New iOS feature can help prepare your iPhone for repairs without disabling functionality

Repair State was discovered in recent iOS 17.5 beta

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

A new feature was discovered in the files of the fourthiOS17.5 beta called Repair State. What it does isplace your iPhone in a special hibernationmode that doesn’t force people to disable Find My when sending their device in to be serviced.

The way it works currently is whenever an iPhone is taken to a repair shop, users mustturn off Find Myin the settings menu. Doing so hasn’t been a problem for anyone until the introduction of the Stolen Device Protection feature on iOS 17.3.

Stolen Device Protection“adds extra security steps” to certain functions like requiring biometric authentication whenever an iPhone owner wants to access stored credit card information. It also adds a time delay when changing certain sensitive settings, such as Find My. This forces you to wait a full hour until you’re allowed to use your smartphone again regardless of how long repairs took. As a result, people have begun to complain about the lockout.

Repair State is the company’s solution. It lets users confirm “theirAppleID and password” designating them as the iPhone’s owner to technicians without having to deactivate Find My or Stolen Device Protection. According toMacRumors, phones under this mode have a “Ready for Repair” label alongside a stethoscope icon inside the list of devices.

Work in progress

It’s been confirmed the feature is “only available on iPhones”. None of Apple’s other gadgets have been spotted with Repair State. You can check it out yourself by installing iOS 17.5 beta 4 from the tech giant’s Developer program However, it is recommended that you leave it alone.9To5Macin their report states users can enable the mode “when trying to remove their iPhone via [the] Find My app.” But once activated, there isn’t a way to disable Repair State.

The publication states there may be two reasons why you can’t revert the phone back to normal. It’s either because the company has yet to implement a way to turn off the mode or an Apple technician must first complete repairs before removing the mode.

There doesn’t appear to be any performance issues associated with Repair State. None of the reports we sifted through mention anything relating to iPhones becoming inoperable. In fact, it’s quite the opposite as the hardware apparently “remains fully functional.” Still, just to be on the safe side, it’s better that you don’t mess with it.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

Apple’s WWDC 2024is the tech giant’s next major event kicking off on June 10. While we don’t know what’ll be shown on the big day, we do expect to see iOS 18 make its world debut and Repair State may be one of the new tools on display.

Until then, check out TechRadar’s list of thebest iPhone for 2024.

You might also like

Cesar Cadenas has been writing about the tech industry for several years now specializing in consumer electronics, entertainment devices, Windows, and the gaming industry. But he’s also passionate about smartphones, GPUs, and cybersecurity.

I’ve used Genmoji and now I’m convinced Apple Intelligence will be a huge success

iOS 18.2 could add Battery Intelligence to your iPhone, letting you know how long it will take to charge

Phishing attacks surge in 2024 as cybercriminals adopt AI tools and multi-channel tactics