Some iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max devices experience a complete touch failure and kernel panic restart when the Face ID recognition fails for the first time in an app, and the user taps "Try Face ID Again." This issue does not occur during lock screen unlock but happens in apps protected by Face ID, such as password entry, Safari private tabs, and Wallet.

9to5Mac replicated the issue on at least one European version of the 18 Pro: covering the face to simulate a failure and then tapping retry caused the device to stop responding to touch and restart. The extent of the issue is unclear, and it does not trigger on all devices. Devices began arriving around September 18, with some users reporting three restarts within 24 hours due to Face ID recognition failures, with another occurring during a Wallet loading timeout.

The same model has moved the infrared camera to below the top left corner to reduce the size of the Dynamic Island. Some users reported a pop-up stating "Face ID not available" during setup, or that enabling "Require Attention" still allowed access without direct eye contact. Some customer service representatives suggested exchanging the device, but others reported the issue persisted after the exchange; media speculate that it is more likely due to the iOS 27 software path not covering the "new sensor geometry + in-app challenges + first failure" scenario.

Parallel complaints include sudden touch failures, with some cases mentioning screen protectors, while others reported freezing when pulling down the notification center and control center simultaneously, which has also been linked to iOS 27. Apple's support page has stated that the TrueDepth camera on the 18 Pro series is located slightly left at the top and should not be obstructed in landscape mode, but the company has yet to comment on the restart issue.

The buyers are users who have just received their high-priced replacement devices, while the sellers are the system versions that have not yet released a patch. The driving force behind the incident is clear: the new sensor combined with in-app secondary verification is what causes the failure. Financial pressure falls on Apple's after-sales device exchanges and the scheduling of the next system version, while the beneficiaries are the software repair costs that have not yet been widely deployed, and the burden falls on the first batch of users who have locked Face ID with passwords and Wallet.

Analysis logs show panic-full records corresponding to the restart times. The expectation is that the fix will come in a subsequent minor version of iOS 27, rather than a full device recall.

Source: Public Information