IPhone users: Beware of Error 53.
That mysterious designation is not for a hot spot for UFOs, but an error code given by Apple s smartphone when it s been rendered completely unusable or bricked. Not only have numerous iPhone users reported encountering the problem, but Apple has now confirmed it to the Guardian, saying that it s related to the device s built-in security protections.
If a customer encounters an unrecoverable error 53, we recommend contacting Apple support, an Apple spokeswoman told the Guardian.
Reports of Error 53 problems have been cropping up online since at least last spring. Users reported that their device suddenly failed, displaying only the error code, typically after they updated the iPhone s iOS software. Many — but not all — users also reported that they had previously gotten their devices repaired at an independent service shop.
The mysterious error code is triggered by alterations or damage to the connection between the fingerprint sensor in the latest iPhones and the secure chip that stores fingerprint data, the spokeswoman said. Even something seemingly unrelated — like replacing a shattered screen — can affect that connection, she said.
When that connection is altered or damaged, the iPhone s software will detect the problem and automatically turn off the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, the spokeswoman said. Restoring a phone or updating its software triggers another check of the fingerprint sensor-to-secure chip connection; if the software detects a problem in that process, it will register an Error 53 code and brick the device.
Apple is painting the Error 53 as a security feature. The phone is trying to protect users from having their fingerprint data compromised or from unknowingly having their Touch ID sensor replaced with an insecure or hacked fingerprint reader.
But critics charge that the error is a means for Apple to steer users away from independent service shops and towards its own stores. Regardless, users complain that the feature gives no indication that it has detected a problem with the fingerprint sensor and doesn t give any warning that updating to the latest version of iOS could brick their phones.
Freelance photographer Antonio Olmos is among those affected by the problem, the Guardian reported. He dropped his phone and broke its screen while on assignment in the Balkans. Because there were no Apple stores around, he got it repaired at a local service shop and the device seemed to work fine afterward. But after he updated his phone s software at the prompting of Apple, he immediately got the Error 53 message, and his phone was unusable.
The whole thing is extraordinary, Olmos told the Guardian. How can a company deliberately make their own products useless with an upgrade and not warn their own customers about it?
It s unclear if Apple has a uniform policy on Error 53 problems. After Mike Wehner, a writer for the Daily Dot, experienced the problem last year, Apple replaced his phone for free. Olmos, by contrast, had to pay Apple the equivalent of about $390 to get a replacement.
And that may be only part of the problem if you run into Error 53. You apparently can t recover any data that s left on the device. Which is another good reason to make sure you are doing regular backups online or to your computer.
Photo: Apple CEO Tim Cook showing off an iPhone 6 model at an Apple event in 2014 .
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