Apple fined in Australia for failing to repair iPhones with ‘error 53’

Apple has been fined A$9 million for refusing to repair iPhones and iPads previously repaired by a third party. Users started the case after getting the error 53 error message.

Australia’s federal court has imposed a EUR 5.75 million fine for misleading consumers. The case was brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, or ACCC, which received complaints from Apple customers that they could no longer update or restore their iPhone or iPad and received an error 53 error message. The operating system gave that message if it detected that the home button had been repaired by a third party. In early 2016, Apple released an iOS update to fix that error.

At the time, according to the ACCC, Apple refused to repair iPhones or iPads that had already undergone a repair; not only by placing a new home button but also by replacing the screen. Doing so would violate Australian consumer rules. Apple admitted that it misled consumers by refusing repairs between February 2015 and February 2016. The ACCC reported 275 customers who were dealing with incorrectly refused repairs, but the organization said the problem affected about 5,000 customers.

According to the consumer organization, Apple has promised the court that it will no longer use similar practices in the future. Apple told the Sydney Morning Herald that it has “productive talks” with the ACCC about improving services.