Apple to Issue iPhone 12 Software Update in France to Address Radiation Concerns

Apple said on Friday it would issue a software update for iPhone 12 users in France to address radiation concerns raised by the country's regulators (via Reuters).

iphone 12 preorder purple

"We will issue a software update for users in France to accommodate the protocol used by French regulators. We look forward to iPhone 12 continuing to be available in France," Apple said in a statement.

"This is related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a safety concern," added the company.

The French regulator ANFR said it would test the software update. If it made a difference to the electromagnetic waves the device emitted, the regulator said it would bring the model into compliance with European standards applied in France, and the marketing withdrawal order would be lifted.

Earlier this week, France ordered Apple to halt ‌iPhone‌ 12 sales and "fix" existing devices to bring them into electromagnetic radiation compliance with European standards. The increase in emitted electromagnetic radiation observed over time by regulators appears to have been the result of successive software updates issued by Apple, and was not present when the ‌iPhone‌ 12 was launched in 2020.

The ANFR ordered Apple to "remove the ‌‌iPhone‌ 12‌ from the French market from September 12 due to the model exceeding the limit" for electromagnetic absorption by the body. The agency also told Apple to recall every ‌‌iPhone‌ 12‌ it has ever sold in the country. Ministers later said that though the radiation level was above the accepted standard, it was not dangerous and people were safe to continue using the phones, local media reported.

Following the controversy, Apple reportedly advised its tech-support staff not to volunteer any information when consumers ask about the issue, and tell any concerned customers that that all Apple products go through rigorous testing to ensure that they're safe, according to guidance.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: France
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...

Top Rated Comments

iZac Avatar
17 months ago
plot twist - the software update just disables mobile data.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
17 months ago
After the software fix there will be a lawsuit for poor reception on the phones as they cranked the radios down.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lwii2boo Avatar
17 months ago

I guess 3 years too late…
The issue is due to Apple who increased emission over time with software updates. It's not a late thing.
At launch iPhone 12 was fine with EU Standards (<4W/kg). ANFR did multiples test over time. It has increased now to reach 5.7W/kg. Keep in mind though if you don't reach 40W/kg you don't have real health risk. The EU standard is simply 10x smaller than the real risk as a precaution. Probably a bit too much tbh but it is what it is.

For more info you can check my post on the previous article on this topic https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/france-orders-end-to-iphone-12-sales-over-radiation-level-concerns.2401438/post-32461217
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jasonsmith_88 Avatar
17 months ago
Hang on, so France decided to use a shorter non-standard distance to measure radiation, measured that the radiation at the non-standard (shorter) distance was greater than the standard (longer) distance (so, basically just confirming that the laws of physics still apply), and then use this new measurement to claim radiation exceeds recommended levels when they didn’t actually adjust their expectation to cater for the shorter distance?

This is like measuring the UV index on the surface of the sun, then using that to determine which sun screen to wear on earth 8 light minutes away.

Keep in mind the iPhone 12 is still within spec in all other EU nations, other jurisdictions, and according to both independent and Apple’s own testing.

Can’t believe Apple bent to this idiotic fear mongering campaign.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kanki1985 Avatar
17 months ago
Wishing all regulatory authorities to be as assertive as French and hopefully some kind of regulatory authority in the US..
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WiiDSmoker Avatar
17 months ago

IF they could fix this with a software issue, why not until now???
Because Apple never owns up to anything until forced.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)