Apple iPhone - Error 53 - Device Bricked

ThumbRemote

AJXX wrote: »

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

Well, given it's been introduced by a software update, it's either deliberate or a bug. If it's a bug then I still think it's incumbent on Apple to sort out the problems it causes.

AJXX wrote: »

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.

Fair enough, on that basis it's a poor quality repair. However, it may be one that a user is happy with (I have an iPhone 6 and never use Touch ID, so were I to break the glass I wouldn't be bothered about whether that feature worked or not any more).

But if continued use of the phone is conditional on only authorised repairs being carried out, then that should be made clear to the consumer at the time the phone was purchased.

Alternatively, if a specific software update is designed to brick phones in specific conditions, it should be made very clear ot the user before they download it.

Apple appear to have done neither.

ThumbRemote

stugib wrote: »

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.

Well not quite. Excusing a little hyperbole, it's more like you bought a cheap replacement which worked OK except for the remote central locking not functioning any more. Then all of a sudden one day the car manufacturer turned up with a steamroller and flattened your car to make sure you never used it again.

stugib wrote: »

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.

I agree - there are numerous, better solutions they could have used.

pappa_golf

stugib wrote: »

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.

umm , you loose your car keys , insurance company send locksmith out and he recuts keys and programmes them , he is a member of the UKs largest trade assoc .


1: you wake up one morning to find your car will not start , due to ford reprogramming the car "remotely " (ie download of new software)
2: you take it to ford garage for warranty work and it is declined

unholyangel

It seems to becoming more and more of a problem as more items come with software.

I don't think the EU would back apple - they're pretty pro open market and tend to take action against companies who engage in practices which prohibit the open market. Microsofts internet explorer for example.

Won't be the first time apple has been investigated for breaching competition laws tbh.

powerful_Rogue

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".

Just to clarify this is a hypothetical person in this situation and not myself.

However - Apple don't carry out TouchID repairs, so if you are out of warranty then you have to pay Apple for a replacement device OR get a 3rd party repair.

Also, if you took the TouchID out of one Apple device and placed it in another, you would still get the same issue even with an OEM part.

Surly its Apples fault if your device has been working fine for the past 4 months with the 3rd party part and then Apple decided to kill your device due to this with an update.

powerful_Rogue

AJXX wrote: »

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.

The TouchID sensor is just that, a sensor that reads the fingerprints and sends it to the secure enclave. The sensor does not hold or store any information.

powerful_Rogue

Here's an article if any one is interested
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/06/apple-says-iphone-error-53-is-to-protect-customers-security

Class law suits have been instigated in Australia and also America due to this. Wonder if the same will happen in the UK.

AJXX

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

The TouchID sensor is just that, a sensor that reads the fingerprints and sends it to the secure enclave. The sensor does not hold or store any information.

Not strictly true, the TouchID sensor and CPU/Logic board are paired together, it's not just simply "a sensor" - it's a sensor that is uniquely paired with the CPU and can't just be haphazardly replaced at will (as what has happened to all these people now with bricked iPhones).

According to iMore, each individual Touch ID sensor is paired with its corresponding A7 processor. To confirm the pairing theory, iMore switched the Touch ID sensors from two brand new iPhones and attempted to setup each device. Each phone failed to recognize the sensors and returned an error until the sensors were swapped back to their original phones.


You can think of the Touch ID sensor as a key and the A7 processor as a door lock. If every key worked in every lock, it would be easy to simply copy any key and let yourself into someone else’s house. Because each sensor and A7 chip are unique to each other, copying one key (cracking the security on one Touch ID sensor) does not let you into every house on the block. In the event that someone does find a way to intercept fingerprint data on one iPhone 5s, pairing the hardware components helps prevent this hack from working on every other device.

powerful_Rogue

AJXX wrote: »

Not strictly true, the TouchID sensor and CPU/Logic board are paired together, it's not just simply "a sensor" - it's a sensor that is uniquely paired with the CPU and can't just be haphazardly replaced at will (as what has happened to all these people now with bricked iPhones).

Just to be clear: the sensor doesn't access anything. It's an input device, like a mouse. Your mouse does not access your hard drive. Nor does the sensor access the secure enclave.

The sensor simply sends print images to the CPU, which then copies them to the secure enclave to look at and possibly authenticate.

Sensor data -> CPU -> secure enclave -> authentication Y/N flag back to -> CPU

AJXX

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Just to be clear: the sensor doesn't access anything. It's an input device, like a mouse. Your mouse does not access your hard drive. Nor does the sensor access the secure enclave.

The sensor simply sends print images to the CPU, which then copies them to the secure enclave to look at and possibly authenticate.

Sensor data -> CPU -> secure enclave -> authentication Y/N flag back to -> CPU

Nobody is disputing what the sensor accesses or what it 'stores'.

I'm merely pointing out that each TouchID sensor and CPU are paired together at the factory in some way, which then prevents the TouchID sensor simply being swapped out and replaced as it no longer works.

Your claim that it's "just a sensor" isn't quite as black and white as it would seem. It maybe "just a sensor" but it's a sensor that is uniquely paired with the CPU of the phone and can't easily be replaced unless you get this done officially.