Apple: iPhone 12 was always safe to use in France; iOS 17.1 allows the model to meet ANFR standards

Back in the middle of September, France announced that the iPhone 12 could no longer be sold in the country because the phone released radiation levels above EU limits. Apple subsequently released an update that passed muster with the French authorities. The update will be included in iOS 17.1 and will allow sales of the 2020 handset to resume without worries that it would make the French fry. Apple said that the issue was "...related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a safety concern."

In a post that Apple made, the company wrote, "It is important for all iPhone 12 users in France and around the world to know that iPhone 12 is safe to use and always has been." The company explained that for over a decade, the iPhone has had an off-body detection feature that results in a slightly higher transmit power when the phone is set down, on a table for example.

Apple went on to say, "This has been thoroughly tested and verified internationally to be an effective mechanism to comply with SAR (specific absorption rate) requirements. The slightly higher power is not applicable to SAR compliance since the phone is on the table, not on your body. The ANFR was using a testing protocol that does not account for this off-body detection mechanism, thereby not allowing a slight increase in power when it is appropriate. So for users in France, we have released a software update that turns off this feature to accommodate this test protocol."

The off-body detection feature is used to determine when the iPhone is sitting on a "static surface" like a table instead of being held in a hand or a pocket. As Apple pointed out, the French agency involved in the testing, the ANFR, requires that a phone meet the on-body SAR limits even if the phone is tested on a table. "This decision is not consistent with international standards, which allow for independent testing of power control mechanisms that may not be activated during standard SAR tests," said Apple.

With iOS 17.1, iPhone 12 will no longer increase the power when the phone is detected to be off-body such as when it is sitting on a table. There is a caveat, however. In some areas where the cellular signal is low, the change being made to the antenna transmit power in iOS 17.1 may result in lower cellular performance on the iPhone 12 when the device is located off-body. But as Apple notes, "The vast majority of users are not expected to notice any impact."