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The knowledge base: SMC codes, panic signatures and restore errors

Updated 3 min read

The knowledge base is the reference behind the panic analysis and the recovery console. You can read it on its own: look up a sensor code, check which part a panic points to, or follow a workshop procedure step by step. Click Knowledge base in the sidebar. It is part of the free plan.

Workshop procedures at the top, the reference tables below.

The search field at the top right searches the procedures, the panic signatures and the restore error codes at once. Type a symptom such as charging, a part such as battery, or an error number such as 4013.

Workshop procedures

Ten procedures for common situations at the bench. Click one to open its steps:

ProcedureUse it for
Repeated restartsA phone that restarts by itself, with or without a panic log.
Charging or unstable USBA phone that charges slowly, stops charging or disconnects from the PC.
Storage-related panicPanics that point to the storage (NAND) or its controller.
Battery assessmentDeciding whether the battery is the cause.
Possible liquid damageWhat to check after water or moisture.
Part, connector or board?Narrowing a fault down to a part, its connector or the logic board.
Software or hardware?Separating a software problem from a hardware fault.
Confirm a repairTesting after the repair and checking for new panic logs.
Inspect a used phoneThe checks to do before buying or selling a phone.
Data preservation and transferKeeping the customer's data safe during a restore or a transfer to another phone.

SMC sensor codes

A table of the sensor codes that appear in SMC panics, for each model, with the circuit to check. The codes come from three published repair tables and cover the iPhone 13 series to the iPhone 16 Pro. Codes that the tables contradict are left out on purpose. The panic analysis uses this table for its verdict.

Panic signatures and the part to test first

The 24 families of panics BenchDock recognises, such as Face ID, storage, baseband, display, charging IC and battery. For each family the table shows:

  • the part to test first, with the alternatives,
  • the confidence (high, medium or low),
  • whether it is usually hardware, hardware or software, or often software.

Restore and update error codes

73 error codes from Finder, iTunes, Apple Devices and 3uTools, grouped the way Apple groups them: no connection to Apple's servers, security software, a disconnect during the restore, USB connection problems, possible hardware problems, a locked device and more. For each code the table shows the meaning, whether hardware is likely and whether the customer's data is at risk. Hints from repair practice are marked Workshop experience. More about the codes: Restore error codes and the recovery console.

Other fault families

The last part lists the general rules, such as memory, storage, the always-on processor, I²C, heat and watchdog timeouts, each with the parts to check.

The rule set

The line under the procedures shows the version of the rule set, for example Rule set 2026.09.28-4. The same version appears in every analysis and every exported report, so you can see later which rules produced a verdict.

Questions

Where does the information come from?

The SMC codes and rules come from published repair sources: iFixit, iPad Rehab and Repair Wiki. The restore error groups come from Apple's support articles. Each finding in a case shows its sources under Evidence and sources.

Why is a code missing from the SMC table?

Either no published table lists it for that model, or the tables contradict each other. BenchDock leaves those codes out rather than guess.