Repair Shops Could Fix iPhone Face ID Issues Without Swapping Out Whole Device
Authorized third-party shops may get to fix Face ID issues on iPhones by swapping parts instead of the entire phone.
If you walked into a gadget repair shop to get your iPhone's FaceID cameras fixed, you probably had to get your entire phone replaced. But fix-it shops may get access to Apple parts and hand back your same device after a simple fix.
Apple will soon give authorized repair centers and individuals access to TrueDepth Camera parts that iPhones use for Face ID functionality, according to a memo seen by MacRumors. The shops could swap out the part instead of the whole phone, which would help reduce the carbon footprint of each iPhone.
Only iPhone XS and newer Apple phones will qualify for the repairs, according to MacRumors, despite Face ID debuting on the iPhone X.
It's unclear when this new repair option will be available, but the report only mentioned giving access to authorized repair shops, not to individuals who'll be able to fix their own iPhones once Apple's do-it-yourself repair program, announced last November, goes live. Self Service Repair, as it's called, lets customers buy parts from Apple and download official repair manuals online, but it wasn't clear how many components and processes would be available, and it's possible the TrueDepth Camera parts won't be included.
Apple didn't respond to a request for comment.