Apple Walks Back iPhone 13 Display Repair Restriction That Disabled Face ID

Following the launch of the iPhone 13 models, iFixit and other independent repair outlets found that replacing the iPhone's display renders Face ID non-functional, limiting repairs to Apple itself, Apple Authorized Service Providers, and Apple-associated repair shops. The change made it much more difficult for smaller, independent repair shops to perform ‌iPhone‌ 13 display repairs on broken devices.

iphone 13 face id display repairs

Image via iFixit

Given the blowback from repair providers unhappy with the restriction, Apple has decided to change its policy. Apple told The Verge that it plans to introduce a software update that will allow for standard display repairs that do not disable ‌Face ID‌.

With the ‌iPhone‌ 13 models, Apple added a small microcontroller that pairs the ‌iPhone‌ 13 to its display. When performing a display repair, this microcontroller must be paired to the new display using Apple's tools, which independent repair shops do not have access to. Without this pairing process, swapping an ‌iPhone‌ 13 display with a new display results in an error message that says "Unable to activate ‌Face ID‌ on this ‌‌iPhone‌‌."

Repair shops without access to Apple's pairing tools could take the microcontroller from the original display and add it to a new display, but it's a finicky process that requires soldering and a microscope to perform.

The software update that Apple plans to implement will remove the restriction that requires the microcontroller to be transferred to a new display when a repair is made, so independent shops will once again be able to repair screens without impacting the functionality of ‌Face ID‌.

There is no word yet on when Apple will add the software update to simplify ‌iPhone‌ display repairs for independent repair providers, but iOS 15.2 is in beta testing at the current time and the feature could be introduced in that update.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

10

Apple to Launch New Products Starting Next Week, Claims Dubious Leak [Updated]

Friday October 10, 2025 5:57 am PDT by
Update: the Naver account appears to be referencing a speculative post on X by Vadim Yuryev, dated October 6. The original article follows. Apple will announce new products through a series of press releases beginning as soon as next week, according to a dubious claim posted on the Korean blog Naver. The Naver blog account yeux1122, which aggregates rather than originates Apple...
apple oct 2024 mac tease

Apple Expected to Announce These Two to Three Products 'This Week'

Sunday October 12, 2025 7:05 am PDT by
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip. Gurman...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 6 New Features

Saturday October 11, 2025 10:10 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still nearly a year away, a handful of new features and changes have already been rumored for the devices. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. Smaller Dynamic Island The standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, but the devices will...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Preparing iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones

Saturday October 11, 2025 6:59 pm PDT by
Apple's software engineers are internally testing iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will likely be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released within the next few weeks. Last month, Apple released iOS...
apple invite colorado%402x

Apple Hosts Unusual Colorado Event to Showcase Latest Hardware

Thursday October 9, 2025 1:17 pm PDT by
Apple has invited a group of social media influencers to Colorado this week for an unusual event involving group hiking, trail running, and other outdoor activities designed to showcase the company's recently launched iPhone 17 Pro Max, AirPods Pro 3, and Apple Watch Ultra 3. An invitation was shared on X (Twitter) by photographer Johnny Hawk, featuring a simple message: "Hi Johnny. We're so ...
10

Apple Event This October? Here's the Latest on What to Expect

Thursday October 9, 2025 7:00 am PDT by
While it is unclear if Apple will host an October event this year, or stick to press releases, rumors suggest it will announce several new products this month. The graphic for Apple's "Unleashed" event in October 2021 Below, we have recapped everything to know about a potential Apple event this October. When The table below outlines when Apple teased its October launches over the past...
spring 2022 possible macs

When Will Apple's Macs Get M5 Chips? 2025-2026 Launch Timeline

Wednesday October 8, 2025 3:59 pm PDT by
We're just about due for the next-generation Apple silicon chip, which will kick off a new wave of Mac refreshes. The M5 chip is expected to make an appearance in some new products before the end of the year, but most Mac refreshes will happen in 2026. We've rounded up current rumors on when we might see updates for Apple's notebook and desktop machines. MacBook Pro The MacBook Pro could ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Tuesday October 7, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, prior-generation AirPods Pro 2, and the AirPods 4 models. The firmware has a build number of 8A358, up from 8A356. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the prior 8A356 update added iOS 26 features to the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4 with ANC. The software introduced better audio quality ...
vivo liquid glass

iOS 26 Liquid Glass Design Copied by Android Smartphone Maker

Thursday October 9, 2025 4:07 pm PDT by
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has taken some inspiration from Apple's Liquid Glass design language for its latest operating system update, OriginOS 6. Unveiled this week, OriginOS 6 has the same rounded buttons and translucent glass look as iOS 26. In a demo video, a Vivo smartphone features an interface that could be easily mistaken for iOS 26. There's a Liquid Glass clock, Control Center,...

Top Rated Comments

fwmireault Avatar
51 months ago
Great. They should not have even put this software limitation in the first place.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
51 months ago
Just like the CSAM stuff

The only thing -- the only thing -- that works with Apple is public pressure and backlash
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SpaceN64 Avatar
51 months ago
we shouldn't be praising them. They started this mess and now they have to clean it up
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Takeo Avatar
51 months ago
LOL at the entire thread of Apple defenders and armchair security experts I read here on MacRumors last week ?
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
51 months ago

Seems like Apple are backtracking on a lot of things lately, good news though that common sense has prevailed in this case ?
Common sense had nothing to do with it

Public backlash is the only tool that works against Apple anymore
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Havalo Avatar
51 months ago
Shouldn’t have been implemented in the first place, pure greed!
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)