iOS 17.5 Will Introduce Repair State

iOS 17.5 beta 4 introduced a new Repair State mode for iPhones, which makes it easier to take them to an Apple Store or a repair service. 

Currently, if you take your iPhone to get repaired, you’ll need to turn off Find My before an Apple technician will take it in for service. That helps prove you’re the legitimate owner of the iPhone and ensures they won’t run into any problems if they have to erase and restore your iPhone or swap it out for a new one.

However, disabling Find My not only risks losing track of your iPhone if it ends up getting misplaced, but Apple’s new Stolen Device Protection feature can make it more complicated to do this. Since that enforces a one-hour delay when modifying critical security settings while away from a familiar location (like disabling Find My), some folks have had to hang around an Apple Store for an hour before they can leave their iPhone behind.

With Repair State mode on, you’ll still be able to go through the process of validating your identity to partially disable Find My, but it will otherwise remain on so you can still track down your iPhone in the event it goes missing.