Prepare to Ship iPhone 18 Pro Max: What You Need to Know

The all-new iPhone 18 hosts the largest battery capacity created by Apple yet, which ranges up to a huge 5,567mAh. This allows over 20 watt-hours, a huge leap from last year’s 17 Pro Max.

However, with this exciting innovation comes one problem. Most countries have shipping requirements for devices over 20Wh. In both the United States and United Kingdom, batteries of this size are considered ‘dangerous goods’, meaning they’re forbidden from being sent through standard consumer mail services such as USPS standard post and Royal Mail.

Apple has created a simple solution for this, creating ‘Prepare to Ship’ mode. This means the devices battery firmware limits the capacity to under 20Wh. This mode is activated from the point of manufacture and automatically disabled when you first get your device up and running, meaning the devices full potential is unlocked from the get-go. So, if you need to ship this device in instances such as resell, recycle or repair, there’s one more step you must follow to safely transport the device.

Here’s some things to be aware of:

• The device may become warmer during the process.
• You should unplug the phone from its charger.
• The process can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on how much the battery level needs to reduce by.
• You can use your device while the process takes place.
• The Settings app will display a red signal reading ‘Ready to Ship’ once complete. However, if you’re erasing the device, you will be able to see the status on the ‘Hello’ screen under the info button.

Head to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Ready to Ship, and tap ‘Undo Shipping Preparation’.

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