Apple has managed two surprising feats of positive PR this week. Firstly there was the company's announcement, via Tim Cook, that it will be fighting a U.S government ruling that it should unlock an iPhone involved in the San Bernardino terrorism case. Reports suggested it was asked to disable the 10 strikes rule on incorrect pin entry, allowing authorities to bombard the device with pin codes till they could unlock it. A feather in Apple's cap, certainly, especially for those ready to stand up for data security.
Just as interestingly, Apple has also offered a welcome fix to the Error 53 issue. I short, a new version of iOS 9.2.1 will allow iPhones that are essentially bricked by the error, to be restored using iTunes and from this version of the firmware onwards, if you do replace the Home Button or cable during a repair, Error 53 will no longer brick your iPhone 6.
The Home Button and Touch ID assembly in the iPhone 6. Image credit: Antony Leather
However, it's not quite that simple. In my recent 'Replace your iPhone 6's screen guide' I explained that you'd need to transplant your old Home Button and cable for Error 53 not to pop up and brick your device. The new fix stops the error, but sadly, you still can't replace the entire screen and digitizer - Home Button and all, and retain full functionality. Apple is getting rid of Error 53, but if you do replace the Home Button, Touch ID - the finger print-based payment and security feature used in tasks such as unlocking the device and using Apple Pay, will cease to function.
So, my original guide is still the best way to repair your iPhone 6's screen if you do it yourself - you'll need to grab the bare screen and transplant your original components over, or you risk Touch ID being rendered inoperable. If the Home Button itself is damaged or Touch ID isn't working, the only way to fix this is and to retain Touch ID is to send your device to Apple.
Removing the Home Button to transplant it in a new device is tedious and much more time-consuming... [+]
It's a shame it's taken Apple so long to come up with this solution, but actually, what it's offering is a sensible fix. It keeps the security of Touch ID watertight and has even offered to reimburse users that purchased new iPhones due to the error bricking their original devices too - something that's actually been happening since iOS 9 was introduced and became a big issue late last year. The statement below was issued to Tech Crunch on 18th February:
Some customers’ devices are showing ‘Connect to iTunes’ after attempting an iOS update or a restore from iTunes on a Mac or PC. This reports as an Error 53 in iTunes and appears when a device fails a security test. This test was designed to check whether Touch ID works properly before the device leaves the factory.
Today, Apple released a software update that allows customers who have encountered this error message to successfully restore their device using iTunes on a Mac or PC.
We apologize for any inconvenience, this was designed to be a factory test and was not intended to affect customers.
Customers who paid for an out-of-warranty replacement of their device based on this issue should contact AppleCare about a reimbursement.
Disabling Touch ID is the logical decision for Apple and is something that many have said should have been implemented instead of the dreaded Error 53 as well. This does at least make self-repairs a little less arduous too as you no longer run the risk of bricking your iPhone 6.
Sadly, though, it does seem that the increasingly complex iPhones will become more and more difficult to repair at home without triggering security-related lockouts or disabling features. There has been talk of Apple introducing a screen-based Touch ID/fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 7 or later models too and this could mean third party screen replacements would be impossible.
Have you been affected by Error 53? Feel free to comment below or reach out on Facebook or Twitter.
