Owners of Apple’s new Vision Pro headset are advised to make a strong mental note of the passcode they create for their new device.
Why? Because if they forget it, it appears that the only way to start using it again is by taking the Vision Pro to an Apple retail store to get it reset. Or by shipping it to AppleCare customer support.
The same palaver may also be necessary if a bug freezes the device and you can’t get it to function again.
The surprising news comes courtesy of Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, who said on Monday that it seems you’ll have to visit one of the tech giant’s retail stores in the unfortunate event that you forget your Vision Pro passcode (just don’t forget your Vision Pro when you go).
“The company is telling users who forget their code — typically a series of digits — that they’ll have to bring the device to a store or mail it to AppleCare customer support if they want to get it working again,” Gurman said, adding, “Apple will then erase and reset it.”
The Bloomberg reporter describes the issue as one of a few “early customer-service snags” concerning the $3,499 Vision Pro headset, which reached the first customers on Friday.
The hope is that Apple will make it easier to perform a device reset — like in your own home instead of having to traipse to a store or mail it — via a software update, but there’s no word yet on when this might be coming.
For the most part, the Vision Pro uses Optic ID for authentication using the wearer’s eyes, but in some cases, for example, following a reboot, the wearer is asked to enter their passcode.
With an iPhone, if you forget your passcode, you’re given an on-screen option to reset the device. You then enter your Apple ID and password (if you haven’t forgotten it) to erase the content on your iPhone before restoring it using a backup from either the iCloud or your computer. The Apple Watch also offers a relatively straightforward reset process.
But with the Vision Pro, it appears that if you enter your passcode incorrectly too many times, the device will be disabled, with only Apple staff able to reset it.
Gurman notes that the Vision Pro doesn’t have a USB-C port that would allow users to connect it to a Mac for troubleshooting. However, Apple does have a special strap for developers that enables the Vision Pro to be linked to a Mac, which could solve the passcode problem, but it costs $300 and isn’t really meant for consumers. In that case, a software update can’t come soon enough.
A number of new Vision Pro owners have also been complaining about the discomfort that can occur after wearing the device for a long period of time, though some people are already suggesting various solutions to ease the strain.
