Welcome to Bench Signal — three things from the bench, every Tuesday.
① This week's tip
Face ID stops working after a screen replacement on iPhone 12 or 13. Your first instinct is the TrueDepth camera module. Usually wrong.
Check the flood illuminator flex first. It runs along the top of the display assembly and gets snagged during opening more often than the camera itself. Damaged flex, not damaged module. The difference is about €80 in parts.
Test the flex in isolation before you quote anything.
② Prompt of the week
Use this to build a customer FAQ for your repair shop in one go:
I run an Apple repair lab. Write a customer FAQ covering these questions: How long does a typical repair take? What happens to my data? Do you offer a warranty on repairs? What if my device has a problem after I pick it up? Can I get a repair without a prior appointment? Keep answers under 50 words each. Tone: professional, clear, no jargon.
Review the output and adapt to your actual policies before using. Takes five minutes and saves you answering the same questions every day.
③ Resource this week
Public database of hardware documentation for electronic devices. Useful when you're staring at a board component with no visible reference. Search by device, get internal photos, schematics and FCC filings. Free, no login required.
That's it for this week.
If this was useful, forward it to a colleague who'd appreciate it.
— BenchNotes