What does Apple check for when determining a hardware error?

[Apatel]

Hello,

I recently got my first iPhone from someone off Craigslist. After I purchased it I noticed that the touch ID sensor did not work. I got online and saw that some people had issues after the last update to their phone so I thought nothing of it. Yesterday when trying to upgrade to iOS 9 I got an error 53 and was unable to update or back up my phone. I looked into the error and many reported it was an issue with a screen replacement and the Touch ID sensor and there is no way to fix it.

I have contacted Apple and they are going to replace the phone after they check to make sure nothing was done to the hardware. What all do they check for when they do this? I am unsure if a screen has been replaced, but is that even something that would check for when checking for a hardware failure?

Thanks!

 

[Azzin]

They'll open it to see if it has any non genuine parts fitted and if it does, they'll probably refuse any warranty claim.

 

[noobinator]

Hello,

I recently got my first iPhone from someone off Craigslist. After I purchased it I noticed that the touch ID sensor did not work. I got online and saw that some people had issues after the last update to their phone so I thought nothing of it. Yesterday when trying to upgrade to iOS 9 I got an error 53 and was unable to update or back up my phone. I looked into the error and many reported it was an issue with a screen replacement and the Touch ID sensor and there is no way to fix it.

I have contacted Apple and they are going to replace the phone after they check to make sure nothing was done to the hardware. What all do they check for when they do this? I am unsure if a screen has been replaced, but is that even something that would check for when checking for a hardware failure?

Thanks!

They will definitely check this and they will definitely find out if the screen was replaced. Sounds like someone on CL replaced the screen and went cheap. You didn't check the touch id when purchasing?

 

[Newtons Apple]

The only issue would be if the owner before you had a third party work on your phone, they will hand it back to you as the warranty will be void.

 

[Apatel]

I actually don't know if anything was replaced on it but looking up the Error 53 message that seems to be the common thing that people say. I was not able to try the touch ID when I bought it because I didn't have the correct sim card to insert into the phone when I got it. I was moving from Android to the iPhone and didn't have the nano sim card.

 

[Newtons Apple]

I actually don't know if anything was replaced on it but looking up the Error 53 message that seems to be the common thing that people say. I was not able to try the touch ID when I bought it because I didn't have the correct sim card to insert into the phone when I got it. I was moving from Android to the iPhone and didn't have the nano sim card.

Apple will plug it into their diagnostics and be able to tell in seconds.

 

[Apatel]

Apple will plug it into their diagnostics and be able to tell in seconds.

So will it tell what the error is? If something was modified I don't mind paying to get it fixed, and to reiterate I don't know if anything was modified just going by what some people on the internet have said.

 

[Applejuiced]

That's a common problem with people that replace their screens via 3rd party vendors.

 

[Apatel]

That's a common problem with people that replace their screens via 3rd party vendors.

So I have read but I've already read that some people have had it happen without a replacement. Just wanting to get my expectations in order.

 

[Applejuiced]

So I have read but I've already read that some people have had it happen without a replacement. Just waiting to get my expectations in order.

True, just gotta wait and see how it goes.

 

[Matthew.H]

That's a common problem with people that replace their screens via 3rd party vendors.

It wouldn't probably happen as much if Apple didn't charge so much for screen replacements. A work colleague had their iphone 5 screen replaced by a 3rd party(repair shop) for £45. If the repair is done properly most people probably won't care about losing the ability to have the phone serviced by Apple. It's when 3rd party repairs go wrong that people wish they had just gone to Apple in the first place.

 

[Applejuiced]

It wouldn't probably happen as much if Apple didn't charge so much for screen replacements. A work colleague had their iphone 5 screen replaced by a 3rd party(repair shop) for £45. If the repair is done properly most people probably won't care about losing the ability to have the phone serviced by Apple. It's when 3rd party repairs go wrong that people wish they had just gone to Apple in the first place.

Its $129 to replace it at the Apple store.
Risking having a bad repair or bad parts and losing service option from Apple is worth the extra $20-30 IMO.


How much does iPhone screen repair cost?
iPhone 6s Plus: $149
iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5: $129
iPhone 6: $109

 

[Azzin]

It wouldn't probably happen as much if Apple didn't charge so much for screen replacements.

That's like saying people wouldn't steal if companies didn't charge so much & (IMO) it doesn't stack up.

If you want something done properly, you have to pay for it, that's business (& life) 101.

A work colleague had their iphone 5 screen replaced by a 3rd party(repair shop) for £45. If the repair is done properly most people probably won't care about losing the ability to have the phone serviced by Apple.

Except if it suffers a large issue and needs replacing and the claim is refused by the manufacturer.

It's when 3rd party repairs go wrong that people wish they had just gone to Apple in the first place.

There's on,y one way not to run that risk and that's to pony up the right money to have the job done and get a nationwide warranty and peace of mind.

I still find it bizarre that people are willing to spend £700 on a phone, plus various cases, screen protectors, docks etc, but scrimp and run the risk of invalidating the warranty for the sake of saving a small amount of money when they need the screen replaced.

 

[Matthew.H]

That's like saying people wouldn't steal if companies didn't charge so much & (IMO) it doesn't stack up.

If you want something done properly, you have to pay for it, that's business (& life) 101.



Except if it suffers a large issue and needs replacing and the claim is refused by the manufacturer.



There's on,y one way not to run that risk and that's to pony up the right money to have the job done and get a nationwide warranty and peace of mind.

I still find it bizarre that people are willing to spend £700 on a phone, plus various cases, screen protectors, docks etc, but scrimp and run the risk of invalidating the warranty for the sake of saving a small amount of money when they need the screen replaced.

Very true on all those points. If my iphone needed repairs I would take it to Apple. My work colleague paid £90 for the phone second hand so I can sort of understand them not wanting to spend more than the cost of the phone to replace the screen.

 

[diggerdave]

So you would buy a car that could only be worked on by the dealer, and by the way if you have someone else work on it we'll render it useless and refuse to fix it.

 

[CNeufeld]

So you would buy a car that could only be worked on by the dealer, and by the way if you have someone else work on it we'll render it useless and refuse to fix it.

If you have your car serviced by someone other than a dealer and that service center installs a third party part that trashes your engine, then yes, every automobile manufacturer will refuse to honor your warranty to fix that damage.

Apple doesn't care if you have work done by someone else. It's your phone. But it's considered a "non user-serviceable item", and once it's cracked open by someone other than Apple, all bests are off. That's not uncommon in the electronics area. It's too easy for someone to damage sensitive parts with careless techniques or improper tools.

C

 

[diggerdave]

I'm ok with them not honoring the warranty. I'm not ok with them refusing to fix the phone that they disabled through a software update.

 

[CNeufeld]

I'm ok with them not honoring the warranty. I'm not ok with them refusing to fix the phone that they disabled through a software update.

Apple hasn't refused anything yet. He doesn't even know if there was any replacements done. Guess he'll find out soon...

Another interesting article on the situation:
http://www.dailydot.com/technology/what-is-error-53-iphone/

Another interesting response in one of the many threads out there (and it seems to make sense especially since the OP's touch ID wasn't working in the first place, but no idea if it's correct):

iTunes Error 53 occurs whenever an Apple device is upgrading to a new iOS and the upgrade encounters a hardware error. The error is commonly caused by an Apple device that does not have a functional TouchID home button, but there have been reports that other hardware issues have generated the error code. You can try the common steps to ensure the error was generated by a hardware issue (update iTunes, disable security software, try another data cable or workstation). If the iPhone 6's TouchID was not working prior to the upgrade, it is likely the cause of the problem. Please also note that if you have encountered error 53, the user data on the device is probably lost if you cannot resolve the error (unless you performed a data backup prior to the upgrade). Apple support will unlikely provide any assistance with this problem and will likely state that the problem was caused by third party hardware parts that are not officially supported by Apple. If Apple is willing to service the device, please make sure that all parts in the device are the original Apple parts. For those that repair Apple devices for a living, Louis Rossmann has an interesting YouTube "opinion" video on this issue and the trend that Apple has recently taken with third party repairs. Just Google "Louis Rossmann Error 53".

C

 

[diggerdave]

Apple hasn't refused anything yet. He doesn't even know if there was any replacements done. Guess he'll find out soon...

Another interesting article on the situation:
http://www.dailydot.com/technology/what-is-error-53-iphone/

Another interesting response in one of the many threads out there (and it seems to make sense especially since the OP's touch ID wasn't working in the first place, but no idea if it's correct):

iTunes Error 53 occurs whenever an Apple device is upgrading to a new iOS and the upgrade encounters a hardware error. The error is commonly caused by an Apple device that does not have a functional TouchID home button, but there have been reports that other hardware issues have generated the error code. You can try the common steps to ensure the error was generated by a hardware issue (update iTunes, disable security software, try another data cable or workstation). If the iPhone 6's TouchID was not working prior to the upgrade, it is likely the cause of the problem. Please also note that if you have encountered error 53, the user data on the device is probably lost if you cannot resolve the error (unless you performed a data backup prior to the upgrade). Apple support will unlikely provide any assistance with this problem and will likely state that the problem was caused by third party hardware parts that are not officially supported by Apple. If Apple is willing to service the device, please make sure that all parts in the device are the original Apple parts. For those that repair Apple devices for a living, Louis Rossmann has an interesting YouTube "opinion" video on this issue and the trend that Apple has recently taken with third party repairs. Just Google "Louis Rossmann Error 53".

C

I was talking about my own case. They absolutely refuse to touch the phone is anyone else has worked on it.

 

[CNeufeld]

I was talking about my own case. They absolutely refuse to touch the phone is anyone else has worked on it.

And that's pretty standard practice with non-user serviceable electronics.

I have no idea what "your own case" is.

C

 

[diggerdave]

My case is simple. I had the screen replaced by a local repair shop and the phone worked fine. A month later I tried to update to 9.0 and now my phone is bricked.