The launch of the iPhone 13 last September foreshadowed a major change in the repair of these devices. The repair became more and more complicated and we ensured that a screen change by a third party this would disable the Face ID unlock feature. However, until now, the change had not been analyzed in detail. The guys at iFixit confirmed that a new microscope is needed to be able to change the screen and that would mean a major change in the tools of these third-party workshops
iFixit Confirms iPhone 13 Face ID Disable After Third-Party Screen Change
The iPhone 13 is paired with its display through this tiny microcontroller, in a condition that repair technicians often refer to as “serialization.” Apple hasn’t provided owners or independent stores with a way to pair a new display. Authorized technicians with access to the proprietary software, Apple Services Toolkit 2, can operate the new displays by registering the repair on Apple’s cloud servers, syncing the phone, and viewing serial numbers. This gives Apple the flexibility to approve or reject each individual repair.
Associated article:
The iPad “saves” the production of the iPhone 13
Apple third party repair system hacked with one shot disable Face ID with unauthorized repairs. As you can read in the iFixit statement, the new iPhone 13 features serialization of its screens that prevents repair without prior confirmation from the Big Apple. However, a complex way has been found to change the screen in order to keep the unlocking system. It consists of physically moving a chip soldered to the original screen to replace it allowing it.
In this way, Apple manages to move the third-party repair systems a bit and it is not known what impact this will have on the repair systems associated with Apple Services Toolkit 2. The short-term future is that for the time being official repairs. maintain unlocking with Face ID. All other repairs will likely result in an error message: “Face ID is not available.”
