Apple Will No Longer Break Face ID On Repaired iPhone 13s (arstechnica.com) 63
Apple says it will back off its plan to break Face ID on independently repaired iPhones. Ars Technica reports: The company's often contentious relationship with the repair community was tested again when "unauthorized" iPhone 13 screen replacements started resulting in broken Face ID systems. A new report from The Verge says that Apple "will release a software update that doesn't require you to transfer the microcontroller to keep Face ID working after a screen swap." Screen replacements are the most common smartphone repairs. Apple included a new microcontroller in the iPhone 13's display that pairs each screen with other components in the phone. As iFixit reported, if a third-party repair shop replaced the iPhone 13 display, Apple would disable the phone's Face ID system. [...] After a wave of bad press, it's "crisis averted" for the repair community. It would be nice if this was never an issue in the first place, though.
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Re: Here we go again... (Score:2)
Wow. You totally forgot the 3.5mm headphone jack that "made phones too thick" or whatever nonsense. Maybe that will come back some day. BLE is infinitely reliable and definitely never has any connection issues! Lol.
I wonder what else that Apple can fix (Score:3, Insightful)
Sounds like it was an easy enough to implement the instant they started to see the negative PR gain momentum. What else can Apple feel forced to 'walk back' if we continue to highlight issues with Apple (and other companies) that are shitty moves for repairability?
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Apple, no fan of being robbed of revenue, will continue to do this because they simply can. The DIY and repair people violate the sanctity of Apple's designs.... and revenue streams.
No, they will NEVER become fully cooperative because it does not fit their ecosystem model. Swear, scream, legislate, it simply is not in their DNA to cooperate in this way.
Your alternative is Android, said their CEO. That's why I'm using an Android phone.
Re:I wonder what else that Apple can fix (Score:4, Interesting)
Apple, no fan of being robbed of revenue ...
Pray tell, what corporations that you can name off the top of your head are fans of losing revenue?
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But Apple thinks different. They are eco friendly and Democrats. They are looking out for the good of us all, right? At least that is what they tell us. That is the problem with these companies. They are hypocrites. They talk about being green but they employ slave labor and encourage obsolescence.
Yes, and one of these nights you will be kidnapped by Apple's slave hunting grey alien contractors, anally probed for the installation of a restraining bolt and then put to work in Apple's iPhone mines on planet Steevus Prime in the Jobs system.
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If Apple could figure out how to make that happen, they would. We are protected there not by Apple's good nature, but by their limited capability.
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I don't know of a single automobile manufacturer that is desperate for new car sales that won't let you repair the one you have. "Oops, you cracked the windshield on your 9 month old, $65,000 car? Better trade it in and receive $5,000 towards the purchase of a newer model!"
Well... you might not be far off with your example. On modern cars, just changing a windshield, or even a battery is not enough. For windshields you have to calibrate and adjust any cameras that are present as safety systems of self-drive systems. Batteries need to be "learned in" too when they are switched out. I get quotes that are € 10 for installing a new battery, but add € 30 for "learning in" the new battery. And no-one can explain to me what that is and why it is.
The upside of the automoti
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I have not heard of the battery issue, but most OEM car batteries suck rocks, they are the cheapest start batteries they can source in quantity and they get killed by the parasitic electronics load when the car is off.
My Subaru battery was shot in less than 4 months from new. I replaced it with an AGM battery and have been fine since, no learning in required.
I can only imaging "learning in" is some gobbledygook for maybe charge conditioning a shitty battery so it doesn't crap out immediately.
Re: I wonder what else that Apple can fix (Score:2)
They sell systems that allow keeping 12vdc to the car at all times. This should bypass any need to "learn in" a new car battery.
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I don't know of a single automobile manufacturer that is desperate for new car sales that won't let you repair the one you have. "Oops, you cracked the windshield on your 9 month old, $65,000 car? Better trade it in and receive $5,000 towards the purchase of a newer model!"
Nice pivot but hat still does not make them avid fans of losing revenue, try again.
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There are loads of non-profit corporations.
Even the for-profit ones don't always take every opportunity to screw a few more cents out of you. An example would be Github, it could easily have ads and trackers, but they decided to actually remove what little they did have on there.
https://github.blog/2020-12-17... [github.blog]
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Apple, no fan of being robbed of revenue ...
Pray tell, what corporations that you can name off the top of your head are fans of losing revenue?
Companies can take themselves public while losing hundreds of millions, and arrogantly claim in their obscenely valued IPO that they've never made a profit and will likely never make a profit? Does that count? Because that fucking attitude is worth billions today.
Pray tell, what makes sense in this game of Monopoly - History
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The problem lies with what a company considers being robbed of revenue. If it's things like false advertising by lower value competition, outright theft, etc then fine. But if they consider competition making a better product for less, people repairing products better for less, or customers getting more value than intended to be getting robbed of revenue, it becomes a problem.
That is, greed is NOT good and it is not acceptable. Notably, a simple desire to prosper from one's work is not greed. Greed is about
Re:I wonder what else that Apple can fix (Score:4, Insightful)
Both have their fans and their haters. The truth, you simply get to pick your poison.
On a somewhat separate note; are Android phones actually easier to repair than iPhones? They were 5 years ago. From what I've read, nowadays most Android sets use lots of glue... just like Apple.
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Many, not all Android phones are easy to fix, or at least not serializing repair parts to your phone. There are many genius ways to protect revenue, and Apple is a master of most.
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This is more speculative guess, than an answer from professional experience, it might be trickier to repair many Android phones due to a lack of required parts. Though Apple still creates a wide range of model/variations each year, they sell a lot of units, so it would be viable business to source or make parts for the iphone.
Flagship Samsung Galaxy phone? "Yeah stocking a lot of different parts would make sense". Random mid-range 2020 phone #7 from Motorola? "Maybe just batteries and spare display units"
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You don't like Apple's vertically-integrated, walled-garden, we-don't-sell-your-data but lotsa-cash-up-front approach?
Forgot about the time Apple got caught farming out customers' Siri recordings for third party companies to listen to and transcribe did we?
I expect the Apple shills will desperately mod this comment down with a "-1 wish people would forget about it".
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I fixed an android screen recently.
Yes, it uses glue; an industry standard thermal-release compound that you can soften with a hair dryer. (I used a solder rework station)
Everything other than the screen and bezel was secured with screws.
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Obviously it depends on the particular model, but there are plenty of repairable Android devices out there. You also have the option of paying 1/4th what it costs to buy an iPhone, getting an equivalently powerful device with decent camera, and just replacing it if it does get badly damaged.
AFAIK no Android devices have this kind of BS where the phone refuses to accept replacement parts.
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The problem is, what many consumers REALLY want is we don't sell your data, don't mind paying a little more but then the device is MINE. I load what I want and it does what I tell it to. There can be a walled garden but there must be an easily opened gate to the outside world.
But that would require a quality company with some sense of restraint and humility, so we apparently can't have it.
Re: I wonder what else that Apple can fix (Score:2)
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You can definitely download photos from the thing. It stores photos and videos in HEIC / HEVC, though, so if you want JPG or MP4 you need a converter.
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but not because i bent over
Sweety, if you hadn't bent over you wouldn't even know what they do to you, or what steps you can to make it hurt a little less.
Difficult to get right, disastrous to get wrong. (Score:5, Interesting)
They were selling an idea but have chosen not to follow through on it. It was the cause of their success, now it is the millstone around their neck.
They are trying to present an image of high security. In that regard they really need devices that self-destruct, devices that lock you out if anything is suspicious, devices that protect your data so strongly that even government agencies must think carefully if it is worth the costs to unlock the device. But they can't have that because of their other choices.
They are trying to present an image of sophistication and success. Sure, when they launched a business executive pulling out their white phone was seen as a power play, now they're everywhere and need to deal with that reality. The days of the phone being a status symbol of the wealthy ended over a decade ago.
They are also trying to cater to the needs of everyday consumers. In that regard they need devices that are reliable, affordable, and repairable. But they aren't. Screens and bodies scratch at a level 6 Moh's scale test, soft enough to be destroyed by coins and car keys, compared to competitors that are at 9H and only scratched by diamonds. The phone displays shatter easily, far easier than many competitors. The phones slim and sexy but are only durable if you wrap them in thick rubber shells and slap a plastic film over the top. As a result, the devices seem to have a never-ending queue of damaged goods.
They're losing both battles on many fronts. The app store in theory in the beginning was a vault of carefully curated programs tested and verified by partner programs, now it's open to anybody who pays the $100 developer fee and can put up their spyware. The hardware in theory was designed around both security and safety and also around durability, now it is often broken six ways from Sunday, not only can hackers get in but the phone breaks when someone sneeze.
I believe it was Cadillac generations ago that had the slogan A Cadillac never breaks down", with apocryphal stories about how in the rare event there was a problem with the vehicle the company would send out repair teams and even replace entire vehicles at huge expense because they wanted to maintain the brand as quality and prestige. Apple tried that early on, but lost it. They certainly have the capacity and money to create best-of-class repair centers where people can send in their devices, even an iPhone 3 sent back for low-cost screen replacement if the customer wants. They've got the money they could probably completely cover the cost of any repair of any old official device. But they don't.
They stopped selling the quality, prestigious, secure, world-class products but behave as though they still do. And that's what is killing them right now.
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>> They are trying to present an image of high security.
It's only a fake PR image.
Stuck with last instructions (Score:2)
Apple's problem is they are stuck with the last words of Steve Jobs. It's why they dragged their feet on the iPad stylus for so long (because of Job's rant about a stylus being a failure), and making the screen bigger (because Jobs made so much fun of Android's big screens). If Jobs had been alive he wouldn't have had a problem with reversing course when it suited. He did this often, while projecting the belief that he was never wrong. Without him they are stuck with the last set of instructions, which they
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I think your assessment is about right but one thing people miss about Steve or don't give him the credit he actually deserves when they make derisive comments about the original iPod, the early resistance to native apps, desire to kill flash, lack of stylus on iPads, etc .. is he was right about the timing as far as what the market wanted when it wanted it.
There is old saying in stock trading, it does not pay being right at the wrong time. The other way to look at it is if you have insight into short term
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
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Username checks out.
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>> But what about the security implications?
None.
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Have you read the posts you linked to? It's far from certain there are security implications.
Also, nice try conflating the Right to Repair movement with the "woke mob".
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It's such a shame that Apple is being forced to compromise the security [slashdot.org] of their devices to appease the woke mob.
It's not a shame at all because it's not. Security is unaffected regardless of what your koolaid fueled mental trip tells you. Do yourself a favour, switch to magic mushrooms. The trip is better and you don't look as much like a corporate shill when posting on Slashdot.
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It's such a shame that Apple is being forced to compromise the security [slashdot.org] of their devices to appease the woke mob.
Well, those that do not understand security will endlessly repeat nonsense and lies about how it works. You qualify.
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Pulled a NYC? (Score:2)
They realized this was going to likely be the straw that broke the camel's back when it came to the push for Right to Repair so backed off...for the moment.
This reminds me of NYC's gun laws. Every time they had an issue going up in courts they knew they were going to lose they would just make a minor tweak or give a one-time exemption to the complainant. This would effectively make the court cases invalid and they'd get to skate by that much longer.
(Fortunately some of the courts have started to call bu
But wasn't this all about security? (Score:2)
Poor iPhone users now will be in trouble!
(Yes, I was trying to be ironic)
Can I still keep the authenticated connection? (Score:2)
I hope they provide an option in the software to keep the paired and authenticated connection to the display. Yes, if my screen breaks I will have to go to an authorized repair shop, but I prefer the communications to the display be secured. Unlike what some fanboys believe, Apple devices are also susceptible to security breaches, and I'd rather there was one one more defense-in-depth mechanism in place. I have no doubt that all my devices can be hacked, however I prefer my devices to be harder to hack than
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You really think that someone is manufacturing a replacement Face ID illuminator chips that somehow allow someone else to sign into your phone?
I would be wildly simpler to make a realistic wax head and show that to the camera on an unmodified phone.
Besides there is no need to tie specific Face ID illuminator chips to specific phones. As long as it is a genuine cryptographically signed Apple Face ID illuminator chip it matters not which phone it originally came from.
Not possible (Score:2)
Slashdot apologists assured us all that breaking Face ID was a critical security feature and that replacing a screen is too complex of an activity for a 16 year old kid to do despite them having done it for years.
Repairs should only be done by a Cook Certified Genius /s.
Where's the people boasting about security (Score:2)
They disappeared, huh
Apple Legal weighed in, no doubt... (Score:3)
... explaining that when (no if) this got to court, it could cause a terrible right-to-repair precedent if a ruling against this bad policy resulted in a much more sweeping decision.
skeptics (Score:2)
With that said, though, the technical lift that makes this possible is probably very dense. The way that biometrics in iPhones bypass the CPU-like components in favor of a secure enclave is one of the more complex aspects of the hardware setup. It's probably more secure than it really needs to be, but