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The iPhone freezes, the screen goes black, then the device restarts. Three days after its release, owners of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are reporting sudden crashes – conspicuously often related to Face ID.
With the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple redesigned Face ID: The system's infrared camera is now located under the display, and the Dynamic Island has become smaller. Since the sales launch on September 18, reports of unexpected restarts have been increasing.
The first reports came from South Korean Apple communities, as reported by The Asia Business Daily, among others. Similar accounts can be found in a Reddit thread from owners of the Pro models.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Owners of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have been reporting sudden restarts since the sales launch.
- Many reports describe a failed Face ID attempt as the trigger, while other crashes occurred during setup or normal operation.
- Affected devices leave a crash log, which can be found in the settings.
- Not every device is affected, but multiple users can deliberately trigger the crash.
What users describe
Korean reports indicate that the crash occurs primarily with apps that require Face ID verification, such as banking or photo apps. If Face ID is attempted multiple times with the sensor covered, the iPhone shuts down and restarts. Several users report being able to repeatedly trigger the error in this way.
In the Reddit thread, owners describe the same issue: After a failed Face ID attempt, the iPhone becomes unresponsive and restarts shortly afterward. Other reports mention crashes during initial setup or normal use, without Face ID being involved.
This is how a crash can be proven
After such a restart, iOS creates a log file whose name begins with "panic-full". It can be found under Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements › Analytics Data.
Anyone experiencing unexpected restarts can check there to see if their device has created such an entry. This is also helpful when contacting Apple Support, as it provides evidence of the crash.
Not every device is affected
The error does not occur on all devices. On two iPhone 18 Pro Max devices, we were unable to trigger it despite multiple failed Face ID attempts – however, this is not conclusive evidence for a bug that only affects a subset of devices.
According to Korean reports, some affected customers have received a replacement device or a refund through the service.
Why an update is more likely than a replacement
The fact that the crash can be deliberately triggered for multiple users with a specific sequence of Face ID attempts suggests a software bug in iOS 27 rather than individual defective devices. We therefore expect Apple to fix the problem with one of the next iOS updates.
Those affected should save the crash log and contact Apple Support instead of hastily replacing the device.
Has your iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max ever unexpectedly restarted – and do you find a "panic-full" entry in the analytics data? Tell us in the comments what situation it happened.
