iPhone 13: Third party screen replacements disable Face ID

Apple doesn't want third parties repairing the iPhone 13

Over the years, Apple has made it increasingly difficult for unauthorised third parties to repair the iPhone. With each iteration of the iPhone, Apple has taken measures to discourage people from taking the phone to stores other Apple authorised sellers. The iPhone 13 series is no different.

YouTube channel Phone Repair Guru has reported that Face ID on the iPhone 13 gets disabled if you opt for third party replacement of the phone's screen. What's worse is that Face ID will stop working even if you swap screens with another genuine iPhone 13 screen.

The only way Face ID works again, is if you put the original screen, that shipped with the iPhone 13, back on. What's strange is that the iPhone 13 screen does not hold any components for Face ID, so it is clearly a measure that Apple has put in place to discourage third party repairs.

Apple has continued to face criticism for making it harder and harder for third parties to repair its products. Any third-party repair centres not certified by the company's Independent Repair Program, will not be able to repair the device.

Compared to third-parties, Apple stores often charge extravagant prices for repairs and sometimes take weeks to replace parts, that can usually be done in a couple of days.

Only companies and stores certified by Apple get access to genuine Apple parts, training manuals, device blueprints and information otherwise hidden from other unauthorised repair centres.

Apple's continued insistence on making repairs difficult has led to movements like "Right to Repair."

Earlier this year, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order that called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and tasked them from preventing companies, to inhibit customers for repairing their own products.