iPhone 6's repaired by third parties rendered useless

[altrenda]

"The issue appears to affect handsets where the home button, which has touch ID fingerprint recognition built-in, has been repaired by a “non-official” company or individual. It has also reportedly affected customers whose phone has been damaged but who have been able to carry on using it without the need for a repair."

Latest update causes "Error 53" message, bricking phones and losing data.

Another customer friendly move by Apple.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/20...e-update-handset-worthless-third-party-repair

 

[SprinterTech-WI]

Only if the 3rd party is an idiot and replaces the home button... Ugh uninformed articles... Usually they only need replacement after an EU tries doing the repair themselves.

 

[mraikes]

"Could Apple’s move, which appears to be designed to squeeze out independent repairers, contravene competition rules? Car manufacturers, for example, are not allowed to insist that buyers only get their car serviced by them. Apple charges £236 for a repair to the home button on an iPhone 6 in the UK, while an independent repairer would demand a fraction of that."

Yup, it's a mystery all right . . .

 

[altrenda]

Idiots or not, phones that were working stop working after the software update. I've seen you warn people here of this, so it's not that uncommon.
I don't think the article is that uniformed.

It's clearly a security feature, related to the fingerprint scanner and Apple Pay. it's the lack of warning that bothers people.

"California-based tech expert Kyle Wiens, who runs the iFixit website, says this is a major issue. “The ‘error 53’ page on our website has had more than 183,000 hits, suggesting this is a big problem for Apple users,” he told Guardian Money. “The problem occurs if the repairer changes the home button or the cable. Following the software upgrade the phone in effect checks to make sure it is still using the original components, and if it isn’t, it simply locks out the phone. There is no warning, and there’s no way that I know of to bring it back to life.”

 

[mraikes]

I'm not clear why this security feature is needed. Or why it exists.

Are the enrolled fingerprints somehow stored in the button itself so swapping the button (much less the CABLE, which apparently can trigger the same error) fools the device into accepting any old fingerprint? If the fingerprint images are actually stored elsewhere on the phone, then the sensor itself shouldn't play any role.

I'm sure there's some security related, technically incomprehensible reason for this being true, but it sounds about the same as saying "replacing the doorbell on a house makes the lock easier to pick". So we're going to lock you out of your house . . .

Gotta wonder what is really more important to Apple; Security of the device or limiting service options after the sale.

 

[SprinterTech-WI]

So I'm not an engineer... But the initial issue was that a 3rd party button could be modified to add a storage device or a chip to intercept the prints, or another similar security breach. vs apples button encrypts at the button level.

Again I'm not an engineer but from what I can tell Samsung's and other companies operate differently so they haven't instituted the same pairing.

Now granted apple is definitely trying to shut down 3rd party repair companies between inflating prices, ice raids, design changes, recycling program etc...

I guess I'm biased because I'm a repair shop but I hate when articles don't actually say its ONLY if you have the button replaced, the long flex (extension cable) can be replaced with no error 53.
Even the button can be if you resolder/transfer the chips, never done it myself but a few have.