A few days after the release of iPhones 13, a limitation was discovered with regard to changing the screen of new devices: O Face ID stops working completely when a new display is added — even if the display is original, coming from another device on the same line.
Later, came to light what is causing this problem: the chip responsible for communication between the screen and the CPUinformation to Secure Enclave device on iPhones 13, which keeps that data encrypted and secure. With the change of the screen, the chip’s unique identifier is no longer recognized, making the facial recognition system unusable.
Thus, the only way to make Face ID work with a new display is to transfer the chip in question from the old screen to the new one, which requires specialized equipment for micro-welding, handling extremely fragile components and microscopic visualization of the process.
An alternative solution was still discovered: the transfer of the chip already soldered from the old screen to the new one. However, this method is also far from practical, as is the process of changing the screen of any previous iPhone — which can be done even at home, by someone a little more familiar with the subject. The limitation puts the entire iPhone screen repair market at risk, leaving it mostly in the hands of Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Centers.
Obviously, it started to be considered that the problem is nothing more than a new attempt by Apple to make it difficult to repair its devices — on iPhones with Touch ID, for example, there is a similar limitation. Apparently, however, the change in Face ID’s internal communication process was due to security reasons.
This because, to the website The Verge, Apple has promised it will release a software update soon to return the iPhone 13’s screen replacement process to the same ease that exists with the smartphone’s previous lines. So, even without transferring the chip from the previous screen to the new one, Face ID will still work.
The company did not give a deadline for this update, nor did it specify which iOS version it will be included. Earlier today, it’s worth noting, the second beta version of iOS 15.2 is out.
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