iFixit confirms that Face ID on iPhone 13 no longer works after screen replacement

Face ID will no longer work after a screen replacement without further action, iFixit has confirmed. Phone Repair Guru previously claimed the same. It appears that the screen and the phone are cryptographically connected.

There’s no technical reason it couldn’t work, notes iFixit. All components for Face ID are connected to their own connector on the pcb and can be transferred independently of the screen. The step complicates repairs of iPhone 13 as the face scanner is an important function of an iPhone for many people.

The blockage appears to be software-related, which opens up the possibility that Apple will lift the blockage with a software update. Apple itself and Apple-authorized repairers have the option to link components to the phone, so that it would work there again after repair.

Apple is known for making repairs difficult when they are performed by parties that are not affiliated with Apple. For example, the battery and cameras are cryptographically linked to the phone. With previous iPhones, users have already been notified that a non-original screen is being used if the screen has been replaced by an independent party; even if it is an original screen. However, Face ID continued to work on previous iPhones.

The repair site further notes that the floodlight and dot projector are now in the same module, while they were separate before. The teardown of iFixit also shows that the Taptic Engine vibrating motor is a bit bigger again, after it had become smaller in previous iPhones.

iFixit: Teardown iPhone 13 Pro: Face ID on iPhone 12 Pro (above) and iPhone 13 Pro