Attempting to replace the screen on the new iPhone 13 range can cause Face ID to break, which could have a significant impact on third-party iPhone repair companies.
iFixit has published a new report that confirms that when tearing down a new iPhone, replacing the display immediately renders Face ID as non-functional, making at-home repairs impossible. When replacing the screen on a new iPhone 13 model, a new error message will appear on the home screen: “Unable to activate Face ID on this iPhone,” with seemingly no way of fixing this issue.
It had previously been possible to repair an iPhone screen at home with hand-held tools, but it’s now thought that you’d need a microscope and micro-soldering tool to repair an iPhone 13 screen. Apple offers some third-party companies the chance to join its Independent Repair Provider Program, but this scheme has been heavily criticized over its challenging contracts and rules.
iFixit says that some repair shops have found a workaround for the incident, but that it’s currently time and resource-intensive, meaning that consumers would face higher bills for having their iPhone screen repaired or replaced.
They say that because screen repairs are “incredibly common” and account for a decent percentage of revenue from independent repair shops, this new change could have a significant impact on the way they do business, with Apple killing them off.
Apple offers its own screen repair or replacement service priced at $229 for the smaller models and $329 for the larger models. Are you disappointed to hear this news or do you think it’s an attempt from Apple to encourage consumers to have their phones repaired by Apple? Let us know and check back soon for the latest news and rumors – we’ll bring them to you right here.
