Apple Stops Signing iOS 26.2 Beta 1 for iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, and Cellular M5 iPad Pro

A day after seeding the first developer betas of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2, Apple has stopped signing it for the iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, and cellular models of the new M5 iPad Pro, preventing those devices from installing the update.

iOS 26
The exact reason for the change is unknown, but all three devices use either the C1 or C1X modem, Apple's new custom cellular chips, so it's possible Apple has identified a specific bug related to iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 with that chip and is preventing users who have yet to update from being affected by it.

The updates will continue to show for users on those devices enrolled in the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 developer beta programs, but the updates will now fail to install.

It's unknown how long it will take for Apple to address whatever issue it has discovered, at which time we should see revised developer betas for these C1 and C1X devices.

Update 4:50 pm: Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach notes that his ‌iPad Pro‌ experienced an issue with the update that forced his device into recovery mode, where he was able to restore it to iPadOS 26.1.

Update 6:30 pm: Apple has now fully pulled the updates for the affected devices, so iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 beta 1 won't even show as available on these devices.

Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26
Related Forum: iOS 26

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Top Rated Comments

CarAnalogy Avatar
14 weeks ago
And this is why we always use backup, expendable devices for developer betas right? Right?!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sziehr Avatar
14 weeks ago
so this is why they need to keep signing the last stable version of major releases, like 18.7.2 should still be signed for downgrade.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jkmoses Avatar
14 weeks ago
I can verify that when my iPhone Air rebooted, the network indicator "5G UC" appeared and I'm on the Mint/Tmobile Network. I ran a Speedtest and it, indeed, was over 1gbps at the top download speed. So how does a phone that doesn't support "5G UC" actually get it by accident and it's performing as expected?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
svish Avatar
14 weeks ago
Being a beta, can expect these issues. However in the recent past there are issues with the final versions of the software and so, I prefer to update only after a few weeks of the software launch.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Skb3735 Avatar
14 weeks ago

I can verify that when my iPhone Air rebooted, the network indicator "5G UC" appeared and I'm on the Mint/Tmobile Network. I ran a Speedtest and it, indeed, was over 1gbps at the top download speed. So how does a phone that doesn't support "5G UC" actually get it by accident and it's performing as expected?
The air supports 5G UC but not mmWave
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xpxp2002 Avatar
14 weeks ago
More reasons to avoid these Intel/Apple modems. Nothing’s stable and performs like the tried-and-true Qualcomm basebands.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)