Jan 16, 2026
3 min read
Don't ignore this warning; check your iPhone now and restart it immediately.
Updated January 16 with new information on the issue with Apple's iOS 26 update.
This is optional.Apple warns that iPhone attacks continue and has released fixes to keep users safe.The bad news is that hundreds of millions of such users are now at risk.Check your iPhone.And if you need to reboot, do it immediately.
Go to Settings > General > Software Update.If your iPhone is not running iOS 26.2 or iOS 18.7.3, go to Settings > General > Shutdown and turn off your device.Or you can press and hold each volume button and side button until the power off light appears," says Apple. If that doesn't work, you can force restart it.
When the new data shows that 50% of iPhone users have not yet upgraded to make these adjustments, the current situation has accelerated.The ban on updating to iOS 26 is exacerbated by Apple's decision to release fixes to iPhones or newer ones that have been updated.Coming to iOS 18 is unlikely.
Resetting will remove any spyware running on your iPhone, at least because it is automatically persistent until the spyware is restarted or you reboot whatever software is running on your iPhone.
Although it may seem that many users are not affected by Apple's warning that they are being attacked more and more, it is dangerous security.The latest WebKit promotions are more widespread and target many users.
You really should update if you don't have iOS 26. Otherwise, you should reboot your iPhone every week, at least until you update to one of these two iOS versions.Until Apple clarifies the numbers for the iOS 26 update, we won't know exactly how close the analyst numbers are to the real numbers.But don't worry, regular reboots are still a good idea.
Although the latest data from StatCounter from January 16 still shows the adoption of iOS 26 below 20%, these numbers are now under investigation.
Ars Technica says, "we took an advanced look at all iPhone traffic on all Condé Nast websites in October, November, and December 2025."And while "iOS 26 is seeing slower adoption than iOS 18 the year before," the decline isn't as dire as StatCounter's data suggests.
Mashable, the first to dig up those numbers, says "the adoption numbers are wrong."This is because "there is actually an error in the reporting system, and it is Apple's fault."
In short, the problem is that Safari detects the label that analysts have taken to measure OS version numbers when researchers take websites that report iOS 18 even when the device has been updated to iOS 26. This could be a drop and violation of fingerprint protection in Safari, which deliberately blocks data, or a different measure, deliberately to ensure consistency for users of the new Safari website.
Error chrome or other browsers on iPones - just safari does not hit.
It's a small number, but there are still hundreds of millions of iPhones that haven't been updated.The patched data, says Ars Technica, "suggests that 'regular' users aren't rushing to get the update," even though early adopters seem to want it.
"As of December 2024, our data shows that 76 percent of iPhone Safari page views went to iOS 18 devices, compared to just 45 percent for iOS 26 in December 2025."
