After replacing the module, you will need to authorize it using the firmware
During the disassembly of the iPhone 12, iFixit specialists found out one point that complicates and increases the cost of repairing the cameras of these smartphones. As it turned out, you can’t just replace the module.
IPhone 12 camera repair won’t work cheap
If in the iPhone 11 it was possible to simply replace the original broken module with another one taken, for example, from a donor smartphone, then in the iPhone 12 this trick will no longer work. More precisely, it is possible to physically replace the module, but after that its software authorization is required using proprietary software, which is available only in authorized repair shops.
The camera works without authorization, but there is no need to talk about full functionality. For example, switching to an ultra-wide-angle lens module will not work. Some of the shooting modes are not available at all. IFixit notes that this approach will hit private craftsmen and unauthorized workshops that use either third-party components or components of donor smartphones in their work. And such a repair, of course, was cheaper than the official one. But it is the camera modules and displays that account for the majority of user calls to service centers.
An Apple white paper indicates that software authorization is also required when installing a new display in any of the iPhone 12 models.
