Apple iPhone - Error 53 - Device Bricked

powerful_Rogue

Thought this might make an intersting discussion as its currently in the news.

You purchase an iPhone 6 and the Touch ID/Home button breaks. (This is the home button you place your finger on to unlock the device).

As its out of warranty, you take it to a local phone repair shop that can offer the repair at a fraction of the price Apple would charge.

The repairman states that once he replaces the button, it will work as a home button, but you will no longer be able to use it as a finger print scanner. You agree to this.

Repair carried out and the phone works fine for the next 4 months. You get a notification on your phone saying a software update is available from Apple - would you like to install.

You install this update, however it kills your phone. The £600 handset is about as much use as a brick.

You contact Apple and they say they have done this to protect your security and there is nothing they can do.

Next step?

AJXX

Accept that you are up a particular creek without a paddle through nobodies fault but your own?

www.apple.com/uk/support/iphone/service/faq/

Above prices are not unreasonable to me for a £600 piece of hardware - £86 for a screen replacement...

As its out of warranty, you take it to a local phone repair shop that can offer the repair at a fraction of the price Apple would charge.

And this is exactly your problem, you pay for what you get which is normally a shoddy repair carried out by someone who is inadequately trained and lacking sufficient tools/authorisations to pair the touch ID sensor to the phones logic board which more often than results in you being left with a useless phone.

So why is this Apples fault? It isn't, but it's certainly easier to blame Apple then admit "I've just broke my £600 phone because I had it repaired on the cheap".

ThumbRemote

AJXX wrote: »

Accept that you are up a particular creek without a paddle through nobodies fault but your own?

www.apple.com/uk/support/iphone/service/faq/

Above prices are not unreasonable to me for a £600 piece of hardware - £86 for a screen replacement...

And this is exactly your problem, you pay for what you get which is normally a shoddy repair carried out by someone who is inadequately trained and lacking sufficient tools/authorisations to pair the touch ID sensor to the phones logic board which more often than results in you being left with a useless phone.

So why is this Apples fault? It isn't, but it's certainly easier to blame Apple then admit "I've just broke my £600 phone because I had it repaired on the cheap".

Have you actually read the post you've replied to?

It would be Apples fault because they've deliberately done it. You've just made up a load of guff about poor quality repairs, when there was nothing in the OPs post to suggest that.

If you take your car into a main dealers, would it be acceptable for them to permanently disable the car just because you'd had a third-party spare fitted?

stugib

AJXX wrote: »

Accept that you are up a particular creek without a paddle through nobodies fault but your own?

Is there an FAQ or T&Cs that Apple customers agree to that says repairs can only be done via an authorised repairer at the risk of the device *that they own* being disabled?

If not it looks and smells like a protectionist racket to swell Apple's coffers even more.

kev_min

I think this is a bit naughty of Apple, after all just whos `phone is it?

Can you imagine if you car stopped working just because it detected that you had used pattern parts (like the majority of owners) and said it was for your safety!

If Apple were that concerned they COULD have given the owners a choice, by including a warning that security could be comprimised by the detected non OEM parts, rather than going all "Big Brother". Epson do this with their printers, if you fit pattern inks the printer asks if you wish to continue, but they do not 'brick' the printer...

JJ_Egan

Outside repair has voided any Apple warranty or goodwill and my guess is due to that they would not accept responsibility .That would be even more likely as its no longer the product it was with a significant part missing .

But its an update and many updates get it broke my phone/tablet posts on the web .

AJXX

ThumbRemote wrote: »

Have you actually read the post you've replied to?

It would be Apples fault because they've deliberately done it. You've just made up a load of guff about poor quality repairs, when there was nothing in the OPs post to suggest that.

If you take your car into a main dealers, would it be acceptable for them to permanently disable the car just because you'd had a third-party spare fitted?

What actual documented proof do you have to state that Apple have "deliberately" done this?

You've just made up a load of guff about poor quality repairs

This whole situation arises when the Touch ID has not been paired to the logic board - which most of these high street and back street repairers have no idea or the tools to do this.

Ergo, these are poor quality "repairs" as they aren't done properly!

The issue isn't that the repairer used 3rd party parts, the issue is that they haven't paired the TouchID to the logic board.

In fact if the repairer actually changes the glass but leaves the original Touch ID sensor in place the whole situation can be avoided.

pappa_golf

In fact EU legislation was introduced that allowed customers to use non "branded" replacement parts when servicing or repairing cars without affecting warranties


in fact the whole insurance system on car repairs is that they will fit new or "compatible" parts when doing repairs.


so , your 2014 mondao is in a crash , insurance repair it , you take it into a ford dealer and they decline the warranty.




also remember that replacement windscreens do NOT come from the ford factory.


EU legislation stopped those problems , but would they take on Apple?

wealdroam

AJXX wrote: »

What actual documented proof do you have to state that Apple have "deliberately" done this?

The OP has told us:

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

You contact Apple and they say they have done this to protect your security and there is nothing they can do.

Admittedly not 'documented proof', but surely you have no reason to doubt that?

AJXX wrote: »

In fact if the repairer actually changes the glass but leaves the original Touch ID sensor in place the whole situation can be avoided.

That is not relevant to the OP's situation.

stugib

ThumbRemote wrote: »

If you take your car into a main dealers, would it be acceptable for them to permanently disable the car just because you'd had a third-party spare fitted?

Actually, now I've just read a bit more about it, I think a better analogy would be: I lost my car key and bought a cheap replacement rather than spend £200 the dealership wanted. But it's not programmed to the car so it won't disable the immobiliser and start the car.

I think Apple's approach is overkill, but bypassing a secure system that can now be used as a payment method is a legitimate problem. I think in response to an unpaired ID sensor they could just as easily have disabled Apple Pay or the ability to lock the phone based on fingerprints.

AJXX

wealdroam wrote: »

That is not relevant to the OP's situation.

If that's the case then neither are the rest of the posts to this thread. Nobody has actually answered the OP's question with regards to moving forward on consumer rights....

I was simply giving a little background as to why this occurs before the usual onslaught of "omg apple are terrible" people start incorrectly pointing out that Apple have done this just to spite them when there is a legitimate reason why this occurs it's not simply that they have replaced a part of the phone, it's that they've replaced a security system/encrypted chip with a 3rd party part which the phone no longer recognises because the repair does not have the tools or knowledge to correctly pair with the phone.