Apple Suddenly Decides That Error 53 Is No Longer a ‘Security Feature’

Apple said affected users who update their phones via iTunes should now be able to restore their devices, however the fingerprint scanner will still not work.

Now, Apple has released a new build of iOS 9.2.1 that will “un-brick” devices previously crippled by Error 53.

We apologize for any inconvenience, this was created to be a factory test and was not meant to affect customers.

In an interesting about face, Apple on Thursday released an updated version of iOS 9.2.1 for iTunes that will fix phones bricked by “Error 53” and prevent future unofficial Apple repairs from bricking phones. The other issue was that some of the error 53 victims were folks who had screens replaced by third parties and not Apple stores. Controversy has erupted of late after a rash of iOS users found that their devices were rendered useless when they updated to the latest version of the operating system.

When the new Touch ID hardware was used, it caused iOS to freak out; it could tell the components weren’t original, and thus shut the phone down entirely as a safety precaution.

The Error 53 issue has plagued iPhone 6 owners for several months but gained wider attention after a reporter from The Guardian complained a week ago that updating to iOS 9 will “kill your iPhone”. iPhones that experienced the error would be caught in a continuous reboot process.

Note that if you’re effected by this and TouchID is important to you, you can have Apple replace your TouchID sensor with an out-of-warranty fix. Such a check occurs when the user updates or restores iOS, and a failed test turns the device into a brick. In which case, the device would effectively become “bricked” in an effort to protect information in the Secure Enclave and Touch ID. Anyone who updates their iPhone over-the-air should have never encountered the issue in the first place. Contact Apple Support to ask about service options for Touch ID. If the codes don’t match, Touch ID doesn’t work. “Before it was a little bit like Apple was arguing against the existence of gravity saying, “Nobody but us should fix iPhones”.