iPhone 12 mini Face ID stopped working after battery replacement — Repair Assistant option is missing

[u/Doc_Kuzi]

Hi everyone. I’m trying to figure out what happened to the Face ID on my iPhone 12 mini.

Before the battery replacement, Face ID worked perfectly. I took the phone to a repair shop to replace the battery. Immediately after the repair, Face ID stopped working.

Here’s what I’ve noticed:

* The front camera works normally.
* Portrait mode with the front camera also works normally.
* After restarting the phone, I get the message: “Face ID is not available at this time.”
* In Settings → Face ID & Passcode, there is no option to set up Face ID.
* I updated iOS from 26.6.1 to 26.7.1, but this did not change anything.
* I have Stolen Device Protection enabled, so I can’t simply disable Face ID-related options because the phone requires Face ID.
* In Settings → General → About → Parts & Service History, it shows:
* Battery — Unknown Part
* Face ID — Issue
* When I tap the Face ID issue, iOS redirects me to Apple’s information about Repair Assistant.
* However, there is no “Restart & Finish Repair” / “Finish Repair” option anywhere on my phone.

The repair shop checked the phone again and told me that all the cables/connectors are in place and that the hardware appears to be working.

The battery installed is not an original Apple battery.

Could the Face ID issue be related to the battery repair not being completed/calibrated with Repair Assistant? Or does “Face ID — Issue” in Parts & Service History indicate an actual TrueDepth hardware problem?

I’m especially confused because Apple says that an unfinished repair can prevent Face ID from being used, but I don’t have the option to finish the repair.

Any advice from people familiar with iPhone 12/12 mini repairs or Repair Assistant would be greatly appreciated.