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After Apple complied with France’s demand, one would think that the iPhone 12 radiation issue was all over. Unfortunately, it is still not. According to the country’s Agence Nationale des Fréquences (ANFR), the ban lifting for the iPhone 12 is limited to mainland France, so its other territories would still have to refrain from selling the series.
ANFR announced the matter on Thursday, saying the fix included in iOS 17.1 has been available to all users since Wednesday evening. Many speculated that the rollout of the update would effectively lift the entire ban in France, but the current news says otherwise.
As the authority underscored in its announcement, the ban was only lifted in mainland France. Other French territories in other parts of the globe, on the other hand, would continue forbidding the sale of the iPhone 12 as the update does not apply to them. The announcement didn’t clarify whether the territories have different radiation standards.
On a positive note, ANFR said that Apple would provide an update to these places by the end of 2023.
According to ANFR’s translated announcement:
This software development is not functional in the overseas departments, the withdrawal from the market of the iPhone 12 is maintained in these departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, Reunion, Mayotte) as well as in Saint-Martin. The ANFR takes note of the principle of the inclusion of this functionality in a future update planned by Apple for these territories by the end of this year.
Aside from the places mentioned, France also has other legal overseas territories, including Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, TAAF, New Caledonia, Wallis-et-Futuna, and French Polynesia. ANFR didn’t directly confirm the status of iPhone 12 in them but noted that the places “fall under other legal frameworks.”
More about the iPhone 12 France issue
ANFR voiced the concern in September and was supported by other countries. According to the authority, the iPhone 12 exceeded the radiation limit in France. Apple, however, explained that it was not an issue.
As we reported:
The company stresses that the series meets international standards and is safe for everyone. It also shares that the only problem in the matter points to the specific test protocol of France, which has a different standard.
According to the company, the issue started with a Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), which pertains to the energy transmission limit of a device when it is in close contact with the human body.
iPhones determine how much power transmission they release depending on whether they are in contact with a human body or when they are on a static surface. To do that, the devices use a detection mechanism, which lets the devices increase the transmission during off-body situations in order to achieve better performance. However, Apple explains that France’s Agence Française Nationale des Fréquences, which started the complaint, doesn’t want this practice.
“The specific test protocol used by ANFR requires that devices meet the on-body SAR limits, even when the device is tested off-body on a static surface,” Apple details in the document. “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.”