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iPhone 13 Screen Replacements Can Break Face ID, a Repair Restriction iFixit Calls 'Completely Unprecedented'
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Once you've compromised the screen you have the ability to compromise FaceID. Remember, the FaceID sensor is behind the glass, so replacing the glass could theoretically make it easier to compromise FaceID. That's independent from being able to record screen touches, which is a totally separate issue.
What Apple is doing is saying "if anything in the chain is broken the whole chain is broken." That's probably one of the reasons that Apple's biometric stuff is accepted as payments etc, because there is a chain-of-trust there.
No, but they could take a page out of Amazon's book here (which, to be fair, is a page that was stolen right out of Steve Job's book) and put Customers first.
Make your Customers happy and the money follows.
Disappoint them enough times and watch the money dry up.
Apple hasn't gotten money from me since I bought my 6+. We're a small group, but we're growing.
Which means, you can as well buy a new phone because cost will be prohibitive.
But hey, who cares, it's all Apple looking out for us.
Speaking of the 1950’s I have memories of ‘helping’ my dad as he pulled tubes out of the TV, took them to a store (I think it was actually a drug store), tested each one in the testing machine in the corner of the store, and then bought replacements for the ones the machine indicated needed replacing. If that didn’t fix the problem we called the TV repair shop and waited for them to send out a repair person. The TV itself was too big to fit in the car.
AppleCare+ is an insanely affordable option.
Nobody needs independent repair shops anymore.
Nobody needs independent repair shops anymore.
Again, voice your choice with your wallet.
Instead, you get a warranty backed by a multi-trillion-dollar company who can give you a new device at the drop of a hat. Sounds fine to me.
Should clarify - I didn't get a repair done, it was a kit that I was told would contain OEM parts. Apple can also fib, but again per the above you have a corporation to hold employees accountable, not a dude with good Google reviews (valid and quality as the service may be). Not everyone has a guy like that in their neighborhood. Even then, those costs are relative to the expensive high-tech device you're purchasing, and as it ages parts will be harder to come by (esp now). No one buys a shiny new Audi expecting to pay $250 for a new windshield when it gets cracked.
Sounds like you like to hold onto tech, and I agree Apple will charge out the wazoo for upgrades, but because people keep paying those prices, so I'd say you should continue to hold on. I used to fix first-get iPhone screens in college when Apple would simply replace the device, so good on people who know how to fix tech and all that, but I still don't think it's unfair for Apple to not open up super-secure technology like FaceID, TouchID, etc. to "unauthorized" third-party repairs, parts, firmware, etc. Doesn't fit the "it just works" motto, which isn't always the case because volume, but eh. Huge corporation backing the warranty instead of an LLC. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Apple has an outstanding track record in that regard. With customers, many repeat, opening their wallets paying premium prices for Apple products and services, quarter after quarter, year after year after year.
They give you another refurbished device and I would rather get it fixed correctly the first time because taking it in twice for the same repair isn’t economically worth it once the value of time is accounted for. Often taking it in the first time isn’t worth it.
Not everyone lives by an Apple store or an authorize repair place. Then you send in the phone for repair and you’re without one for a while. So yes, independent repair shops can be extremely helpful.
Why can’t we just pay a reasonable price when something actually breaks? Why must it be a gamble on how durable we think our devices are?
AppleCare is a steal if you regularly destroy your phone. If you’re generally careful then it’s basically a monthly subscription for possibly nothing.
I don’t even trust Apple to properly repair a device and that’s why I don’t have Apple Care.
Really? So why not just give an option to pair/unpair the hardware in a diagnostic menu? Have the user log into iCloud as well as enter their iPhone's passcode before the pair/unpair process begins?
That's some BS rhetoric. Apple realizes that display replacements are a cash cow, and wants to monopolize on the service and sales.
If Apple cared about security, they wouldn't build a backdoor to scan your photos on your device locally, nor would it let NSO use vulnerabilities without patching them until faced with public pressure.
If you are not authorized to access their secure environment, encryption, etc, than you are stealing their tech. So one you disassemble their tech of course you can not expect it to function. Common sense.
An inability to replace the iPhone 13's display without breaking Face ID could have a major impact on companies that offer iPhone repairs, iFixit said today in an article advocating for Right to Repair laws.
iFixit first pointed out this repair issue in its iPhone 13 Pro teardown, and has confirmed it with multiple tests. Replacing the display of the iPhone 13 renders Face ID non-functional, so at-home repairs are not an option. Swapping an iPhone 13's display with a display from a new iPhone 13 results in an error message that says "Unable to activate Face ID on this iPhone."
An iPhone display repair, which could previously be done with hand-held tools, now requires a microscope and microsoldering tools or access to Apple's Independent Repair Provider Program, which repair shops have criticized for its "draconian" contracts and requirements.
At issue is a small microcontroller that pairs the iPhone 13 to its display. Apple does not have a tool that allows iPhone owners or repair shops not affiliated with Apple to pair a new screen to an iPhone 13. Authorized technicians who do work with Apple need to use Apple Services Toolkit 2 to log a repair to Apple's cloud services, thereby syncing the serial numbers of the iPhone and the display.
Some repair shops have found a workaround, but it is difficult and work intensive. A soldered chip must be moved from the original screen to the replacement, which iFixit says is "completely unprecedented" as screen repair is "incredibly common" and accounts for a good amount of the revenue that independent repair shops bring in.
iFixit says that Apple's decision to disable Face ID with a screen repair could cause small repair outlets to shut down, spend thousands on new equipment, or lose out on Apple repairs. The site also does not believe that the Face ID repair issue is an accident, as Apple has previously introduced similar repair restrictions for Touch ID, True Tone functionality with display repairs, and iPhone 12 cameras.
Other independent repair shops that iFixit spoke to believe that Apple has implemented this change in an effort to "thwart a customer's ability to repair," directing iPhone owners to Apple retail locations or Apple Authorized Service Providers for help with their displays.
With the iPhone 12, camera repairs initially required Apple's proprietary system configuration tool to function properly, and cameras that were replaced were non-functional. Apple addressed this issue with an update that notifies customers that the camera in their device might not be genuine, but doesn't disable it entirely. Apple could do something similar for Face ID in a future update, but it's not clear yet if that will happen.
Customers with an iPhone 13 would be best served by visiting an Apple Authorized Service Provider or an Apple Store for any kind of repair due to the difficulty of display replacements and the potential for Face ID failure. Without AppleCare+, display repairs are expensive, priced between $229 to $329 for Apple's iPhone 13 models.
Article Link: iPhone 13 Screen Replacements Can Break Face ID, a Repair Restriction iFixit Calls 'Completely Unprecedented'
A very good idea from Apple. The no authorized service will end the sale of stolen and counterfeit screens.
That sounds more difficult to design and manufacture the iPhone just so thrift-minded iPhone enthusiasts can repair the screen without having this security issue with Face ID. It seems ridiculous. Apple is right about this stuff I'd say.