fixed. Then it's Apple's.

Apple says it was merely trying to keep the iPhones "secure," and that "Error 53" -- the code that pops up after the company bricks a unit -- is meant to ensure that nobody messes with the phone's fingerprint sensor. Whatever the intent, the company now finds itself amid a PR and legal debacle that could upend the lucrative business of servicing gadgets worldwide.

The rest at source: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-02-15/why-can-t-you-repair-an-iphone

 

[Sl8er]

Imagine if Ford remotely disabled the engine on your new F-150 pickup because you chose to have the door locks fixed at a corner garage rather than a dealership. Sound absurd? Not if you're Apple.

Since 2014, the world's most profitable smartphone company has -- without warning -- permanently disabled some iPhones that had their home buttons replaced by repair shops in the course of fixing a shattered screen. Phones that underwent the same repair at Apple service centers, meanwhile, have continued working just fine.

The message seems clear, at least to the multibillion-dollar independent repair industry: Your phone is yours until you decide to get it fixed. Then it's Apple's.

Apple says it was merely trying to keep the iPhones "secure," and that "Error 53" -- the code that pops up after the company bricks a unit -- is meant to ensure that nobody messes with the phone's fingerprint sensor. Whatever the intent, the company now finds itself amid a PR and legal debacle that could upend the lucrative business of servicing gadgets worldwide.

The rest at source: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-02-15/why-can-t-you-repair-an-iphone

*Puts on apple-glasses*
I'm happy with my multi-hundred dollar phone not really belonging to me.

*Takes off apple-glasses*
What BS is this? Seriously, who in their right mind thinks that this is even remotely ok?

 

[Hush9300]

Imagine if Ford remotely disabled the engine on your new F-150 pickup because you chose to have the door locks fixed at a corner garage rather than a dealership. Sound absurd? Not if you're Apple.

Since 2014, the world's most profitable smartphone company has -- without warning -- permanently disabled some iPhones that had their home buttons replaced by repair shops in the course of fixing a shattered screen. Phones that underwent the same repair at Apple service centers, meanwhile, have continued working just fine.

The message seems clear, at least to the multibillion-dollar independent repair industry: Your phone is yours until you decide to get it fixed. Then it's Apple's.

Apple says it was merely trying to keep the iPhones "secure," and that "Error 53" -- the code that pops up after the company bricks a unit -- is meant to ensure that nobody messes with the phone's fingerprint sensor. Whatever the intent, the company now finds itself amid a PR and legal debacle that could upend the lucrative business of servicing gadgets worldwide.

The rest at source: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-02-15/why-can-t-you-repair-an-iphone

"Imagine if Ford remotely disabled the engine on your new F-150 pickup because you chose to have the door locks fixed at a corner garage rather than a dealership."

As the first comment in that article suggests. Imagine getting your laser-cut car keys from the garage run by the stooge next door? Or complaining when your encoded key doesn't work with the ignition you got from the stooge next door.

I have never in all my life seen this much ado about nothing... I, for one, value security and someone having something as important as Touch ID replaced with unauthorised parts deserves what he gets as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Dolby]

Imagine if Ford remotely disabled the engine on your new F-150 pickup because you chose to have the door locks fixed at a corner garage rather than a dealership

That would be horrible.

But if that F-150 automatically shut down / immobilized on detection of a 3rd party (thief) tampering with the ECU / locks - that'd be great! That's what Apple is doing.

However, they should have some way of unlocking the phone when this is done

 

[noxibox]

But if that F-150 automatically shut down / immobilized on detection of a 3rd party (thief) tampering with the ECU / locks - that'd be great! That's what Apple is doing.

Imagine that car had another way to authenticate the user. What Apple is doing is blocking all access because they believe one method of access may have been compromised. Sorry we've detected that the fingerprint scanner has been altered so we're locking you out of your house, even though you're holding the key in your hand.

Apple's argument is perfectly valid, they can't guarantee the security of the Touch ID sensor if certain parts of the phone have been tampered with. This could break their whole security model if someone managed to make modifications to the fingerprint scanner.

The scanner isn't secure anyway. It's much less secure than a long PIN. Furthermore if their security can be compromised by someone merely putting in a rogue fingerprint scanner, then there is something seriously wrong with their implementation, beyond the general weakness of the fingerprint scanner.

I use the scanner because I'm lazy, not because I entertain fantasies about it being secure.

I do agree that Apple needs to be a little less strict with this.. Or perhaps educate 3rd party vendors on how to properly replace an iPhone display.

That will only happen if laws are passed to force them to do so, and they're subjected to harsh penalties for breaking those laws. They should include heavy fines for company as well as fines and prison time for the individuals involved in making the decisions.

 

[noxibox]

Frankly I have little doubt that what really went on was a discussion around how to make it harder for owners to get their phones repaired by anyone other than Apple. They realised that the Touch ID sensor was the perfect excuse, because they could claim the need for security, and as an added bonus they could destroy the users' phones to force them buy a new one, hence both punishing them for getting their phones repaired elsewhere and increasing Apple's profits even more, as well as scaring all owners away from non-Apple repairs.

 

[ngwe23]

Apple Apologizes And Updates iOS To Restore iPhones Disabled By Error 53
http://techcrunch.com/2016/02/18/ap...-ios-to-restore-iphones-disabled-by-error-53/

Apple doing what they should have done to start with. Disable the offending part and call it a day. Do not brick the whole phone.

 

[samcro]

Busy testing this now as i have had an iphone 6 with this issue for a year now..will see how it goes after the download is complete..