After iFixit reported last week that Apple had film away the ability to limit cracked iPhone 13 screen without disable Face ID , Apple has backed off its hard position , differentiate the Vergethat an upcoming software update will change the process .

iFixit reported last weekthat the iPhone 13 contains a small chip “ about the sizing of a Tic - Tac ” in the silver screen that is necessary for operating Face ID . Therefore , when the screen is exchange with a non - Apple part , present ID access will break up as the iPhone 13 is ineffective to pair to its screen without the tiny microcontroller .

iFixit

Article image

With the current organization , at - home repairs are essentially insufferable , and modest shops would have trouble set iPhone 13 screens without interrupt Face ID .   iFixit anticipated many small mending shops shutting down as a result of the variety , due to the expensive young equipment and training require for the new screen mend . Apple did n’t give a timeline for the software update , but it is presently testingiOS 15.2 .

iFixit reported that pass technicians need access code to   Apple Services Toolkit 2 to lumber the repair   to Apple ’s cloud servers and synchronize the serial numbers of the phone and screen , making the repair expensive and hard . The only workaround iFixit has found is to physically move the soldered fleck from the original sieve onto the replacement , which is no comfortable undertaking .

It ’s common for Apple toissue Io warningsabout third - company parts , including cameras , batteries , and screens , but iFixit say “ Apple has traverse the Rubicon ” with this new requirement . It ’s undecipherable whether Apple is roll up back the requirement due to pressure or whether it was always plan on changing the repair process . In the meantime , you might want to clean upa practiced case for your iPhone 13 — or ensure you haveAppleCare+ .

iPhone 13 Face ID chip