Apple's new iOS 26 feature fixes bricked iPhones wirelessly
What's the story
Apple's latest operating system, iOS 26, comes with a handy feature called Recovery Assistant. This tool can help you get your iPhone back to its normal state without the need for a Mac or PC. The feature was introduced in the first beta version of iOS 26 and mentioned in Apple's release notes for the second beta version today.
Feature introduction
What is Recovery Assistant?
Apple describes the Recovery Assistant as "a new way to recover your device if it doesn't start up normally." The company says that the tool can detect problems and try to fix them automatically. If an iPhone running iOS 26 has trouble starting up, it will automatically enter Recovery mode. The screen will display a message saying, "This iPhone encountered an issue while starting. To aid in diagnosing and resolving it, it has booted into Recovery."
Usage guide
How to use Recovery Assistant?
According to a Reddit post, the Recovery Assistant can help restore an iPhone's normal functionality with the help of another Apple device, like an iPad or iPhone. This process can be started from the menu in the top-right corner of Recovery mode on your affected iPhone. You can then follow on-screen instructions on your other Apple device to download and install a newer version of iOS onto the one in Recovery mode.