Five sue Apple over Error 53 and bricked iPhones
court to designate the case a class action lawsuit
because their iPhones were allegedly "bricked" after they
had either repaired their smartphones themselves or
went to a third-party shop for repairs.
According to a complaint filed Thursday, the five were
represented by the Seattle, Wash. law firm Pfau,
Cochran, Vertetis, Amala (PCVA), which earlier this week
solicited possible plaintiffs for a class action suit.
The complaint was based on "Error 53," an error
message that has appeared on iPhone 6, 6S, 6 Plus and
6S Plus devices. It appears when a do-it-yourself owner
or a third-party shop has replaced the Home button --
which includes the Touch ID sensor -- and/or the
connecting cable. Once the error appears, the iPhone is
"bricked," or rendered unusable.
Error 53 is triggered when users update or upgrade to a
new version of iOS, and the operating system detects
that components have been changed in the iPhone .
Apple has said the error message and subsequent
crippling of the iPhone are "security checks designed to
protect our customers." If iOS sniffs out a new Home
button or cable, Touch ID, the fingerprint-based
authentication technology used by the iPhone, is disabled.
"This security measure is necessary to protect your device
and prevent a fraudulent Touch ID sensor from being
used," Apple said in a statement Tuesday.
A recently published support document on Apple's website
provided additional information about the circumstances
that can trigger Error 53, including a screen
replacement. "An unauthorized or faulty screen
replacement could cause the check to fail," the support
document stated.
PCVA attorneys for the five plaintiffs -- who include one
each from Arizona, California and Oregon, and two
from Florida -- sued Apple for alleged negligence,
negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and
violation of California's unfair competition and false
advertising laws.
"Plaintiff DeNoma decided to replace the screen himself
after researching how to do so," the lawsuit said,
referring to John DeNoma of Oregon. "While replacing
the screen, he broke the ribbon cable that connected the
Touch ID to the device, so he ended up replacing the
entire home button. The iPhone worked great after the
repair.
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