Date: 2016-02-14
Last Update: 2016-02-14
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Apple Support If you see error 53 or can't update or restore your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support (undated)
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MacWorld Error 53 has the best and worst intentions February 12, 2016
The TL;DR appears to be that if the Home button containing the Touch ID sensor on an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, or 6s Plus is replaced, on installing an iOS 8 update (as Daily Dot reported) or an iOS 9 update the phone becomes ?bricked,? or permanently unusable, and the device only reports an error numbered 53 if you try to restore it via iTunes. The phone can never be used again. This becomes more troubling because some people with this problem never had a repair, or, if they had one, it didn?t include the Home button.
Apple will repair or completely replace a broken iPhone that?s out of warranty for $299 (6/6s) or $329 (6 Plus/6s Plus) in the U.S., and keeps the old phone if it?s replaced. Under its one-year warranty, such a replacement should be free, unless the damage is from an accident that the warranty doesn?t cover. AppleCare+ covers such accidents, repairing or replacing the phone for $79 (iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and older) or $99 (iPhone 6s and 6s Plus), up to two incidents across the three-year contract.
- Quartz Apple is overdoing a security check by bricking people?s iPhones and iPads February 06, 2016
Repairs to the home button on an iPhone or iPad, or even screen replacement?a relatively common procedure?can trigger the appearance of an ?Error 53? message and disable any further usage.
- Technobuffalo Apple comments on infamous Error 53 February 6, 2016
The Guardian?s report tells multiple accounts of consumers who have been hit by the error, speculating that the move is part of Apple?s grander plan to ?squeeze out independent repairers.? The issue has apparently been affecting devices only after being updated to iOS 9, though a report from the DailyDot last April noted a similar issue, so Error 53 has been around for months.
According to an Apple statement, Error 53 is the result of a ?mismatch? between components, and is designed to protect consumers. Error 53 isn?t a mistake or even an anomaly, but the software working as intended.
DailyDot was widely quoted with this story.
- DailyDot Error 53 will kill your iPhone and no one knows what it is Apr 20, 2015
It?s widely known that every Touch ID sensor is paired with a specific iPhone and cannot be used elsewhere. This means that if your Touch ID sensor is replaced, your iPhone won?t work as intended. There are users who have reported that reinstalling the original home button after a repair seemed to bring their device back from the dead.