can I wipe my phone before handing it to Apple Store Genius for battery replacement?

[beerseagulls]

can I wipe my phone before handing it to Apple Store Genius for battery replacement?

I assume that they won't allow me to stand next to them while replacing my battery... I have pictures of all of my credit cards, IDs, passports, insurance polices... basically everything vital... all within the Photos app. So I do not risk it....

 

[Apple_Robert]

Yes, you can.

 

[Snide]

You can set it so Photos app requires Face ID to open, so even if they had your passcode it wouldn't be possible to access. And I can't see any reason why they would need your passcode to replace the battery.

 

[ennisw]

Yes you can reset your iPhone before a repair.

 

[eyoungren]

can I wipe my phone before handing it to Apple Store Genius for battery replacement?

I assume that they won't allow me to stand next to them while replacing my battery... I have pictures of all of my credit cards, IDs, passports, insurance polices... basically everything vital... all within the Photos app. So I do not risk it....

They might ask you to do that anyway. AFAIK, it's just been standard practice for years whenever servicing a phone. Even if it isn't, I make a habit of it myself. Backup to iCloud, turn off Find My, Erase All Settings and Content. I pull my SIM card (I'm not using eSIM yet) and I hand them a completely wiped phone that has zero data on it.

It's just better that way, it cuts out the whole dance between me and them of turning off Find My and wiping the phone. I prefer to do that at home, not standing in a crowded Apple store.

 

[BigBlur]

I have pictures of all of my credit cards, IDs, passports, insurance polices... basically everything vital... all within the Photos app.

I hope you're keeping tabs on the photo access permissions. Apps (that have access) could snoop through your photo library without you knowing.

If it were me, I would be putting these in Notes and locking the note(s) with a different password than the iPhone's passcode/password.

 

[deathnite]

It sucks that by backing up the phone to iCloud and wiping it, you can lose some apps/games that are no longer available in the App Store (not even in Purchased section).
When we were backing up locally on the computer using iTunes, the apps were saved and you could always restore them if they completely disappeared from the App Store.
Every time I get a new iPhone or iPad, some apps are no longer available and I have to find alternatives. The more apps you have, the higher the chance of this happening.

 

[jetsam]

It sucks that by backing up the phone to iCloud and wiping it, you can lose some apps/games that are no longer available in the App Store (not even in Purchased section).
When we were backing up locally on the computer using iTunes, the apps were saved and you could always restore them if they completely disappeared from the App Store.
Every time I get a new iPhone or iPad, some apps are no longer available and I have to find alternatives. The more apps you have, the higher the chance of this happening.

The third party iMazing app lets you save apps from your device to local storage, and restore them later.

This feature may or may not require you to buy the app. (I've already bought it, so I'm not sure.)

 

[Spock]

You can set it so Photos app requires Face ID to open, so even if they had your passcode it wouldn't be possible to access. And I can't see any reason why they would need your passcode to replace the battery.

I have had them replace iPhone batteries and they never asked for the passcode or anything. They do say you should do an updated iCloud backup though.

 

[BigBlur]

The third party iMazing app lets you save apps from your device to local storage, and restore them later.

This feature may or may not require you to buy the app. (I've already bought it, so I'm not sure.)

Just to be clear, iMazing doesn't extract/save the app directly from your device (not since iOS 8). It actually downloads the apps from Apple's servers like iTunes used to do. It may be a hit or miss if the app doesn't show in the purchased section. Some work and others don’t; it just depends on if the app is "hidden" or completely removed for good. It's still worth a try; but it's definitely a good tool to have if you're proactive about backing up your purchased apps, rather than trying to get them back after the fact.

 

[jetsam]

Unlike Apple backups, iMazing does save apps to its backups, so you can restore a recently backed-up app to a new device.

However, while iMazing does do multiple generations of incremental backups, it eventually trims old versions, so it's still wise to backup your apps.

 

[beerseagulls]

Yeah, You can definitely wipe your phone before taking it in for a battery replacement. Just make sure you back everything up first (iCloud or a computer) so You can restore it later. Apple doesn’t need access to your data to swap the battery, so a factory reset is totally fine.

And yeah, they probably won’t let you stand there and watch, so if you have sensitive stuff on your phone, wiping it is a good call. Better safe than sorry!

due to snow, I ended up going to a different Apple Store. when I got there, I was the *ONLY* customer in the entire store. It was weird that a dozen or so employees greeted me simultaneously.

anyway, a couple of them helped me. After agreeing to all the stuff on their iPad, they asked me to enter the password. They both walked away while I was typing it on the phone. When I said I was done, they came back. I asked if I could watch the battery replacement process and they said no. I sat around playing on my spare phone. To my surprise, the battery replacement took less than 5 minutes. The new battery showed 100% health(obviously)

as I was walking out the store, I was still the only customer in the store. They startled me after by yelling "Have a great day!" Even the other people walking around the mall heard that and stared at me.

 

[Puonti]

You can set it so Photos app requires Face ID to open, so even if they had your passcode it wouldn't be possible to access.

If you fail the Face ID check twice the phone will ask for the passcode instead.

 

[P_Watt]

Official Link - Prepare your iPhone for service

 

[Snide]

If you fail the Face ID check twice the phone will ask for the passcode instead.

Doh! Good to know.

In any event, there's no reason for a repair tech to have your passcode. From above link

Never give your Apple Account password, device passcode, or account security details to anyone else. Neither Apple nor Apple Authorized Service Providers will ask for this information.

 

[Fred Zed]

due to snow, I ended up going to a different Apple Store. when I got there, I was the *ONLY* customer in the entire store. It was weird that a dozen or so employees greeted me simultaneously.

anyway, a couple of them helped me. After agreeing to all the stuff on their iPad, they asked me to enter the password. They both walked away while I was typing it on the phone. When I said I was done, they came back. I asked if I could watch the battery replacement process and they said no. I sat around playing on my spare phone. To my surprise, the battery replacement took less than 5 minutes. The new battery showed 100% health(obviously)

as I was walking out the store, I was still the only customer in the store. They startled me after by yelling "Have a great day!" Even the other people walking around the mall heard that and stared at me.

Best part. “ can I watch “ 🤣 I’m glad I’m not the only one.

 

[noanker]

Yes, you can.

This suggests that a "Valet Mode" could be a valuable feature to consider for iOS. This mode would allow users to hand their phone to someone for tasks such as making a call or browsing the web, while restricting access to apps, settings, and other personal data. The mode could automatically deactivate after 30 minutes and trigger the phone's auto-lock for enhanced security.

 

[beerseagulls]

Yes, you can.

This suggests that a "Valet Mode" could be a valuable feature to consider for iOS. This mode would allow users to hand their phone to someone for tasks such as making a call or browsing the web, while restricting access to apps, settings, and other personal data. The mode could automatically deactivate after 30 minutes and trigger the phone's auto-lock for enhanced security.

that reminds me.... I forbid my wife to have access to my iPhone, iPad, laptop, PC, ATM card, etc. She doesn't have my passcode, passcode or PIN#. That was why I felt funny when I unlocked the phone for the Apple store guy and handed it to him.

before any feminist start calling me names... my wife also forbids me from having access to all of her devices.... we agreed way back in 1990 to keep those things away from each other for security and plausible deniability reasons. we each have our own personal attorneys and they have specific instructions on how to retrieve and provide the passcode, password, PIN# and power of attorney to each other's stuff, upon death or medical incapacity.

 

[jagolden]

It sucks that by backing up the phone to iCloud and wiping it, you can lose some apps/games that are no longer available in the App Store (not even in Purchased section).
When we were backing up locally on the computer using iTunes, the apps were saved and you could always restore them if they completely disappeared from the App Store.
Every time I get a new iPhone or iPad, some apps are no longer available and I have to find alternatives. The more apps you have, the higher the chance of this happening.

Takes less than 15 minutes to back-up to your laptop/desktop.

 

[deathnite]

Takes less than 15 minutes to back-up to your laptop/desktop.

Backups with iTunes no longer include apps for a very long time. You need a 3rd party tool for that.
Someone mentioned iMazing, but that is not free, it's either a €44.99 one time purchase (1 device), or a €39.99 / year subscription (3 devices).

 

[jagolden]

Backups with iTunes no longer include apps for a very long time. You need a 3rd party tool for that.
Someone mentioned iMazing, but that is not free, it's either a €44.99 one time purchase (1 device), or a €39.99 / year subscription (3 devices).

That is not true, at last on Maca. iTunes no longer exists. It’s called Music and you can most certainly back up locally, including your apps.

 

[deathnite]

That is not true, at last on Maca. iTunes no longer exists. It’s called Music and you can most certainly back up locally, including your apps.

No, that is not true. iTunes on Windows or Finder on Mac doesn't backup apps, only app data. The apps are re-downloaded from the App Store when restoring from a backup.

This support document confirms that computer backups don't include apps from App Store. https://support.apple.com/en-us/108771

A computer backup of your device, which is not the same as a sync, includes almost all of your device's data and settings.
A backup from a computer doesn't include: Content from the iTunes and App Stores

Even before when it used to be possible to save the apps on a computer, the backups never included the actual apps, just app data. The apps were saved separately into the music folder via the sync feature.
iTunes used to have an Apps tab to save the apps on the computer, but if you look at the support document from Apple, you can see it's now missing the Apps tab, it was removed years ago. https://support.apple.com/en-us/108796
Back then you could also access the App Store via iTunes and download iPhone/iPad apps, then later sync them to your device.