iPhone 18 Pro Max Returns Process

Learn how to enable Prepare to Ship on your iPhone 18 Pro Max following your request to initiate a device return.

These instructions are specifically for the iPhone 18 Pro Max variants only

iPhone 18 Pro Max offers a huge increase in battery life, in part due to increasing the battery capacity to over 20 watt-hours (Wh). Devices with a single-cell battery over 20 Wh have additional shipping requirements in most countries and regions.

To address these requirements, iPhone 18 Pro Max uses an innovative battery-firmware solution that limits battery capacity to below 20 Wh from the time it’s manufactured through its transport from the factory. When you activate your iPhone, the limit is removed and the battery’s full charging capacity is available.

After activation, if you need to ship your iPhone 18 Pro Max, use the Prepare to Ship feature in Settings. This feature discharges your battery to below 20 Wh and sets a charge limit so your iPhone stays below this limit while shipping.

The battery in iPhone 18 Pro Max is safe, including for shipping and air travel. This process is needed only to meet shipping requirements and isn’t required while traveling or for any other iPhone model.

What you need:

• iPhone 18 Pro Max
• A cellular or Wi-Fi network

• If you purchased a new iPhone 18 Pro Max and haven’t activated it — or taken it out of the box — the battery is temporarily limited to under 20 Wh already. In this case, you don’t need to enable Prepare to Ship.

After you enable Prepare to Ship on the device the battery charge limit will be capped at 80 percent for 14 days, so that it remains below the 20-Wh requirement during the return shipment cycle.

1. If your iPhone is connected to a charger, disconnect it. This speeds up the process.
2. Open Settings, tap General, tap Transfer or Reset iPhone, then tap Prepare to Ship.
3. Select Return.
4. If asked, enter your Apple Account password.
5. You might be asked if you want to continue without a recipient, tap continue.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions, including choosing if you want to erase your iPhone and sign out of your Apple Account. You must remove Activation Lock.
7. When you reach the screen that shows that your iPhone is ready to ship you have completed all steps, we will then validate the Ready to Ship status and will follow up with you to facilitate the return of the device.

If the Prepare to Ship steps were unsuccessful or you don’t see “Your iPhone is ready to ship,” then please contact us again for us to further support.

Your iPhone 18 Pro Max might need to discharge for Prepare to Ship to complete. While your iPhone battery discharges, it might become warmer than usual. This is expected. Your iPhone will cool down again when it’s ready to ship.

You can use your device as usual while your iPhone 18 Pro Max discharges. This might take only a few minutes, but if you start with a full charge, it can take up to a couple of hours. When the Prepare to Ship process is complete, the Settings app will display “Ready to Ship” with a red badge. If you erase your iPhone, you won’t be able to use it while the battery discharges.

If you’ve erased your iPhone, you can find your Prepare to Ship status on the Hello screen. On the Hello screen, tap the Info button. You will see Yes next to “Ready to Ship” when “Prepare to Ship” is enabled.

If you activated the Prepare to Ship feature to return your device, the charge limit of your iPhone 18 Pro Max will be capped at 80 percent for 14 days. After the 14-day period, you can disable Prepare to Ship on the device and enable full charging, for example when you still have the device and elect to not proceed with the return.