If you’ve ever needed to replace the True Depth camera on your iPhone, you probably noticed that you didn’t get the same phone back. That might be changing the next time you take your iPhone in for a Face ID repair.
Macrumors reports that authorized Apple technicians will soon have access to a new TrueDepth Camera service part containing all Face ID and front camera modules, which will let Apple Store repair iPhones with Face ID issues. The site saw an internal memo outlining the changes, which affect all iPhone XS, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13 models. It’s not clear whether the iPad Pro is also part of the new repair program.
Ever since the tech arrived on the iPhone X, Apple hasn’t had a way to repair Face ID without swapping out devices, a wasteful and expensive solution. Due to the complexity of the True Depth module, Apple service technicians were unable to swap out the system as they can with other parts.
According to the memo, Apple Stores and Authorized Service Providers will be able to use the Apple Service Toolkit to determine whether to perform a repair or a replacement when diagnosing Face ID problems. It’s not clear when the Face ID repairs will begin.
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He’s still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.
