Last week I spoke to you for the first time about error 53 which blocks the iPhone, appearing in situations where unauthorized repairs were made to the Touch ID fingerprint reader implemented in the Home button of the iPhone, the problem affecting many people.
Although Apple has authorized repairs to iPhones stuck with error 53 in its Apple Stores, a law firm is not so happy with the change of attitude of those in Cupertino, so it filed a lawsuit demanding 5 million dollars in damages for its clients.
Moreover, the law firm demands that this As security to be removed from iOS and for Apple to properly warn its users about the risks that updates to the iOS operating system have so that they can avoid them.
The lawyer who filed the action against Apple claims that Apple's strategy to protect users with a measure of this kind is illogical, and his theory is as good as it can be, but it remains to be seen if the judge presiding over the case will agree with him.
If security was the primary concern, then why did the phones work just fine, sometimes for several months, without the software update. Error 53 only rears its ugly head when downloading a newer version of Apple's operating system.
The truth is that Apple needs to eliminate this As security from iOS 9 because it is not normal and affects the ability of users to repair their own products at lower costs than the exaggerated ones charged by the Apple company.
Initiating the program that repairs iPhone terminals blocked with error 53, the Apple company took a first step towards trying to close this process, but it remains to be seen if it will manage to reach an agreement with this law firm.
SEATTLE, WA – Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC (PCVA), a nationally respected trial law firm, filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, Inc. in federal court today in response to Apple's "Error 53" iPhone controversy.
Apple has been under fire for its policy of permanently disabling (a practice referred to as "bricking") iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units that have had their fingerprint sensors damaged or had hardware replaced by third-party repair stores. The phones are bricked after users install a phone update. Once bricked the phone is essentially useless. "Error 53" refers to the message displayed to users who are no longer able to use their phones after installing the update.
"The first objective is to get all the affected iPhone customers re-outfitted with working phones, and without the overwhelming costs that thousands of people are facing right now with error 53 codes and bricked phones," said Darrell Cochran, lead attorney for the class action lawsuit. "That will provide immediate relief to the consumers and, in the end, it will also help Apple," Cochran said.
Apple representatives have claimed the policy of disabling phones was a security measure to protect users from having their personal data compromised. But PCVA attorney Cochran doesn't buy into Apple's security safeguard explanations.
"If security was the primary concern, then why did the phones work just fine, sometimes for several months, without the software update," Cochran asked. "Error 53 only rears its ugly head when downloading a newer version of Apple's operating system."
Cochran said Apple's failure to give a warning about the consequences of its update on phones, including the loss of all information in the phone, has consumers crying foul.
"No materials we've seen from Apple ever show a disclosure that your phone would self-destruct if you download new software onto a phone," Cochran said. "If Apple wants to kill your phone under any set of circumstances and for any reason, it has to make it crystal clear to its customers before the damage is done."
Compounding the problem, according to Cochran, is how disagreeable Apple's reaction to the problem has been. "The error code 53 signals the death of the phone, and Apple's response has been to say 'you have no options; it's not covered under warranty, and you have to buy a new phone.'"
If you've been a victim of Apple's Error 53, contact the team of attorneys at PCVA to help hold Apple responsible for its wrongdoing.
