The error that can brick your iPhone

The home button, which incorporates the Touch ID or fingerprint sensor, if replaced, is detected by the security feature in the new iOS update.

Apple responded to the backlash over the controversial “Error 53” message on iPhones, which it claims is a customer security measure.

The risk is apparently that someone could tamper with the home button and circumvent the fingerprint ID system for unlocking a device or paying with it. That is reasonable, as John Gruber points out on Daring Fireball.

“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 The Guardian.

Apple has admitted that Error 53 has the potential to hobble iPhones.

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.

Previously, Apple required iPhone displays, buttons and cameras to be intact for consumers to get up to $350 toward the purchase of a new iPhone. Some have accused Apple of trying to squeeze out “non-authorized” phone repairpeople in an attempt to maximize profits – users who receive error 53 notifications have no choice but to purchase a new phone as the error renders the phone inoperable. Because of this however, some users who have had to use third party services to fix their iPhones, have found that they do more damage than good. Each Touch ID sensor is uniquely tied to the iOS device’s motherboard for additional security.

It’s called Error 53 and those who find this error essentially end up with a bricked phone.

If one opts for a third party service centers then their handset is deemed out of the warranty and apple is no more responsible for any loss of the data. “For example, an unauthorized or faulty screen replacement could cause the check to fail”.

I know what you’re thinking: Apple is an evil company and wants to capture all the repairing revenue.

“The phones that Apple is remote-killing haven’t been doctored: they’ve been fixed”, he noted.

Aside from Apple’s trade-in program, customers can now avail screen protector installation services at retail stores.