Restore Nearby iPhone with another iPhone

Your iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro might display an animation asking you to move it closer to another iPhone or iPad if it experienced an issue during a wireless software update.

If your iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro displays an animation of devices being moved close together, you can use another iPhone or iPad on iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 to restore it:

  1. Connect the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro that is in recovery mode to a power source.

  2. Place the iPhone that is in recovery mode near another, unlocked device that is connected to Wi-Fi. You should see the "Restore Nearby iPhone" message.

    An iPhone showing the Restore Nearby iPhone message

  3. Tap Continue and wait for the devices to connect. The device in recovery mode displays a six-digit code. Enter this code on the other device to share its Wi-Fi connection.

  4. Tap OK when you see the "Restoring iPhone" message.

If you want to view the restore progress, bring the devices next to each other again.

Learn what to do if you see a restore screen on your iPhone, or if you want to use a computer to restore your iPhone.

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