On Monday, we reported on an issue where iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max users were seeing their phone freeze and reboot following a failed Face ID attempt. To us, it appeared to be a software glitch rather than an inherent hardware fault.
Apple has now confirmed to 9to5Mac that a software update to address this problem is in the works, and should be available early next week.
Although the bug did not seemingly affect all users, it was reasonably widespread based on social media and 9to5Mac reader reports.
At the time, we reproduced the problem on an iPhone 18 Pro device by obscuring our face with our hand as we attempted a Face ID authentication to access the Passwords app. The phone simply stops responding to touch input, and hard reboots after a few seconds. You could then find a panic log in the iPhone Analytics section of the Settings app.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max feature a redesigned Face ID sensor system, where the Infrared camera has moved behind the under the screen near where the clock is rendered in the status bar, resulting in a 25% smaller visible Dynamic Island.
As we reported earlier in the week, some customers had already attempted to resolve the rebooting problem by swapping their phone with a new device at Apple, thinking it was a hardware fault. To reiterate, this is not necessary with a software fix now confirmed to be on the way.
On a somewhat related note, Apple also just released watchOS 27.0.1 to fix a random restart issue with Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4.
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Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.
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