iFixit finds iPhone 12 camera repair impossible without proprietary Apple tool | Hacker News Reader

iFixit finds iPhone 12 camera repair impossible without proprietary Apple tool

9to5mac.com

43 pointstlburke22 comments

The iPhone 12 camera, when transferred to another iPhone 12, appears to work on launch, but fails miserably in actual use. It refuses to switch to the ultrawide camera, responds only to certain camera modes, and occasionally hangs and becomes completely unresponsive.

There is zero doubt in my mind that this is completely deliberate, and doing some deep reverse-engineering would likely yield how it is done (if anyone does decide to investigate it, that is an article I would love to read about.) It's like the copy protection schemes in games that appear to be defeated easily, but have more hidden traps later on.

The wankers at Apple who implement this sort of thing should be ashamed of themselves. I hope the Chinese cracks this, as they are apt to do for the third-party repair industry, just to show that it can still be done.

> There is zero doubt in my mind that this is completely deliberate

It is, and there is proof. A two cameras have been swapped and didn't work, they worked again when swapped back so there was no damage while disasembling it.

Louis Rossmann has pointed this out in one of his recent YouTube videos, just like he points out so many other scams Apple is getting away with.

This doesn't sound like a scam, it sounds like the peripheral is calibrated and mapped to the device in software. It doesn't surprise me that it would fail, kind of like that video where someone swapped the board out and expected everything to work when to the device it appears every single peripheral has had a failure condition and needs to be recalibrated and verified.

I don't have an issue with requiring software tools to repair software problems in modern electronics. The issue at hand is whether that tool is available for consumers and repair shops, which I doubt.

May be people are putting in Non Apple Cameras in those phones for repair or returns. Or start selling those as parts from these exchange and stolen parts online . And while it is a relatively small in percentage, at Apple scale it is still massive amount of money.

I am not sure if there is a solution that solves "both" side of the equation.

It's absolutely NOT about "calibration" or whatever other excuses, because (every other manufacturer's) phone cameras use a more or less standard interface based on MIPI CSI, and are basically designed to be plug-and-play to allow ease of integration and development. The only things that could be considered calibration in camera modules are presets that are stored in an EEPROM, and affect the quality of the image at most. It would not cause any of the symptoms outlined in the article.

In other words, Apple went out of their way to do this. They probably use the EEPROM to store some additional serialisation data, check whether it matches the data stored on the mainboard, and then subtly sabotage the behaviour of the app based on that. It won't be long before the truth surfaces.

They've already done similar shady shit with even simpler parts like batteries: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20641424

I mean this honestly, and not as a snide comment: is this even news, or surprising one iota to anyone?

Maybe it's interesting to post this in order to further raise people's awareness about the lack of "right to repair" of Apple hardware, but I'm pretty sure if they found a way to patent a screw, and then prosecute those making screwdrivers for it, they 100% would

It's unsurprising, but it's also another nail in the 'the restrictions on users are for security purposes' coffin. Not allowing 3rd party replacements of the entire mainboard? Okay, understandable. The battery? Mmmmaybe if you're imaginative enough (replacing the battery in a VIP's phone that's rigged to explode). But the camera? Who does this protect?

I disagree with your premises entirely. Neither of those first two things should be irreparable, and certainly not for those reasons.

Edit: to clarify the intention of my statement I am agreeing with you and going one step further by saying the coffin is already nailed shut and needs no more nails.

Yeah it's news. Gotta communicate to solve problems. I've already forwarded this to my friends who work in repair shops.

It's part of the "switch to Services"

Apple service is pretty terrible from what I've read here and heard from friends, and seen on reddit, or the news, and etc.

It's better than Googles

Well, it's not difficult to have service that's better than something basically nonexistent.

My understanding is their software decisions made stolen phones worthless for resale. Except they can torn down and sold for parts to dodgy repair shops. These changes continue the quest to make the theft of these devices a worthless endeavour for criminals.

It is the case the verified repair shops are able to make these repairs and have the correct tools isn’t it?

Is there anything preventing a phone from being completely wiped?

My understanding is that if you have find my iPhone enabled and you mark it as stolen then nothing can be done to recover the device without access to your iCloud to unlock it.

I could honestly care less... Apple Care is a measly fee in comparison to the cost of the phone. The one time I had a third party repair shop fix my phone, the battery was permanently damaged and I had to get a new phone.

$149 for a $699 iPhone 12 isn't exactly a measly fee.

At this point Apple should just start iPhone with AppleCare Subscription.

Most people who intend to really use their iPhone purchase a model that's at least $1k. Budget minded folks don't buy Apple products - Apple care isn't intended for the budget minded individual.

What does "really use" actually mean? Perhaps putting on their power user face and scrolling real quick through twitter? Or is it those people who regularly set up a timed photo such that they get the perfect shot after throwing their phone over Victoria falls?

Is it possible that it just needs calibration that is unique for item?

Absolutely. If you wanted it not to work, then the first thing you would do is check the serial and spit out an error. You wouldn’t accept some commands and randomly hang on others.

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