Some iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max owners are running into a nasty bug: a failed Face ID scan, especially while opening Passwords, a locked app, a private Safari tab, or Wallet, can freeze the phone entirely before it reboots on its own, leaving a “panic-full” entry in iPhone Analytics. 9to5Mac reproduced the issue directly by covering the camera to force a failed scan, and Apple has now confirmed to the outlet that a software fix is coming early next week.
Reports have piled up beyond the initial complaints. A September 20 Seoul Economic Daily report described Korean owners visiting Apple stores over repeated crashes, some getting replacements, at least one getting a refund after nearly a decade on iPhone. SammyFans reported more refund requests as recently as today. US-based Reddit users have described similar patterns, multiple forced reboots tied to Face ID or Wallet within a single day. None of this points to a mass refund program, just individual cases piling up.
Whether it’s hardware is still unclear, but Apple confirming a software fix suggests it probably isn’t. The 18 Pro and Pro Max moved their infrared Face ID camera under the display this year to shrink the Dynamic Island by about 25%, which raised early suspicion, but Apple hasn’t pointed to the sensor redesign as the cause. Separately, some matte screen protectors have also been reported to interfere with Face ID, a different issue entirely from this reboot bug.
No exact iOS version has been named yet, just “early next week.”
M Adnan Akram is the founder and lead writer at Phoonomo, covering mobile technology with a primary focus on Apple and the broader smartphone industry, alongside emerging developments in AI. He follows product launches, spec leaks, and industry trends closely to keep readers informed with timely updates.
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