With iOS 18: iPhone can restore iPhone 16

If nothing works with the iPhone, there is only one thing that can help: a full recoveryAlso called restore in English. To return an Apple smartphone to its initial state, you previously needed a Mac (via Finder) or a Windows PC (with an app) “Apple devices”), each of which had to be connected to the iPhone using a USB-C/USB-C or Lightning/USB-C cable. With the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, the process, which you hopefully won’t have to do often, has been made easier: in the future, a (second) iPhone or iPad will suffice for reset.

Advertisement

iPhone, please report

If an iPhone is in recovery mode nearby, it will be detected wirelessly in the future. Apple blog like 9to5Mac have setThe four new iPhones come with RecoveryOS firmware for the first time, which has been available on Apple Watch since watchOS 8.5 and Apple TV devices since tvOS 17. These also enable restore via a nearby iPhone.

With the four new iPhones this can now also be done wirelessly. There are currently no exact details about the technology behind it. But the practical use is simple: any iPhone or iPad that uses iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 can be used for a restore. It is not known whether it will be technically possible to equip older iPhone models with this feature in the future.

macOS 15: Problems with some system-wide keyboard shortcuts

Over-the-air recovery has been planned for a long time

The query that appears on Nearby iPhones is: “An iPhone near you is in recovery mode. You can use your iPhone to help restore it.” You can get more information about the process or start it right away using the “Next…” button. Apple has long been working on a way to implement a restore using over-the-air functionality (OTA) to make the iPhone as independent as possible from computer use.

The first hints of this in the operating system’s code were found as early as 2020. But it’s never been as simple as it seems with new iPhones. The helping iPhone or iPad downloads the required operating system and transfers it to the “bricked” device.

(B.Sc.)