Apple has prepared an iOS 17.1 update that will fix the radiation issue on iPhone 12 smartphones
Apple has announced that it has already prepared the iOS 17.1 update, which should solve the problem with elevated radiation levels on iPhone 12 smartphones.
Here's What We Know
In mid-September, regulators in France found elevated radiation levels on the iPhone 12 and banned sales of the smartphones until the problem was fixed. They concluded that immediately after release the gadgets were safe, but over time their radiation levels grew and by this point had reached a high level.
Apple itself assures that the iPhone 12 is completely safe even without the iOS 17.1 update, and complains about the error in conducting radiation tests.
The fact is that the company's smartphones have special sensors that detect where the device is located - near the body or at a distance from it (for example, on the table). In the first case, the transmission power is automatically reduced, and in the second case - increased.
"iPhone has sensors that can detect when it is sitting on a static surface, like a table, as opposed to being held in the hand or placed in a pocket. This off-body detection mechanism, which has been used in all iPhones for over a decade, allows the device to increase transmit power slightly in off-body scenarios to optimize performance" - Apple explains.
This technology has been thoroughly tested and validated internationally and is an effective mechanism for SAR compliance. However, French experts did not take into account the presence of this feature during their research. Therefore, according to Apple, the iPhone 12 was and is completely safe to use.
With the release of the iOS 17.1 update, the iPhone 12 will no longer use this sensor and adjust the transmission power. So in areas with low cellular signal, there may be a decrease in connection performance in some use cases. But it is expected that most users will not notice this change.
This feature will only be disabled in France, in other countries the sensors will continue to work as before.
Source: Macrumors