The home button, which incorporates the Touch ID or fingerprint sensor, if replaced, is detected by the security feature in the new iOS update.
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If devices have undergone repairs by third party repairs to components like the home button or the screen, the error 53 message can have devastating consequences.
Since then, numerous iPhone users have described similar experiences on Twitter and Apple’s online support forums.
Now while Apple says that the security issue is only when someone tinkers with the original Touch ID sensor, as the DailyDot report’s author Mike Wehner, notes he faced the issue even though nobody had actually repaired the iPhone.
The Apple spokeswoman explains that “faulty screens or other invalid components”, can disrupt the unique pairing methods of the touch ID, disabling the phone so it remains secure. Once you update to a new version of iOS or try to restore, though, you’ll be presented with an Error 53 message that’ll turn your phone into a brick.
The update to Apple’s trade-in program will let customers receive credit for iPhones with cracked displays or broken buttons and cameras “within reason”, meaning you probably can’t bring in a phone after it’s been run over by a vehicle. The error makes the device useless to a large extent. “If iOS finds a mismatch, the check fails and Touch ID, including for Apple Pay use, is disabled”, Apple explained in a statement.
The iPhone trade-in program that Apple has rumored to be working on is now officially live.
As for other details surrounding Apple’s upcoming 4-inch iPhone, we’ve heard that the iPhone 5se will come packed with an A8 processor and support for the “Hey Siri!” feature Apple introduced on the iPhone 6s. Each Touch ID sensor is uniquely tied to the iOS device’s motherboard for additional security. Apple relies on the iPhone for two-thirds of its revenue.
The notoriously private Apple has released little information on the issue, which has caused outrage in the specialist press.
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Today’s Guardian article described freelance photographer Antonio Olmos’ difficulty with just such a situation: Olmos was covering the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe recently when he dropped his iPhone and went to a local fix shop because “there are no Apple stores in Macedonia”.
