How much to replace Face ID on iPhone X at Apple Store?

[SimmZ]

Someone gave me a slightly used iPhone X 256 GB because he was telling me that Face ID stopped to work unexpectedly so he simply purchase a new iPhone 12 from his carrier and gave me the iPhone X. Being myself IT technician for nearly 20 years now, I thought that some basic troubleshooting steps would fix this issue, but unfortunately not. He already have factory reset the iPhone X before giving it to me, what haven't fixed the issue. The first thing that the iPhone X is prompting after initial setup and after any reboot is "Face ID can't be initialized on this iPhone". So I proceeded with all know steps such as putting the iPhone X in recovery mode and performing a bare-metal restore... I also found that 99% of the Face ID issues are caused by a dead proximity sensor, which is cheap and easy to replace, but it's NOT my case here because my proximity sensor works perfectly when tested, so as the front facing camera. Then this iPhone X never had any liquid damage, nor any physical damage and it's never been serviced. So I found extra information about how the Face ID technology works and all components involved and I am wondering if Apple Store can replace the entire Face ID module from my iPhone X and how much it may cost to do that, out of warranty as well? This iPhone X 256 Gb is in immaculate shape and only around 2.5 years old, but unfortunately the previous owner didn't take the Apple Care extended warranty but I think it worth saving it for my teenage kids or wife since i already have an iPhone 12 myself.

Before someone answer that, I already know that Apple Store can do a free repair estimate, HOWEVER I am living in Canada in a locating that is not covered by any Apple Store nearby, in fact the nearest Apple Store is 1.5+ hours far, so because driving that far distance, I tried to call Apple Care support line and they can't provide any rough estimate at all. If this repair cost let say 200$ it probably worth it, but if it's cost like 450$ it surely not worth the travel, nor this price... so this is why I am here today asking for your help!

Thank you very much!

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Apple will just replace the phone out of warranty which costs $549 US.

iPhone Repair and Service - Apple Support

Need to repair your iPhone? See your service options, their costs by coverage type, and how long they take.

support.apple.com

Even if you could get the entire FaceID module, the equipment to program the module to the logic board and actually have it work is proprietary and only Apple can do it..

 

[SimmZ]

Apple will just replace the phone out of warranty which costs $549 US.

iPhone Repair and Service - Apple Support

Need to repair your iPhone? See your service options, their costs by coverage type, and how long they take.

support.apple.com

Even if you could get the entire FaceID module, the equipment to program the module to the logic board and actually have it work is proprietary and only Apple can do it..

Yes I am already all aware of that, this is why I am intending to bring it to the Apple Store for Apple repair...

But this iPhone actually worth way less than 549$ USD on the used market IF it were working flawlessly... so what the h***??

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Yes I am already all aware of that, this is why I am intending to bring it to the Apple Store for Apple repair...

But this iPhone actually worth way less than 549$ USD on the used market IF it were working flawlessly... so what the h***??

After looking at the repair list it costs the same to replace a 12Pro! You would think they'd charge a couple of hundred less for the X. $349 would be fair for a replacement but $549 is a tough sell..

 

[SimmZ]

After looking at the repair list it costs the same to replace a 12Pro! You would think they'd charge a couple of hundred less for the X. $349 would be fair for a replacement but $549 is a tough sell..

I'll take a chance to file a complaint to Apple customer service since 2.5 years of lifespan doesn't sound really fair to me and especially in Canada where the law is protecting us against unfair product lifespan, maybe I can negotiate to be somehow eligible to some trade-in program to get a new iPhone "whatever model" (a XR or 11 would be fine for my teenagers kids) at a decent price. Paying like 350$ for a trade-in on a new phone would be pretty fair, but surely not 549$ for a 3 years old model...

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I'll take a chance to file a complaint to Apple customer service since 2.5 years of lifespan doesn't sound really fair to me and especially in Canada where the law is protecting us against unfair product lifespan, maybe I can negotiate to be somehow eligible to some trade-in program to get a new iPhone "whatever model" (a XR or 11 would be fine for my teenagers kids) at a decent price. Paying like 350$ for a trade-in on a new phone would be pretty fair, but surely not 549$ for a 3 years old model...

My iPhone X has been a wonderful phone and luckily I've had no issues with it. After three and a half years it needs a battery replacement which I'm more than happy to do but there is always a chance they may damage the phone during the repair. One thing to note, I read a thread on this forum where a member had his FaceID stop working and Apple said the phone needed replacement. He removed the screen and found a excessive amount of dust inside the phone especially on and around the FaceID components. After blowing out all the dust with canned air, the FaceID worked fine again. I'm not saying that's what's wrong with your phone but if you have no luck with Apple and want to take a look inside the phone to see if anything obvious is wrong I don't think you have anything to lose

 

[SimmZ]

My iPhone X has been a wonderful phone and luckily I've had no issues with it. After three and a half years it needs a battery replacement which I'm more than happy to do but there is always a chance they may damage the phone during the repair. One thing to note, I read a thread on this forum where a member had his FaceID stop working and Apple said the phone needed replacement. He removed the screen and found a excessive amount of dust inside the phone especially on and around the FaceID components. After blowing out all the dust with canned air, the FaceID worked fine again. I'm not saying that's what's wrong with your phone but if you have no luck with Apple and want to take a look inside the phone to see if anything obvious is wrong I don't think you haven't anything to lose

Very good point. Since I have pretty good experience fixing iPhone 6/6S, I assume there's not much difference to take apart the iPhone X. Surely than some dust entering the phone by the earpiece mesh can cause problems. I'll surely look into it before going any further.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Very good point. Since I have pretty good experience fixing iPhone 6/6S, I assume there's not much difference to take apart the iPhone X. Surely than some dust entering the phone by the earpiece mesh can cause problems. I'll surely look into it before going any further.

There are some excellent tear down videos on YouTube from REWA Technologies.. I believe the display cables are routed differently than the 6S so you may want to watch one before removing the screen. Good luck!🤞

 

[loftiness]

Had similar failure on my old XS, I ended up trading it in for more i can sell on used market, definitely recommend that. Too bad they basically don’t repair it and just give you a new phone for 550. The sensor need to be paired with Secure Enclave (similar to Touch ID sensor) at factory so i dont even know if third party can do repair at all, although the new 3rd party program might address this.