We are currently investigating a serious issue related to Wi-Fi Aware and AccessorySetupKit.
We found that some devices which originally supported Wi-Fi Aware may suddenly report that Wi-Fi Aware is not supported. After this happens, calling the following API fails:
ASAccessorySession.showPicker(for:completionHandler:)
API documentation: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/accessorysetupkit/asaccessorysession/showpicker(for:completionhandler:)
The error returned is:
Error Domain=ASErrorDomain Code=450 "Current device is not Wi-Fi Aware capable.”
Related logs:
error: Error Domain=ASErrorDomain Code=450 "Current device is not Wi-Fi Aware capable."
21:27:33.116061+0800 deviceaccessd Activating DASession: CID 0x7FC70001, BundleID xxxx, PID 542, WiFiAwareSupported: no
2026-05-26 21:27:33.118<103>21:27:33.118[E][WiFiAware::WA]@"":[ASK] showPicker callback error: Error Domain=ASErrorDomain Code=450 "Current device is not Wi-Fi Aware capable." UserInfo={
NSDebugDescription=Current device is not Wi-Fi Aware capable.,
cuErrorMsg=Current device is not Wi-Fi Aware capable.,
NSLocalizedFailureReason=Current device is not Wi-Fi Aware capable.
}
Device information:
Device: iPhone 16 Pro
OS Version: 26.5
The device was previously able to use Wi-Fi Aware successfully. However, after the issue occurs, the system reports:
WiFiAwareSupported: no
The only known way to recover so far is to erase all content and settings / factory reset the device. This is not an acceptable workaround for end users and may cause a severe user experience issue.
We would like to ask for your help with the following questions:
Under what conditions would an iPhone that supports Wi-Fi Aware suddenly be reported as not Wi-Fi Aware capable? Is WiFiAwareSupported: no determined by hardware capability, system configuration, region setting, privacy/security policy, entitlement state, or some cached system state? Is there any known issue in AccessorySetupKit or Wi-Fi Aware on iOS 26.5 that could cause this behavior? Is there a way to recover the Wi-Fi Aware capability without requiring a factory reset? Are there any additional logs, sysdiagnose profiles, or diagnostic commands you recommend us to collect when this issue occurs? This issue is critical for us because users who encounter it will no longer be able to proceed with accessory setup, even though their device should support Wi-Fi Aware.
Please let us know if you need a sysdiagnose, sample project, full device logs, or additional reproduction information. We would appreciate any guidance on the root cause and possible workaround.
We found that some devices which originally supported Wi-Fi Aware may suddenly report that Wi-Fi Aware is not supported.
I can’t imagine that being anything other than a bug.
The only known way to recover so far is to erase all content and settings / factory reset the device.
Yikes!
I believe you’ve filed a bug report about this already (FB22866996), so thanks for that. I had a look at your bug and it’s definitely with the right folks.
Based on the diagnostics you posted here, it sounds like you have access to an affected device. If so, have a read of Filing a Wi-Fi Bug Report to see if there’s anything you can do to improve your bug report.
Also, it wasn’t clear whether you’ve tried to reset the device’s network settings (Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings). If not, you could try that. But:
- If you only have one device that exhibits the problem, it’d be better to keep that in the broken state and instead have one of your users try this mitigation.
- If you do decide to try this on your one affected device, make sure you grab the above-mentioned diagnostics beforehand.
Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"
