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Apple Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over 'Error 53' iPhone 6 Bricking

69Mustang said:
If I buy a car. And change the immobilizer to an aftermarket one. And the car continues working. I take the car in for service and the car company makes it stop working. The car company isn't liable... or are they?

I might get the fuss then.;)
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It might potentially depend on why they did it.
 
Supposedly, the reason for "Error 53" is a reference to Disney's Herbie the VW Beetle "Love Bug". The analogy is it's the biggest sized bug out there so a cataclysmic error is reported as the "biggest bug" of the system.
 
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Another scum law firm trying to make millions at Apple's Expense. At the end of the day if this bs goes anywhere the lawyers get millions and the people get peanuts as usual with this class action joke.

-Mike
 
this is EXACTLY the same as getting your car repaired outside of a dealership and then the dealership destroying your car when you go in for an oil change, there should be criminal repercussions for this

invalidating your warranty gives no company the right to destroy your property
 
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There could be another angle. Since TouchID sensor acts as input of fingerprint data to the iOS, there is a fair chance that in order to gain access to iDevice companies may develop a way to enter spurious fingerprint data to iOS in a form of brute force attack. That makes the iDevice more vulnerable. To protect individual's privacy Apple may have taken this step. :cool:

If you are still unhappy, wait for Cydia Hack to disable Error 53. :rolleyes:
 
Apple didn't communicate this properly, but I should point out that I own an iPhone 5S and I've always known that the sensor can only be replaced by Apple (or an authorised technician, I suppose).

I can't remember how I found out about that. It may have been from the iPhone 5S keynote, or some technical documentation online. Most iPhone owners I know haven't heard of this, though, so they definitely did a really poor job letting people know.

Also, I suspect this Error 53 is a bug. They probably meant to fall-back to TouchID. Unfortunately, it is a catastrophic error - even if Apple fixes it, once you're locked out of your phone you can't run an update to get the fix.
 
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0138-auto-warranties-routine-maintenance#will

One possibly appropriate auto industry parallel with this case is the Magnusson Moss limitation that an manufacturer can't invalidate a warranty just because a customer used an aftermarket part. Sure, you may get into a lot of time and effort to prove your specific modification or aftermarket part didn't cause an issue for which you're seeking warranty repairs, but the rules seem clear that you can't automatically void a warranty just because a non OEM part was used.
 
69Mustang said:
Arrggh. Another bad car analogy. I thought we banned those. If you're going to do a bad car analogy, at least do it right.

It's like going to Ace Hardware to get a spare key made for your car. The key works for months and you're happy. One day you take the car to the dealership for a tune up and they seize the engine*... because you used they spare key.

* for the less "automotively" inclined (apparently most who think their car analogies are correct), seize does not me taken. My analogy is bad as well. But at least it resembles the actual situation that spawned all the outrage.
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How About your cars remote door opener fails and you replace it with an aftermarket one. Next month when you get a oil change the dealer updates your cars firmware so that the car will not start until you replace the automatic door opener which has nothing to do with safety or security.
 
lampwins said:
It amazes me how little people actually care about their security (and do not confuse security with privacy here). Apple is trying to protect its users, but they are too stupid to realize.

But on the other hand, Availability is a part of the CIA triad so bricking the phone does violate this premise.

However, Apple is doing this because a piece of hardware inserted between the Touch-ID Sensor and the Secure Enclave could in theory either intercept scans or access the enclave.

They are doing this to protect you, not as a "screw you for trying to fix your own phone." People will always see what they want to see though, I suppose.
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That's some statement. I would actually like some cryptographic proof that my fingerprint is not being sent off the device, if they are so concerned about protecting the privacy of "stupid" users like me.
 
cfedu said:
How About your cars remote door opener fails and you replace it with an aftermarket one. Next month when you get a oil change the dealer updates your cars firmware so that the car will not start until you replace the automatic door opener which has nothing to do with safety or security.
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Tehe. Yeah, no. It doesn't work that way. Dealers can't do anything to your car without telling you what they want to do and what the consequences of their actions will be. You decide if you want the service done. It's your car. You make the decisions.
 
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ToroidalZeus said:
That's semi-true however there is no fix in case. In the case of the car you can get a proper key from the dealership. Plus you don't need TouchID for a functional phone as it's an extra feature and the phone works properly without it.
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It's more like changing out the part of the security system the resides your cars computer. Damage that and you have to replace the computer. The phone is the computer in this case.
 
ToroidalZeus said:
That's semi-true however there is no fix in case. In the case of the car you can get a proper key from the dealership. Plus you don't need TouchID for a functional phone as it's an extra feature and the phone works properly without it.
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Isn't there, though? If you take your iPhone with its broken Touch ID to Apple, will they not fix it for you (perhaps for a fee)?
 
69Mustang said:
Tehe. Yeah, no. It doesn't work that way. Dealers can't do anything to your car without telling you what they want to do and what the consequences of their actions will be. You decide if you want the service done. It's your car. You make the decisions.
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I understand that, but if they did do it. Technically, you make the decision if you want to upgrade the iOS too. In either case you should be told before that upgrading may brick your device, car or anything else you own.
 
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This might have been posted already, so apologies if it has. I am all for Apple keeping things secure but from what I read it seems the repaired devices worked fine until a firmware update? Meaning, it was fixed, the person used it for a while, and then it stopped working. Doesn't that mean that it isn't really secure? If a "bad guy" could replace the touch id sensor and use it for a while, even once, doesn't that mean the response by Apple is invalid?

Again, apologies if I am mistaken somewhere.
 
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mbc2237 said:
This might have been posted already, so apologies if it has. I am all for Apple keeping things secure but from what I read it seems the repaired devices worked fine until a firmware update? Meaning, it was fixed, the person used it for a while, and then it stopped working. Doesn't that mean that it isn't really secure? If a "bad guy" could replace the touch id sensor and use it for a while, even once, doesn't that mean the response by Apple is invalid?

Again, apologies if I am mistaken somewhere.
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I don't think it could be used again. The password would be required for a restart once the touch ID is replaced. You would always need the password I think.
 
This is like installing a new ignition or automatic starter for your car, on your own, then complaining your car won't start... The engine isnt broken... Install a new OEM part correctly and it works again.

This lawsuit has no ground.

Apple has every right to disable the phone if something risky is installed on it. Apple controls the software and you are agreeing to their license. You play by the rules or you get the axe...

I'm sure it says clear as day in the terms of use that Apple can change features and permissions without warning...

And every iPhone user agreed when they signed on...
 
Apple bricking phones from this is called greedgate. We saw a good amount of it last year (soldergate, 5400rpm-gate, etc), and this year it seems Apple is continuing the party.
 
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69Mustang said:
Tehe. Yeah, no. It doesn't work that way. Dealers can't do anything to your car without telling you what they want to do and what the consequences of their actions will be. You decide if you want the service done. It's your car. You make the decisions.
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Unless when you bought the car you agreed to their terms. I.e. Sign here please, click ok... Everything is fine.

My apartment lease can be updated at any moment and alls they have to do is send me a new agreement.
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trifid said:
Apple bricking phones from this is called greedgate. We saw a good amount of it last year (soldergate, 5400rpm-gate, etc), and this year it seems Apple is continuing the party.
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How is it greedgate? 3rd party parts are technically not allowed unless approved by Apple.. Just like licensed by Nintendo. It's not greed it's called cultivating an ecosystem... That's why Apple computers don't have PCI expansion hubs... All about what Apple wants to design.
 
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