You no longer need to be concerned about repair technicians accessing your personal data on your iPhone when sending it in for repairs. Apple's new security feature eliminates the need to erase your iPhone, ensuring that your photos, messages, accounts, and other private information remain accessible only to you.

First spotted in the iOS 17.5 beta and still present in the stable iOS 17.5 release from May 13, Find My now includes a "repair state" mode. This mode safeguards your data and simplifies the process of handing your device over for service. While this is new to iOS, Android devices have already adopted similar repair modes from Samsung and Google.

• Cannot Remove iPhone. Prepare This Device for Repair? This iPhone is connected to your Apple ID and cannot be removed while online, but you can prepare it for repair.
• Ready for Repair: The device remains fully operational in the repair state.
• Error Preparing This Device for Repair: Unable to prepare the device for repair. Please try again later.

Currently, Apple requires you to disable Find My on your iPhone to deactivate Activation Lock, which stops others from using the device if it’s ever misplaced or stolen. Disabling Find My confirms to Apple that the iPhone belongs to you, preventing unauthorized individuals from obtaining service without your knowledge. However, once Find My is turned off, your iPhone becomes vulnerable if lost or stolen before being returned to you, and tracking it via Find My won't be possible.

Stolen Device Protection, introduced in iOS 17.3 and enhanced in iOS 17.4, adds complexity by imposing an hour-long security delay before deactivation. Since disabling Find My isn’t possible while Stolen Device Protection is active, waiting through the delay is necessary—an inconvenience when visiting an Apple Store or Authorized Service Provider for repairs.

Apple advises users to erase all content and settings, disable Stolen Device Protection and Find My, and suspend cellular service before mailing your iPhone for repairs.

With the introduction of Apple's new repair mode, there's no longer a need to turn off Find My or erase your iPhone to protect your sensitive data from unauthorized access. Currently, activating repair mode simply marks the device as ready for repair, though it could allow for the creation of another user account for technicians to troubleshoot issues.

At this time, there's no option to disable the repair state from the client side, so it's wise to avoid engaging this setting unless removal can only be done at an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. The setting is accessible within the Find My app, appearing whenever you attempt to remove a device from your Apple ID. You can left swipe on the iPhone in the Devices view, tap "Continue" on the prompt, and enter your Apple ID password.

Alternatively, select the iPhone from the Devices view, choose "Remove This Device," tap "Continue" on the prompt, and input your Apple ID password.

When a device enters repair mode, a green stethoscope icon appears in the Devices view. Tapping on it reveals the "Ready for Repair" notice.

Apple isn't the first company to introduce a repair mode. Samsung incorporated its "Maintenance mode" into Galaxy models starting in 2022 with One UI 5, followed by Google adding "Repair mode" to Android 14 in 2023. Samsung's feature, accessible via the "Device care" menu in Settings, creates a separate user account on a secure partition with limited functionality for repair technicians. Google's feature resides in the "System" menu of Settings.

Both Samsung and Google advise backing up your device since repair technicians may need to perform a factory reset during repairs, such as when replacing storage components. The same applies to Apple repairs, so having a backup to restore your iPhone quickly is recommended.

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Cover photo and screenshots by Justin Meyers/Gadget Hacks

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