Face ID issues-"Reset Face ID" deactivated

greetings,

This is an issue for a new iPhone 16+ - it was subjected to the iOS 18.6 update a couple of nights ago, and now Face ID does not seem to be working. I'd like to reset it, but when I go to the "Face ID and Passcode" page in Settings, the "Reset Face ID" button is greyed out and inaccessible.

Any thoughts on how to get it reactivated?

(btw, it passed the Apple diagnostics test with no hardware issues to report).

On another note, to make sure I can delay a future OS update, where do I go for that?

Many thanks for reading,

DLC

iPhone 16 Plus, iOS 18

Posted on Aug 14, 2025 1:27 PM

Top-ranking reply

dncollins Author

Level 1

18 points

Posted on Aug 19, 2025 10:39 AM

So to review what I did that fixed the problem (as also noted in the last two recipients):

1) Go to Stolen Device Protection

2) turn it off

3) wait the obligatory 1 hour (at least I had to on my iPhone)

4) Reset Face Recognition (now available)

5) Adjust other affected apps and preferences (for me it was Siri voice activation and Messages dictation)

6) turn Stolen Device Protection back on and set to preferred level (for me it's "Familiar")

Yes, seemingly unrelated, but that's what worked for me.

Cheers,

DLC

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Face ID issues-"Reset Face ID" deactivated

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