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iOS 26.4 Features: Everything New in iOS 26.4

BobCochran1 said:
I just experienced what is a possibly serious bug with the Stolen Device Protection feature. Before turning on Stolen Device Protection a couple of days ago, under iOS 26.3.1 (a), I updated my FaceID to show my face as it is with a beard. I had a pretty full beard. I then turned on Stolen Device Protection and it was really transparent to me. I had not really tested it. On March 23, I went for a haircut and had my beard shaved off. The result is that I can no longer get FaceID to work, since it does not “recognize” me when I am cleanshaven. So I thought to myself…no problem, I will simply update my FaceID to show my new appearance. However I updated my device to 26.4 before going to Settings —> Face ID & Passcode. Stolen Device Protection was turned on (as it has been for a few days.) I tapped “Set Up an Alternate Appearance”. Apparently, Face ID will try to authenticate you first. If you don’t look like you did before, then Face ID will fail, and you will NOT be allowed to set up an alternate appearance. I am unable to update my FaceID, in other words. Even worse, I cannot turn off Stolen Device Protection, because it tries to authenticate me with Face ID, and that fails because I am now cleanshaven. So I get stuck in an authentication loop that I won’t be able to break unless I grow a beard again. As a result, it might not be such a good idea to turn on Stolen Device Protection if you change your face significantly after doing that. If FaceID fails, as it will in this circumstance (lots of people change their appearance), the user should be provided with an alternate method to authenticate. For example, with a security key.
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you know what will identify you each time? TouchID , Touch ID never fails...
 
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Astrohunter said:
Btw. If you live in the UK but have no British driving license or national ID, you are ****ed

Just tested on parent iphone
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If you have an old Apple account you can be verified that way too. Not sure if it needs to be 18 years old or if they've been slightly more generous – as babies and toddlers obviously can't sign up to Apple themselves.

I am pissed Apple didn't mention it in the release notes. I am more pissed MacRumors hasn't mentioned it either, despite multiple people pointing it out.
 
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I spent an hour last night after the update resyncing music with my laptop because the update scrambled the artwork and categories of all the albums on my iPhone 17. This does not inspire confidence in Apple upgrades. But I said that five years ago after my Apple Mail on my MacBook Pro quit remembering folders where I saved emails. (It's an OS problem because it works 98% of the time on iOS.)
 
UFO47 said:
Those of you who've been auto-age-verified, possibly due to account age, how old are your Apple accounts? Mine must be over a decade but no luck. I've bought phones, computers, apps, pay for iCloud. I've had to roll-back and restore from an IPSW because I really have no way to verify myself.
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Mine is over 20 years old. I don't know how old exactly – I am curious now. Got my first Mac in the 1990s.

Edit: I can see I joined the Apple "community" in 2004. Pretty sure I would have had an account prior to that though, given how long I've owned Macs.
 
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Time Machine doesn’t work.
macOS Tahoe 26.4, released March 24, 2026, has
reported issues with Time Machine backups to Network Attached Storage (NAS). Users are experiencing authentication errors, and some have reported broken backups. It is highly advised to ensure local backups are secure, as the update may affect network-based backup reliability, with potential solutions involving manual credential updates in the system keychain.
 
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SparklyApple said:
If you have an old Apple account you can be verified that way too. Not sure if it needs to be 18 years old or if they've been slightly more generous – as babies and toddlers obviously can't sign up to Apple themselves.

I am pissed Apple didn't mention it in the release notes. I am more pissed MacRumors hasn't mentioned it either, despite multiple people pointing it out.
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The accounts are at least 15 years old.
I was able to verify family members finally but it took a lot of time, and cursing.

Fully agree with you,
Why no one mentioned it?
 
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not mentioning age verification is really burying the lead on this news.

and it won't just stay in the UK and Aus. California will follow and unclear whether it may soft roll-out to other regions without a further IOS update.

I have turned off Auto update until it becomes clearer. feel this is really shady behavior from Apple (not mentioning it in the update prompt notes).
 
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From Ars Technica reporting....

"App stores and mobile operating systems are not covered by the Online Safety Act, but Ofcom, the UK media and telecoms regulator, welcomed Apple’s move on Wednesday.

“Apple’s decision that the UK will be one of the first countries in the world to receive new child safety protections on devices is a real win for children and families,” Ofcom said.""

UK is basically becoming a surveillance state...more CCTV and APLNR cameras than anywhere in the world. This is not good.
 
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joiwomcow said:
As many have reported, Apple now requires you to link your government ID with all your web browsing and app activity in the UK. That's a hard "no" from me.
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I'm confused. You can't browse to anywhere, or, you can't automatically access "adult" sites like porn sites without over-18 authentication? I'm just trying to understand these changes. What if you are authenticated on the "adult" site through authentication on that site? Is it legally required that any OS authenticate the age of users? I don't see how that could work. What if a student is running their own operating system that they modified and installed themselves -- obviously not on a iPhone.
 
ifxf said:
I notice that Apple has now switched to security scare tactics to get users to update so they can continue to boast about how many devices are running the latest OS.
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Stop reading those conspiracy theories.
iOS versions including iOS 18 are found to be vulnerable. Look it up!
 
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Kevinski said:
Time Machine doesn’t work.
macOS Tahoe 26.4, released March 24, 2026, has
reported issues with Time Machine backups to Network Attached Storage (NAS). Users are experiencing authentication errors, and some have reported broken backups. It is highly advised to ensure local backups are secure, as the update may affect network-based backup reliability, with potential solutions involving manual credential updates in the system keychain.
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I have noticed that I had to enter TimeMachine partitions passwords.

Got external SSDs, not nas.
 
joiwomcow said:
As many have reported, Apple now requires you to link your government ID with all your web browsing and app activity in the UK. That's a hard "no" from me.
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Or your credit card (or just if Apple judges you 18+ by your Apple accounr status).

You can choose not to participate; the phone still works, although you can't send your friends & family, bank manager or boss nude photos by iMessage. I don't know how web browsing is restricted if you don't verify your age.
 
Coming from iOS 18 all the way up to iOS 26.4 with an Apple Watch Series 7 from 11 to 26, Found one thing that’s new is when somebody calls me both my iPhone and my Apple Watch ring with my custom ringtones on my iPhone and the generic bell on my Apple Watch.
Even though do not disturb is turned on my watch still rings, but that’s what I want. Hoping this isn’t a bug but a new feature. 😛📱⌚🔔
Now if we can only get the text tones to ring on my iPhone and my Apple Watch at the same time. One can only hope.🤔
 
nickf said:
Or your credit card (or just if Apple judges you 18+ by your Apple accounr status).

You can choose not to participate; the phone still works, although you can't send your friends & family, bank manager or boss nude photos by iMessage. I don't know how web browsing is restricted if you don't verify your age.
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I choose to disable auto updates, as of today. Why should I need to ask the UK government for permission to use my own phone?
 
BSDnostalgia said:
I'm confused. You can't browse to anywhere, or, you can't automatically access "adult" sites like porn sites without over-18 authentication? I'm just trying to understand these changes. What if you are authenticated on the "adult" site through authentication on that site? Is it legally required that any OS authenticate the age of users? I don't see how that could work. What if a student is running their own operating system that they modified and installed themselves -- obviously not on a iPhone.
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"Web Content Filter and Communication Safety are automatically turned on for kids and teens, as well as adults who haven't confirmed their age."

Age requirements for managing an Apple Account in the UK – Apple Support (UK)

Some Apple Account settings and feature requirements for children, teens and adults will vary depending on your country or region.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

Exactly like I said. No web browsing without providing a government ID. But I'm sure they would never use that to track your browsing. No government has ever spied on its citizens in the history of the world.
 
joiwomcow said:
Exactly like I said. No web browsing without providing a government ID. But I'm sure they would never use that to track your browsing. No government has ever spied on its citizens in the history of the world.
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You think your gov doesn’t know who you are till you provide your gov issued ID? There’s a dozen ways to identify you without it. So no, you’re not doing anymore damage by providing one in this case.
 
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That was a big update!

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