ERROR 53: Apple's iOS error' is actually a strong security feature
If you have been using an iPhone for long and if it has been repaired by a third-party service centre other than Apple’s own, you might want to think more than twice before you update your iPhone to the next iOS version. Apple is reportedly bricking all iPhones that are serviced by unauthorised personnel.
Users who have got their handsets repaired from third-party service centres and updated their iPhones to the latest versions are seeing ‘Error 53’ pop up on their screens. The phone is then rendered useless. Reports about the same issue were trickling in since late 2015 when the iPhone 6 was launched and started to rise over a period. Users flooded online forums and help lines for information and solutions about the issue.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue and informs that certain iPhones are being disabled after the new update. The new update detects if your iPhone has been serviced by a non-official service centre or personnel and renders it useless in order to safeguard the data within.
Apple has confirmed that the issue exists and the new update will kill the iPhone if the home button has been replaced by an outsider. The home button, which incorporates the Touch ID or fingerprint sensor, if replaced, is detected by the security feature in the new iOS update. The Touch ID, if replaced, will need to be re-paired and re-validated with the motherboard and this can only be done by Apple’s authorised service centres. Each Touch ID sensor is uniquely tied to the iOS device’s motherboard for additional security. If you have replaced the display and/or the home button from a third-party service centre, your Touch ID will not be validated as ‘original’ and it will trigger the iOS security to ‘kill’ the iPhone permanently. This will also disable Apple Pay to restrict any unauthorised transactions.
The security feature is an added layer that Apple has provided in order to safeguard the user’s data on it. A hacker can get past the Touch ID fingerprint by simply replacing the sensor/home button on the device. However, if you are facing the same issue, you will find that your iPhone (if updated) will display the Error 53 message. Your iPhone is bricked and you will not be able to do anything with it. If you are facing such an issue, we suggest that you contact Apple Support as soon as possible.
