Get an unofficial iPhone 11 screen repair and Apple won’t let you forget it

iPhone 11 Pro
(Image credit: TechRadar)

A smashed phone screen can be expensive to fix, and one way to potentially lower costs is by using unofficial parts, but if you do that with the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro or iPhone 11 Pro Max, Apple will make it clear that it knows.

If the replacement screen is ‘nongenuine’, then according to a new Apple support document, your phone will display a message saying “unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple display.”

This will appear on your lock screen for the first four days after the replacement and in the Settings app for fifteen days. It can also permanently be found under Settings > General > About.

It brings to mind the recent controversy Apple found itself in after locking users with nongenuine batteries out of accessing the Battery Health feature. However, this time around it seems you’ll only have to put up with an alert for a while – you won’t actually be locked off from any features.

An array of issues

Apple claims that using nongenuine parts for screen repairs could lead to a number of issues, including multi-touch, brightness and color issues. Most significantly it states that it can also lead to compatibility and performance issues which might arise after a software update – meaning even if the screen works fine initially, future iOS software might not work properly with it.

That’s why the company is so keen to push users towards genuine parts and repairs. How likely a nongenuine screen really is to have issues we can’t say, but we are inclined to say that it’s probably not worth the risk, even if official repairs might cost more.

Apple is at least making it easier to get official repairs though, as it recently launched a new repair program that made it easier for third-party businesses to access genuine Apple parts. So if you’re not going straight to Apple for repairs, it’s worth just checking that the place you use has genuine parts – along with an Apple-certified technician.

Via Trusted Reviews

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

Latest in iPhone
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max REVIEW
New iPhone 17 Air leak may have revealed some key specs – and how it compares to the iPhone 17 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 16 Review
Three iPhone 17 model dummy units appear in a hands-on video leak
Apple iPhone 16 Plus Review
iPhone 17 Air leaks suggest it'll get next-gen battery – and offset the 17 Pro Max's weight gains
Two hands holding the Tecno Spark Slim phone
The world’s thinnest phone was just revealed, but a new iPhone 17 Air leak suggests it could be even slimmer
Apple iPhone 16e on blue background
This week's best Apple iPhone 16e deals: where to get the latest iPhone for cheap
Apple iPhone 16 Pro REVIEW
Leaked iPhone 17 schematics show the Apple phones could be getting a speaker redesign
Latest in News
Vision Pro Metallica
Apple Vision Pro goes off to never never land with Metallica concert footage
Mufasa is joined by another lion, a monkey and a bird in this promotional image
Mufasa: The Lion King prowls onto Disney+ as it finally gets a streaming release date
An American flag flying outside the US Capitol building against a blue sky
Sean Plankey selected as CISA director by President Trump
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 on a table with its retail packaging
Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU spotted in Acer gaming PC, suggesting rumors of imminent launch are correct – and that it’ll run with only 8GB of video RAM
Indiana Jones talking to a friend in a university setting with a jaunty smile on his face
New leak claims Indiana Jones and the Great Circle PS5 release will come in April
A close up of the limited edition vinyl turntable wrist watch from AndoAndoAndo
This limited-edition timepiece turns the iconic Technics SL-1200 turntable into a watch, and I want one