Face ID issue warning on my iPhone after iOS 26 update, even though it still works

Nattiecake wrote:

Same, I noticed the issue was with my glasses. Once I turned off “attention required” it now works fine. Happy days 🙂

I wonder if it has anything to do with my Reactions lenses obscuring my eyes (so the camera can’t tell even if I am looking at it)…?

That is EXACTLY it. Attention Required is a security feature; it verifies that your eyes are open and it can see the whites of your eyes.

Reboot Phone!! Yes this worked. Even with “attention needed” turned off, it would only unlock with the phone directly in front of my face. After reboot, it unlocks again like before while the phone is in a normal position. No need to remove screen protector.

My girlfriends phone had this issue. this resolved it:

press volume up

quickly press volume down

press power button

a slider should show up to turn off phone.

Turned the phone back on and Face ID worked again.

Same, I noticed the issue was with my glasses. Once I turned off “attention required” it now works fine. Happy days 🙂

I wonder if it has anything to do with my Reactions lenses obscuring my eyes (so the camera can’t tell even if I am looking at it)…?

Even if it happened after updating, it is still a hardware problem that may have occurred coincidentally with updating.

Contact Apple support for repair options.

Same thing happened to me. I took my screen protector off and had no issue with Face ID.

Did you already force restart your iPhone after the upgrade to iOS 26?

Force restart iPhone - Apple Support

Have any parts of the iPhone been replaced in the past?

javaguy39 wrote:

Same for me, FaceID just stopped working. The camera works fine both back and front. I reset FACEIS with new scans, but nothing works. Can't believe that this was missed in Apple QA before the release, this is a major bug

FIRST, you didn’t read the first post. Mascot17 said that Face ID is WORKING on their phone, so it is not the same issue that you have.

I can’t believe that you think a problem with your phone affects 100 million other iPhones, or that somehow the million or so beta testers who have been using iOS 26 for months failed to miss this issue.

If an alert says Face ID has an issue on your iPhone or iPad Pro - Apple Support

I took my screen protector off and it works now! Non of the other stuff helped me. Try it!

Yes this worked. Even with “attention needed” turned off, it would only unlock with the phone directly in front of my face. After reboot, it unlocks again like before while the phone is in a normal position. No need to remove screen protector.

If you still need help, reset Face ID then set it up again. Go to Settings, tap Face ID & Passcode, then tap Reset Face ID. Next tap Set up Face ID to set it up again.

Did you already have a look at the general troubleshooting mentioned in this article?

If Face ID isn't working on your iPhone or iPad Pro - Apple Support

Resetting FaceID might be an option.

tearle176 wrote:

Face ID and passcode have completely disappeared in settings?!?!

iPhone 16 max pro

[Edited by Moderator]

settings, Screen Time, turn off Content & Privacy restrictions.

Turning off “attention required“ fixed my issue. Thank you.

Did you already have a look at this user tip written by LD150, about "How to remove Stolen Device Protection after your FaceID or Touch ID fails"?

How to remove Stolen Device Protection af… - Apple Community