If you upgraded to iPhone 12 or 12 Pro, you’ll need to re-enable COVID-19 exposure notifications


Getting a new phone is exciting, but it can also result in spending an annoying amount of time adjusting settings, approvals, and notifications for all your apps. Cloud backups are supposed to make this process easier, but they don’t always capture everything – for example, you’ll want to double-check that Covid-19 exposure notifications are still enabled on your new iPhone 12 if you restore from a backup. Is. . They may not be in accordance BBC News.

If you’re worried that you might be affected, you can re-enable exposure notifications in iOS by opening the Settings app and selecting Exposure instructions, And clicking “Turn on exposure notifications.”

Users first noticed issues with the official National Health Service (NHS) contact tracing application in the UK. When some iPhone 12 and 12 Pro owners tried to open the app after restoring previous iPhone backups, they were presented with an error message. Deleting and re-downloading the app seems to solve the problem by asking users to re-enable COVID-19 exposure notifications – but also deleting all locations previously checked by users.

It’s not clear if the issue is specific to iPhone 12 models or if restoring any iPhone from a backup could turn off the setting: we ask Apple Pal and we’ll update you with what we hear. When we restored one of our own iPhone 12 phones from a backup, we reported that the exposure notifications had been turned off – so we suspect the problem could be at the system level rather than specific apps like NHS.

The exposure notification system was originally announced in April and uses your phone’s Bluetooth to let you know if you’ve come in contact with someone who has tested positive for the Covid-19. The resulting instruction can also direct you to the CO line-up-to-date COVID-19 information and where you can schedule a test for yourself.

Contact tracing, whether automated or manual, is not a magic bullet to control COVID-19 outbreaks. But it is one of many steps, including a robust and easily accessible testing program that can help you find out if you have been infected early so that you do not contribute to the spread. Re-enabling these instructions is a less effortless way – along with wearing a mask and washing your hands – to keep people out of harm’s way.