Apple fixes ‘Error 53′ and apologizes to customers for bricking iPhones
— February 19, 2016
Apple is apologizing — and fixing — the “Error 53″ bug that left some iPhone devices bricked.
The basic problem occurs if your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus home button is repaired anywhere other than an Apple Store or Apple-authorized repair center.
At first, the phone might work — with everything, including Touch ID, seeming perfectly fine. But then, when you try to update to a newer version of iOS (or you attempt to restore your phone from a backup), the software checks to make sure the Touch ID sensor matches the rest of the hardware. If it doesn’t find a match — and only authorized Apple repair centers can pair a phone and Touch ID sensor — your phone will stop functioning.
Although Apple originally said that “Error 53″ was a security measure, many users questioned why the company would take the measure of disabling an entire phone and not just the Touch ID features. Apple is facing a class action lawsuit over the feature.
In an interesting about face, Apple on Thursday released an updated version of iOS 9.2.1 for mobile application development iTunes that will fix phones bricked by “Error 53″ and prevent future unofficial Apple repairs from bricking phones.
In a statement given to Mashable, Apple said:
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.
Apple also updated its support document for “Error 53″ on its website. If you have an iPhone that was bricked by “Error 53,” plugging it into iTunes and running the latest iOS 9.2.1 update should restore the phone and get it up and running properly.
Although the new update will fix bricked phones — and prevent a non-Apple authorized repair from bricking phones in the future — there is a security-based caveat — the Touch ID sensor will no longer work.
That’s because the Secure Enclave stored within the Touch ID sensor still needs to be paired and secured. Only Apple and Apple-authorized repair shops can do this.
What this means is that if you do replace your home button on an iPhone 6 someplace other than an Apple Store — you no longer need to worry about your phone bricking. Still, doing this will mean that you will be unable to use Touch ID on the phone.
Sources: mashable
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