Error 53 Aftermath - Apple's Intentional Bean-Ball

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In 2015, Anthony Rizzon lead the Chicago Cubs with the most total hits, extra bases, homeruns and RBI’s (2nd in stolen bases). His success at the plate undoubtedly contributed to his clubs first playoff appearance since 2008.

He also lead the MLB with 30 “free” trips to first base after being hit by a pitch.

Statistics in baseball simply don’t lie.

Batters who swing the lumber with success on contending teams are targeted more often by pitchers in an attempt to prevent, disrupt or to take out revenge against one’s success at the plate.

The same could be said about the Error 53 fiasco that’s left both end users and cell phone repair businesses with seem imprints as Apple continues to show great interest in tapping 3rd party repair shops growing success.

Just as the incompatible IC chip driver saga seemed to die down, the repair industry was hit with yet another uncontrollable parts supply chain issue that caused non-pairing touch ID scanners found in 3rd party LCD Replacement screens to brick devices for “security” reasons without warning after updating to iOS 9.

Oh yea… And those consumers who already had their broken devices repaired to functional were left with useless 4.6 oz paper weights with no remedy besides forking over expensive out-of-warranty replacement deductibles.

Like clockwork, the issue lasted just long enough to make everyone break a sweat before Apple flip-flopped their stance and “fixed” the issue.

For once, Apple’s bully stance on 3rd party repairs along with their desire to control and slowly enter into post device sale services should be without question, painfully obvious.

Inconsistent Story

If you need proof, just look at Apple’s statements (or lack of) surrounding Error 53. For starters, there was no official announcement and was also excluded from iOS 9’s release notes. This wasn’t merely a bug fix and should-be a noted “feature” enhancement through the iOS 9 update log.

Apple pre-releases iOS versions to it’s 3rd party Development community that serves as a front line defense against newly implemented features and potential bugs before being released in production. The error was mentioned before the official release and Apple’s team failed to prioritize the issue and somehow still managed to be included in the update.

The whole thing is extraordinary. How can a company deliberately make their own products useless with an upgrade and not warn their own customers about it? Outside of the big industrialised nations, Apple stores are few and far between, and damaged phones can only be brought back to life by small third-party repairers. – Antonio Olmos

Journalist Antonio Olmos dropped his iPhone while covering the refugee crisis and had to use a local repair shop. When Olmos, who says he has spent thousands of pounds on Apple products over the years, took it to an Apple store in London, staff told him there was nothing they could do, and that his phone was now junk. He had to pay £270 for a replacement and is furious. Photo Credits – http://theguardian.com

Once users started to complain, Apple had to respond and took a stance they thought would be safe, security.

When iPhone is serviced by an authorized 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. – Apple Spokesperson

What?!…. Apple specifically called out 3rd party repair shops!

Repair businesses and users weren’t thrilled with their response and reacted quickly by investigating a potential Class Action Lawsuit against Apple. The Firm PCVA who’s heading the investigation said the following:

We believe Apple may be intentionally forcing users to use their repair services, which cost much more than most third-party repair shops,” PCVA claimed, noting that the public would find it unacceptable if carmakers forced drivers to bring vehicles into an official dealership for service.

The Firms Error 53 contact form asks “Do you own, operate, or work for an independent repair shop that works on iPhones?” as well as “If you know, where is your closest Apple Store?” suggesting that repair shop damages are also being investigated.

Days later, Apple pulled a 180, ditched the security stance and instead suggested an honest mistake was made.

This test was designed to check whether Touch ID works properly before the device leaves the factory. We apologize for any inconvenience, this was designed to be a factory test and was not intended to affect customers.

Apple’s PR and Spokespersons have always maintained a professional approach that typically leads straight to the issue even if that means delaying a response from their side until they can figure out the root cause.

Apple has never backed down from security issues even when the FBI and Federal Courts get involved which should raise red flags when they do change positions.

I just find it hard to believe that they neglected to properly investigate the issue and prematurely made an official statement that wasn’t even on the same planet as their final accidental stance.

Device Specific

Only iPhone 6 and 6+ resulted in Error 53 while iPhone 5s, 6s and 6s+ all circumvented issues while having the necessary hardware to detect non-pairing TouchID parts. Once again, doubt is raised when suggesting that Apple would develop an internal factory test for two older models and leave out the most recently released 6s / 6s Plus and i5s which is still in production.

If the issue were that important, why not implement this factory test across all models?

Disrupting older models sure would seem like the best option to achieve your hidden agenda without disturbing the segment of users who drive sales for new releases.

Final Thoughts

Sorry Apple, we don’t buy your story.

No one blames you for being interested in pushing more warranty and repair service offerings but we do care how you seem to progress down this path in a malicious way. Typically, small businesses bear the annoying responsibility of finding savvy solutions but this time you’ve impacted actual users and P.O. everyone involved.

Third parties already have a difficult time obtaining parts due to your control but please remember that these repair shops support your clients devices when turning to Apple is neither practical or makes financial sense to the end-user.

We wish you would work with us but since you’re not, we would greatly appreciate not interfering with our ability to repair until you yourself have service options that satisfy the masses.

While your intent isn’t specifically clear it’s obvious these disturbances are somewhat calculated and serve a greater purpose. These little experimental “tests” that help your team evaluate the viability of future repair services are evident and not welcomed.

Apple, just please don’t be surprised if future bean-balls result in bench clearing brawls.

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