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You are here: Home / Tech News / Apple apologizes for intentionally bricking customers’ iPhones (and releases a fix)

Apple apologizes for intentionally bricking customers’ iPhones (and releases a fix)

Posted on February 23, 2016

iphone-6-plusA couple of weeks ago I wrote a post explaining how you could brick your iPhone 6 by having it repaired by anyone other than Apple’s own techs.

To recap, Apple recently released an update to iOS that caused any iPhone 6 that was repaired by a third-party repair shop to freeze up and display a permanent “Error 53” the next time it was booted up.

Apple’s response to the thousands of customers who asked the company to fix the error was, in effect, “Sorry, but you’ll have to buy a new phone”. 

As expected, the reaction from customers was immediate and severe.

As luck would have it (or call it “market forces at work” – take your pick), Apple quickly saw the light and released an update that fixes the intentional bricking.

They also apologized to their customers, saying the “Error 53” fiasco was designed purely as an internal test that was never supposed to affect any customers in the real world.

Of course that directly contradicts their original claim on their own blog that “Error 53” was created as a “security measure”.

Whether you believe Apple’s apology is sincere or not, you can visit this page on the Apple website for instructions on how to “unbrick” your phone if it’s stuck at the “Error 53” screen.

Bonus tip: Apple will also reimburse you if you paid for an out-of-warranty device replacement based on an “Error 53” issue.

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