Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The iPad Mini (A17 Pro) features RecoveryOS, which allows a nearby iPhone or iPad to restore it wirelessly if bricked.
- This Apple feature first debuted on the Apple Watch, followed by the Apple TV, then the iPhone 16 series.
- To recover a bricked iPhone 16 or iPad Mini (A17 Pro), the other iDevice should be running OS version 18 or later.
Apple has been slowly making its devices easier to repair. With watchOS 8.5 and tvOS 17, the company made it possible to use an up-to-date iPhone to restore a bricked Apple Watch or Apple TV. The iPhone 16 series then followed suit by allowing any iPhone or iPad running at least iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 to recover its operating system wirelessly. Similarly, the latest iPad Mini (A17 Pro) has now adopted RecoveryOS, which lets other iDevices restore it if bricked.
9to5Mac has analyzed the iPadOS 18 firmware for the new iPad Mini and found the same RecoveryOS partition offered by the iPhone 16. This makes the tablet wirelessly recoverable and less reliant on PCs.
To recover a bricked iPad Mini (A17 Pro), simply bring any iPhone or iPad running at least OS version 18 close to it. A popup should appear on the active device, prompting you to fix the bricked one. Once you initiate the process, it will download the latest iPadOS firmware to the iDevice and wirelessly transfer it to the impacted iPad. The bricked iPad should then flash the OS and boot.
It’s worth noting that while wireless OS recovery is limited to bricked iPhone 16 models and the iPad Mini (A17 Pro), any older iDevice running iOS or iPadOS 18 can restore them. Expectedly, recovering an iPad Mini using Finder or iTunes on a computer is still an option for those who prefer wired solutions or don’t have another iDevice on hand.
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