Apple Watch and Apple TV users can fix their bricked devices wirelessly for quite some time now using a nearby iPhone, eliminating the need to visit an Apple Store for assistance. Now, Apple has extended the wireless OS recovery support to its iPhones and iPads.
According to 9to5Mac, iPhones and iPads running iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 can restore bricked iPhone 16 series phones wirelessly. While any Apple iDevice can assist with the wireless recovery feature, only 2024 iPhone models, i.e., iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max, can be fixed using this method.
When a bricked iPhone 16 is brought near to another iPhone or iPad running iOS 18, an alert will show up on the functional device stating, "An iPhone near you is in recovery mode. You can help restore it with your iPhone."
To fix the bricked iPhone 16, the user needs to choose "Continue" to initiate the recovery process. There is a "Learn More" option to read about it, or an "X" to dismiss the pop-up. The feature works by downloading the firmware on the functional device, downloading it, and then transferring it to the bricked one. The bricked iPhone 16 flashes the operating system and gets fixed.
With this, the latest iPhone 16 series phones support wireless OS recovery, MagSafe and Qi2 charging, and AirDrop for file transfer, these may be a signal that Apple is inching closer to retiring USB-C port and introducing a portless device, specifically portless iPhones.
Since this wireless OS recovery feature is applicable to revive iPhone 16 series phones, older iPhone models still require a Mac or a Windows PC for operating system recovery. Apple hasn't clarified if this feature will be expanded over to older iPhone models or if it requires new hardware.
Let us know if you have ever used the wireless OS recovery feature, and what's your view about portless iPhones in the comments below.
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