Apple’s new iPhone 13 lineup completely disables Face ID functionality when its screen is replaced by an unauthorized technician. iFixit have confirmed this repeatedly, testing with many different iPhone 13 models running both iOS 15 and 15.1, and those results have been replicated by numerous others.
Replacing an iPhone 13’s screen with the same exact screen from an identical brand new iPhone without serializing (see below) gives this error: “Unable to activate Face ID on this iPhone.”
For shops that want to survive, their only options will be to join Apple’s onerous IRP network—not an option for shops that value their customers’ privacy—or work past the iPhone’s locks with microsoldering tools and training. This unprecedented lockdown is unique to Apple and totally new in the iPhone 13… And it’s all because of a chip about the size of a Tic-Tac, tucked into the bottom of a screen.
The iPhone 13 is paired to its screen using [a] small microcontroller, in a condition repair techs often call “serialization.” Apple has not provided a way for owners or independent shops to pair a new screen. Authorized technicians with access to proprietary software, Apple Services Toolkit 2, can make new screens work by logging the repair to Apple’s cloud servers and syncing the serial numbers of the phone and screen. This gives Apple the ability to approve or deny each individual repair.
MacDailyNews Take: Cases like this is why, if you’re prone to dropping your iPhone 13 resulting in the need for screen repair, we recommend AppleCare+ for iPhone which, among other things, which includes up to two incidents of accidental damage protection every 12 months (each of which is subject to a $29 fee for screen or back glass damage, plus applicable tax).
Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!
A good case is cheaper that AppleCare+ and the extra fees.
Simply put, your local technician must pony up to Apple’s repair certification wall in order to allow your replacement screen to recognize you so that Apple can then have access to your photos to scan for kiddy porn without your permission. Do I have that about right?
Fixed title: “Apple Will Kill Face ID for Disobedient Slaves”