“Error 53: The Revenge” – Now on iPhone 8

It used to be that if the home button was damaged on any Apple iPhone with Touch ID (up to the 6S Plus), it could be replaced with an aftermarket copy. This meant the secure enclave would no longer work, rendering fingerprint recognition inoperable, but the click function would still work. However, from the iPhone 7 on, it hasn’t been possible to replace the home button. (To nitpick, you can buy a new one, but it would be purely cosmetic and non-functional).

In early 2016, Apple released an iOS update, “bricking” many iPhones which had an aftermarket (replacement) home button. They didn’t warn the user that this might happen beforehand or give them the chance to stop the update- instead iTunes simply gave “Error 53” and the phone was left in recovery mode. This prompted much backlash from the media and customers, and Apple was eventually forced to release a patch that made such phones usable again.

On the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, if the home button was damaged, then the assistive touch icon often would appear automatically. This permitted the user of a software-based button- not ideal, but usable. However, after the phone was restored, this assistive touch was often not turned on. Of course, if you’ve ever set up a new iPhone, you’ll be aware that you need to push the home button to start things off, so this is a definite problem! Although it was possible at one stage to enable assistive touch via iTunes on your computer, this facility was subsequently removed in an update.

Now, with the iPhone 8, it appears that if the home button is broken or missing, the iPhone doesn’t even boot. All you simply get is the Apple logo displayed and a constant loop of reboots. On the other hand, connect a working home button- even one that isn’t matched to that specific iPhone- it will boot fine. (We’ve tested this, and it works.) Disconnnect the home button, and once again it won’t boot correctly.

Even more strangely, if the iPhone 8 has been restored and is on the setup screen, it functions fine without the all-important home button connected… right up to the point you plug in the SIM card for activation. As soon as the phone has been successfully activated, then power-cycling it without going through the setup means it won’t boot again.

It’s obvious to us that Apple checks the home button during the activation process, and disables the phone if it can’t detect a working home button. In our view, this is a somewhat disingenuous way to (effectively) bring back Error 53 in all but name, but without explicitly displaying an error message that draws attention to what they’re doing. Now you have to return the device to Apple for repair, as only they can service the home button. Sneaky, to say the least.

This iPhone 8 has a broken home button plugged in (the flex is hidden underneath the button here). Quite clearly, it’s failing to boot.

The same iPhone 8 with a mismatched (but functional) home button from another phone. Because it’s mismatched, the clicks don’t do anything, but you do get an assistive touch software-based home button, which is better than nothing.