WARNING: Replacing Your Touch ID Home Button Could Kill Your iPhone

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Posted February 5, 2016 at 5:57pm by iClarified

Apple has confirmed that a replacement of the Touch ID Home button by an unauthorized technician could disable your iPhone with an Error 53, reports The Guardian.

The problem occurs when your home button with fingerprint detection has been replaced by a non-official technician and is then upgraded to the latest iOS 9 firmware.

After installation a growing number of people have watched in horror as their phone, which may well have cost them £500-plus, is rendered useless. Any photos or other data held on the handset is lost – and irretrievable.

Kyle Wiens from iFixit explains. “The ‘error 53’ page on our website has had more than 183,000 hits, suggesting this is a big problem for Apple users,” he told Guardian Money. “The problem occurs if the repairer changes the home button or the cable. Following the software upgrade the phone in effect checks to make sure it is still using the original components, and if it isn’t, it simply locks out the phone. There is no warning, and there’s no way that I know of to bring it back to life.”

A spokeswoman for Apple said: “We protect fingerprint data using a secure enclave, which is uniquely paired to the touch ID sensor. When iPhone is serviced by an authorised Apple service provider or Apple retail store for changes that affect the touch ID sensor, the pairing is re-validated. This check ensures the device and the iOS features related to touch ID remain secure. Without this unique pairing, a malicious touch ID sensor could be substituted, thereby gaining access to the secure enclave. When iOS detects that the pairing fails, touch ID, including Apple Pay, is disabled so the device remains secure.”

She added: “When an iPhone is serviced by an unauthorised repair provider, faulty screens or other invalid components that affect the touch ID sensor could cause the check to fail if the pairing cannot be validated. With a subsequent update or restore, additional security checks result in an ‘error 53’ being displayed … If a customer encounters an unrecoverable error 53, we recommend contacting Apple support.”

It's unclear how Apple plans to address this problem. If you've contacted Apple Support about this issue, let us know what their response has been in the comments...

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WARNING: Replacing Your Touch ID Home Button Could Kill Your iPhone

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guest ZhCh - February 15, 2016 at 12:35am

Apple "genius" team response is 300€ and we give you another one or you can have yours with Code 53, which is useless! They want more money.

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Darius Hanes - February 9, 2016 at 5:40pm

In my country Romania we dont have an Apple store. So what I am going to do if my iPhone is broken? I wont go to a service because its not an Apple Store?

egoste - February 8, 2016 at 5:43pm

Anybody tried DFU restore after error 53?

GuestZhCh - February 15, 2016 at 12:40am

Nothing can help you resolve this problem. Belive me there is nothing i did not try. There is one thing to help you-300€. That is insain - i know, but it is what it is.

guest - February 8, 2016 at 5:00pm

Unfortunally i read this warning too late. Before 3 months i replaced broken screen for my little brother on iPhone 6. Home button cable was a little bit damage during install. After that he used iPhone normally until we made update. That was THE END for his iPhone 6. I have asked in Apple Store and they want to help me if i give 300 Euro. So i sad them but for reall @@@¢¬°#§@°##¬°@§¢|¬¢|¬¢|´¢|´¢|¢§¬¬#°@¦

You have your Right to Repair - February 7, 2016 at 12:28pm

Can tell that error 53 occur even with original home button.

GuestZhCh - February 15, 2016 at 12:44am

Only right what we have is to go F..k ourselves. There is no justice.

Bob Dole - February 7, 2016 at 2:58am

Just don't be cheap and get the device repaired by the manufacturer with OEM parts. When your car breaks and you have insurance, don't you want them to use OEM parts or is it okay to use some random parts that don't meet industry standards. Also, to people saying "it just reads your thumb", just remember that the credit card skimmers are just "reading your credit card." Stop being ignorant and realize that your putting yourself at risk with using Toys R Us parts. Get insurance for your phone, I would advise Applecare since it is cheaper and been protected.

iProService - February 7, 2016 at 8:58am

OEM parts is not the issue. It's the pairing of the part to the phone can only be done by Apple. The new home button's serial number needs to be paired on an apple server the the phone. They say its for security however if that were really the case, the phone should fail immediately, not weeks or months later.

Henry Ricky bobby - February 7, 2016 at 9:20am

I suppose you must work for Apple or must be a developer to know exactly how everything works then. Unfortunately things change in the future and somebody may have exploited it and then Apple had to find a way to patch the device to protect everybody else from being a possible victim or your are saying they should just leave it open so people can take advantage of it? I know it sucks that it is affecting many people that want to be cheap or try to do a "work around" but if you just do everything the right way, you would t be in the predicament

melomen11 - February 6, 2016 at 10:17pm

I have one iPhone plus S and brick is new phone I never touched and I can fix it Apple is streaking the people They don't matter I have error 53

gamerscul9870 - February 6, 2016 at 10:25pm

Get the right parts by the right people by apple even if cheap works out for now and may not later! I wouldn't risk cheap or heck even if you have AppleCare!

Klinky - February 6, 2016 at 2:16am

All this does is protect criminals from having their phone data breached by the law, but screws everyone else who are forced to fork over mega bucks for a glorified Apple tech.

Lunaris - February 6, 2016 at 1:57am

Well.. this doesn't seem like unreliability to me. Doesn't this mean that Apple is trying to make the phone more secure by invalidating potentially insecure Touch ID sensors?

Stealther - February 6, 2016 at 1:49am

This hone button failure show how unreliable mechanical button is. Didn't Apple realise this since the first generation phone? Talk about quality product .............

clown - February 5, 2016 at 10:47pm

Apple replaced it on my iphone 5s, got error 53 4 days latter. Had to replace phone could not restore my backup

Why - February 5, 2016 at 7:01pm

Lol I never had that problem ... Just stop being cheap and get apple care it will save you A headache in the long run

Undead - February 5, 2016 at 10:37pm

People if you're display breaks please have apple fix it and not some cheap knockoff kiosk at the mall with fake parts. Once you update you will get an error 53 and now you have to pay over $300 for a new phone.

Nah guide - February 5, 2016 at 6:35pm

If your screen is broken and you're replacing, keep the original Touch ID and install it with new screen. Touch bad, well, you know what to do next.

Corey H - February 5, 2016 at 6:26pm

That being the case, removing the home button and TouchID from a broken lcd and placing it on a new one shouldn't cause this issue, right?

Who cares - February 7, 2016 at 3:01am

The original home button that came with the phone needs to be returned once u had ur screen replaced,it took them two years to figure that out, and we call them geniuses ha

Ericidle - February 5, 2016 at 6:13pm

If anyone could replace this it would defeat the purpose of the ID Touch so why would Apple allow it. Anyone who goes to a back street trader to get this done deserved a bricked phone

gamerscul9870 - February 5, 2016 at 6:44pm

The fingerprint is still stored in the iPhone and Touch ID just reads it.

Stealther - February 6, 2016 at 1:51am

Wait till you live in a place where the nearest Apple device center is far far away.....then you make this comment

Greg hall - February 5, 2016 at 6:10pm

I had to have my iPhone 6 replaced under warranty because the screen broke. Replaced screen no problem. Same home button. But then error 53. I don't want or use fingerprint and it's always turned off. Apple needs to have a big class action lawsuit about this basically forcing everyone to pay up or go to another phone without these problems. It's all about money. They don't like people repairing phones for less than their 199 and up. They want all the control and all the money.

gamerscul9870 - February 5, 2016 at 6:46pm

What if you could just buy a used phone from third party stores, replace the Touch ID button that way, and sell the phone you bought back?

SceptreSP - February 6, 2016 at 8:44am

First off, the cost of the repair at Apple is $109 for the iPhone and between $129 for all the others ($149 for the 6s Plus only), and protip: with AppleCare, it's between $49-$99 instead, and that's for a brand new PHONE, not just display. so before you start pulling out random numbers saying apple just wants to force you to pay you money, bzzzz sorry, that's not the correct answer. Secondly, to disclaim your comment further, third party vendors sell these screens, at times, SLIGHTLY, but usually the same price or MORE (iFix currently does the display for a 6s for over $300.... For non Apple parts) and unauthorized modifications void any warranty. Lastly, this is for SECURITY! By allowing a third party Touch ID sensor (part of the display) being placed onto your phone, it allows the Touch ID to possibly be exploited as a backdoor. Do your research, and use your BRAIN! Apples very open on how important customer security and privacy is to them. So just be smart, and go to an Apple Store, and get the right parts put in by the right people, whose sole intention seems to be providing legendary customer service and assisting in resolving any issue they can so you leave happy.

Dan - February 5, 2016 at 6:02pm

Really??? Just now? This was the case ever since they released iPhone 6

Nah guide - February 5, 2016 at 6:36pm

It's been the case since 5s

curtixman - February 5, 2016 at 8:51pm

That's incorrect. It has always been the case that changing the sensor would render the Touch ID functionality inoperable. Such as in the case where a customer has their broken home button replaced at a third party for $50 because they don't want to or cannot afford to pay Apple $225 tote pair their home button. For many customers this option made sense because they don't use the Touch ID and do not care if that functionality does not work. What this article is addressing is the fact that Apple has made a change to the software (iOS) recently that detects if the button was changed and disables the device completely thereby rendering an otherwise perfectly functioning iPhone completely useless and unrepairable. Apple has recently begun an active campaign to attack the repair industry. It's not a secret. This is not about security. It's about that agenda. Period!

Stealther - February 6, 2016 at 1:53am

Can't agree more