iOS 15.7.1 Release Candidate Breaking Face ID for Some iPhone Users

The iOS 15.7.1 Release Candidate made available earlier this week appears to prevent Face ID from working on at least some iPhones, according to user reports across Reddit and Twitter. Affected devices include iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro models at a minimum, but it is quite possible that other models are impacted too.

Face ID iPhone 13
Affected users who attempt to reset Face ID on their iPhone receive a "Face ID Is Not Available" error, resulting in facial recognition being completely broken. It is unclear what the cause of the issue is or whether Apple is aware of the problem. We have reached out to Apple for comment on the matter and will update this story if we hear back.

Release Candidates usually end up being identical to the final release for iOS updates, but it's possible that Apple could release a new Release Candidate with a fix ahead of iOS 15.7.1's expected release to the public next week.

Some users are not interested in updating to iOS 16, so it is important that Apple addresses this issue in iOS 15.7.1. There are also some devices that are compatible with iOS 15 but not iOS 16, including the iPhone 6s, iPhone‌ 6s Plus, first-generation iPhone SE, seventh-generation iPod touch, ‌iPhone‌ 7, and ‌iPhone‌ 7 Plus.

(Thanks, @AppleSWUpdates!)

Related Forum: iOS 15

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Top Rated Comments

sw1tcher Avatar
32 months ago
That's because Touch ID > Face ID

:p
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rjohnstone Avatar
32 months ago
Kwality Kontrol at it's finest. ;)
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
32 months ago
I had no idea there was even a 15.7.1 beta ?
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
32 months ago

"Release Candidates" ain't what they used to be.
I honestly miss the “Golden Master” era.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mystery hill Avatar
32 months ago

I don't have Touch ID or Face ID on my iPod Touch, so I guess I don't have any worries.
“iOS 15.7.2 Release Candidate Breaking WiFi for some iPod Touch Users.”
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tonmischa Avatar
32 months ago
"Nudging" customers to iOS 16 by "accidentally" breaking FaceID in iOS 15.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)