The iPhone 18 Pro Max has a battery capacity over 20 watt‑hours, which triggers additional shipping requirements: when the device must be shipped, its maximum battery capacity must be limited through firmware or using a new Prepare to Ship feature that discharges the battery to below 20Wh and sets a charge limit.
Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses an “innovative battery-firmware solution” that limits battery capacity to below 20Wh between manufacture and delivery; activating the iPhone removes that limit so the battery’s full charging capacity becomes available. iPhones that are not yet activated or are still in the box are already limited to under 20Wh and will not need Prepare to Ship.
How Prepare to Ship works on iPhone 18 Pro Max
Customers who need to ship an iPhone 18 Pro Max for repair, trade-in, or other purposes must use the Prepare to Ship option, which discharges the battery to below 20Wh and sets a charge limit so the device remains under the threshold during shipping. The option is available in Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Prepare to Ship. Apple warns the iPhone can become “warmer than usual” during Prepare to Ship if the battery needs to be discharged. When the process is finished, the iPhone displays a “Ready to Ship” status in Settings.
Undoing preparation and other notes
Prepare to Ship can be undone from the same section of the Settings app, but depending on the reason selected for Prepare to Ship there may be a 14-day waiting period before it can be disabled. Apple emphasizes the iPhone 18 Pro Max is safe for shipping and air travel and that the limit was added specifically to meet shipping requirements. Because no other iPhones have a single-cell battery over 20Wh, this procedure is not needed for other models.
