Apple now accepting your banged-up iPhone

With the new policy, credit will be given for iPhone 5s, 6, and 6 Plus phones that are damaged within reason. You apparently can’t recover any data that’s left on the device.

Apple’s statement concludes with a note for customers who encounter an “unrecoverable” Error 53 to contact Apple support, but since the third-party hardware installation that caused the error also violates Apple’s warranty, the only way out seems to involve lots of currency. Now it’s important to note that this is not a guaranteed occurrence: it’s possible that you will not experience Error 53 if your iPhone 6 has been repaired by a non-official company.

Our devices are an important part of daily life, so a shattered smartphone screen or a broken headphone jack needs to be fixed-the quicker and cheaper the better. “All along, Apple’s view is that it does not want third parties carrying out repairs to its products, and this looks like an obvious extension of that”.

Repairing an iPhone is an expensive proposition. We have tried everything under the sun to get around this error but it is simply not possible. For this new program, if the machine install results in error, Apple will give customers free protector replacements and try the installation again. The Touch ID, if replaced, will need to be re-paired and re-validated with the motherboard and this can only be done by Apple’s authorised service centres.

Have you been hit by “error 53”? Numerous anecdotes, discovered in forums online and gathered by the Guardian itself, describe the same issue: a bricked iPhone that will only display an “Error 53” message and can’t be restored.

The logistics of Error 53 are confusing and specific. You can easily imagine a crooked fix shop installing malware-ridden Touch IDs that steal fingerprints and other data. But in an update on the problem, The Guardian was able to obtain official word from the company. “This security measure is necessary to protect your device and prevent a fraudulent Touch ID sensor from being used”.

2/5 3:55PM: Updated to include Apple statement.

But it only appears to be happening to phones which have been repaired by a third party service (ie not by Apple) AND when the devices’ operating system has been upgraded to the latest iOS 9 version.

The buttons had to be functioning, and the screen could not be cracked.