iPhone 18 Pro Freezing on Face ID? Apple Says a Fix Is on the Way
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Apple’s latest 2026 devices are clearly having a few “version zero” issues, and while they’re not impacting everyone, they’re widespread enough that the company is rapidly working on pushing out early bug fix releases.
Yesterday, Apple released watchOS 27.0.1 exclusively for the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 to address a bug experienced by many folks who had just purchased the new wearables: spontaneous and seemingly random reboots, ostensibly triggered by a Neural Engine timeout.
Sadly, the new Apple Watch models aren’t alone. A number of new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max owners have also been running into freezes and reboots on their shiny new iPhones. The problem appears to result from failed Face ID authentication attempts, so the restarts are arguably a little bit less “random,” although reports began showing up on Reddit within 24 hours of the new models landing in customers’ hands.
Users report the issue occurring in scenarios where Face ID is used to unlock content within the iPhone, such as hidden, locked, or otherwise protected apps, private tabs in Safari, and even Apple Pay. It doesn’t appear to occur as frequently from the lock screen, although there have been a few sporadic reports of that as well.
I haven’t been able to reproduce this problem myself, but I also moved on to the iOS 27.2 developer beta shortly after transferring my data to my new iPhone 18 Pro Max, suggesting that whatever the issue was, Apple had already addressed it in the iOS 27.2 beta, although it’s unclear if that’s a deliberate fix or simply a byproduct of whatever else has changed in the newer version.
It’s hard to say right now if the issue persists across all devices and configurations, although you can check for yourself by simulating a Face ID failure — just cover your face and try to unlock an app. When it fails, tap “Try Face ID again.” This is the point at which the iPhone will typically lock up and stop responding to all touch input, eventually rebooting back to the lock screen.
The good news is that Apple has confirmed to 9to5Mac that it’s already working on a fix, likely coming in an iOS 27.0.1 update. The bad news is that it doesn’t look like it will be here until next week, which means folks who are afflicted by this bug are going to have to sit tight for a bit longer.
This confirms we’re almost certainly dealing with what’s primarily a software problem. Some users reported that Apple Support swapped out their iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max for a new one, but at least one user who did so said the replacement iPhone had the same problem.
Other reports are less conclusive, but Apple’s announcement that it will be issuing a software fix means there’s little point in contacting Apple Support or visiting your Apple Store; even if changing out your iPhone does address the issue (which seems unlikely), that’s a pretty big hassle for an issue that will likely be resolved with a software update by this time next week.
