Apple has been developing a wireless system for users to recover and restore a device’s firmware for some time. This feature was first introduced with iOS 15.4 and watchOS 8.5 for the Apple Watch, and then extended to the Apple TV with iOS 17 and tvOS 17. Now, with iOS 18, Apple is finally bringing this feature to the iPhone 16 series.
No need for a Mac anymore!
According to a report by 9to5Macthe final version of iOS 18 for iPhone 16 includes RecoveryOSthe same system that allows users to restore the firmware of the Apple Watch and Apple TV using an iPhone. Our colleagues were even able to test the system and observe how it works in practice.
When an iPhone 16 enters recovery mode, simply place it near another iPhone or iPad to start the firmware recovery process. The second device will download the necessary iOS firmware and transfer it to the faulty iPhone. This eliminates the need to use a Mac or PC to fix firmware issues on iOS devices.
While any iOS 18 device can facilitate the recovery process, only iPhone 16 currently supports wireless restore. These devices come with a dedicated recovery partition that handles the entire process even if the main iOS partition is not functional.
It is unclear whether Apple intends to extend this feature to older iPhone models or whether it depends on a specific component of the iPhone 16. In any case, it is an improvement that eliminates the need for a computer or, worse, having to go to Apple or a service center.
For the record, we reported that Apple was working internally on this recovery tool as early as 2020.
