Apple went live with its iOS 16.1 beta 1 release earlier today, introducing new features like Live Activities, faster home screen wallpaper edits, and more. Unfortunately, it looks like a pretty major issue might have been introduced as well. There have been reports on social media that the latest beta update is breaking the software update mechanism found in iOS and iPadOS, meaning that for those users, it may not be possible to update to a newer iOS version without jumping through some hoops.

Currently, we don’t know what is causing the issue or how widespread it is, but the problem was discovered after performing the beta 1 update on our own devices. Looking online, it appears that others are experiencing this issue as well. Unfortunately, restarting the device doesn’t fix the issue, and at this point, it’s unknown what is causing the problem. While it could be an issue with the update itself, it could be a server-side issue that Apple can resolve without users running into any problems. Thankfully, the beta update for watchOS 9.1 is not affected.

If you’re someone that likes to experiment with iOS and iPadOS beta releases, it might be worth holding off for now. There’s no telling how long this issue might last or what the potential remedies may entail. If it’s something that can be rectified server-side, then it shouldn’t cause many problems, but if it requires an update via iTunes, that might be difficult for some people. For the time being, it’s best to wait and be patient. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment, and we’ll be sure to update you if we hear more.