PSA: iOS 26.4 Age Verification in UK Fails for Some, Leading to Device Restrictions

If you’re an iPhone user in the UK, you might want to hold off on the latest iOS 26.4 update for a bit, as many UK users are reporting problems with the new mandatory online Age Verification system that is included in the latest versions of iOS.

Failures and issues with the age verification system cause users to be stuck with a restricted Apple ID and Apple device that can not access certain content, apps, or websites, and because the age verification fails, they can not override those limits after installing the 26.4 update.

Many of the UK Apple users who are reporting issues with age verification are longtime Apple users, some of whom are in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond, and who have been using Apple products for several decades, which would obviously make it impossible for them to be under the age of 18. This means that you could theoretically be 92 years old with the worlds oldest Apple ID, but if you can’t effectively verify your identity and age on your iPhone with the new system, your device and account will be content restricted until that identity verification can be passed.

Some UK users also report successful automatic age verification, adding to the confusion.

The sequence of problematic events is usually reported as so: a UK user installs the iOS 26.4 update as usual, the device updates, but upon restart they are confronted with a mandatory age verification system to “Confirm You Are 18+”, which then proceeds to fail to validate for many users, whether they attempt to use Apple Wallet, a credit card, a passport, a national ID, or drivers license.

Some users report a Kafkaesque experience, attempting over a dozen times to verify their identity and age, unsuccessfully.

A failure to authenticate and verify age then leads the users Apple ID to be stuck with content restrictions that can not be overridden, even unable to access many websites, until their age and identity has been verified.

The basis of the age verification system is a new UK law called the “Online Safety Act”, which requires all internet users in the UK to verify themselves to use the internet.

Some UK users who were able to successfully complete the verification report that scanning a perfect condition ID in brightly lit conditions worked for them, as some users say a weathered ID or poor lighting led to repeated failures. Other users report success by using a different credit card, or a different ID, or by re-entering an existing credit card within the Wallet app.

While this only applies to the UK for now, they may simply be the first major western country to implement an internet and digital identification system, and others are likely to follow given current trends. Restrictions on content access, internet freedom, digital privacy, and speech continue to be a prominent theme throughout the world, even in western countries that had previously been global champions of liberty and internet freedom.

There are no shortage of complaints and discussions about the UK age verification problems online, from Apple’s support forums to MacRumors forums, to multiple reddit threads, so if you’re experiencing issues with the latest Orwellian feature, you certainly aren’t alone.

Let us know your own experiences with the age verification system in the UK, and whatever thoughts you might have, in the comments below, whether you’re in the UK or anywhere else!