iOS 12 Developer Beta 7 Released, Then Quickly Pulled After Reports of Bugs

We're nearly there — Apple released the seventh iOS 12 beta to developers Monday, August 13. While not totally unexpected, beta testers understand the struggle of predicting the next update, as Apple has switched haphazardly between two-week, one-week, and irregular release schedules for both the developer and public betas.

Besides bug fixes and security updates, dev beta 7 brings bad news — group FaceTime will not be coming to iOS 12 upon release. Apple confirms in the release notes for the beta that the highly anticipated feature will be introduced to iOS 12 as part of a software update later this fall. If you were looking forward to chatting with up to 32 people with FaceTime, you're just going to have to wait a bit longer.

Update: Apple has pulled dev beta 7 due to reports of poor performance and instability. Check in frequently to be the first to know when the beta goes live.

• More Info: Group FaceTime Isn't Coming With iOS 12 After All

To update your iPhone to access all that iOS 12 dev beta 7 has to offer, you first need to be a registered developer with a valid configuration profile. If you have iOS 12's new "Automatic Updates" enabled, you can let the software update overnight. To download the beta right now, however, launch the Settings app, select "General," then "Software Update." Tap "Download and Install," then follow the on-screen prompts to download and install iOS 12 dev beta 7.

Resolved Issues

Here are all of the issues and bugs fixed with the release of dev beta 7:

Accessibility:

• Settings might unexpectedly quit when attempting to view or select a voice in Speech settings. (42859905)

HomeKit:

• Apple TV (3rd generation) might not function as a HomeKit hub in beta 6. Apple TV (4th generation) and Apple TV 4K might not appear as a HomeKit hub unless setup was completed using an iOS device. (42782193) — Workaround: Add Apple TV to the home via Settings > AirPlay > Room.

Siri:

• When running a NSUserActivity-based shortcut, Siri might not automatically open the app and instead display an Open button which can be used to open the app. (42773201)
• Settings might unexpectedly quit when attempting to open Siri & Search settings if you have uninstalled FaceTime, Mail, Maps, or Voice Memos. (42789893) — Workaround: Install the missing apps.
• While using CarPlay, Shortcuts which require confirmation might not work. (42444240)
• InSwift,theshortcutpropertyofINVoiceShortcutmustbeaccessedas _shortcut. (40418400)

Known Issues

Now, for the bad news — the following includes all issues, both old and new, that iOS 12 dev beta 7 brings with it. New issues are listed in bold:

App Store:

• While signed in with a production account and testing with a sandbox account, attempting to fetch a new valid receipt displays a sign-in prompt for the production account with no option for switching to the sandbox account. (42862150) — Workaround: For testing purposes, StoreKit calls such as making a purchase and restoring transactions will fetch a new receipt. Alternatively, sign out of the production account

CoreGraphics:

• Various CoreGraphics calls have been hardened against continuing with invalid parameters. In iOS 12 beta, these calls may now return NULL or return early. (38344690)

HomeKit:

• Inviting iOS 11 users who have multiple email addresses associated with their Apple ID to a home might not succeed. (41033550) — Workaround: Send the invitation to a different email address or phone number associated with the Apple ID of the iOS 11 user.

Localization:

• Certain languages may exhibit clipped or misaligned layout. (40420329)
• Certain languages may display unlocalized text. (40420422)

MediaPlayer Framework:

• When a queueTransaction is performed on applicationQueuePlayer to modify the position of a song, the queue returns unchanged. (39401344)

Phone and FaceTime:

• Group FaceTime has been removed from the initial release of iOS 12 and will ship in a future software update later this fall.
• In iOS 12 beta, Camera Effects in Messages is available only on iPhone SE and iPhone 6s or later and is unavailable on iPad. Camera Effects in FaceTime is available only on iPhone 7 or later and is unavailable on iPad.
• Wi-Fi calls might end unexpectedly when transitioning from Wi-Fi to cellular while on the T-Mobile network. (39251828)

Screen Time:

• After updating to iOS 12 beta 7, parents should change the Screen Time passcode to prevent children from signing out of iCloud or changing the system time. (42879250)
• "Picked Up Phone" statistics might be inflated due to data syncing from other devices signed into the same iCloud account. (39917173)

Siri:

• While multiple ride-sharing apps are installed, Siri might open the app instead of providing an ETA or location when asked. (42324032) — Workaround: Ask Siri for the ETA or location again.
• Siri Shortcuts might not work if a device is locked. (41307405)
• Siri Suggestions for Shortcuts are enabled on iPhone 6s or later, iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation or later), iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 4. (40669231)

UIKit:

• YoumightencounterissueswithsystemLayoutSizeFitting(_:)whenusinga UICollectionViewCell subclass that requires updateConstraints(). (42138227)

Workaround: Don't call the cell's setNeedsUpdateConstraints() method unless you need to support live constraint changes. If you need to support live constraint changes, call updateConstraintsIfNeeded() before calling systemLayoutSizeFitting(_:).

Wallet & Apple Pay:

• Users might encounter a situation where Apple Pay becomes unavailable. (31989675) — Workaround: Try opening Wallet and using the card again. If the issue persists, restart the device and try again.

Xcode:

• When using Messages in the iOS Simulator, a message might not be delivered from User A to User B. (40916530) — Workaround: Send a message from User B to User A.

Public testers won't have access to the beta at this time, but don't fret — Apple usually releases the public beta no more than 24 hours after its accompanying developer update. In fact, iOS 12 public beta 5 released just hours after dev beta 6, so keep an eye out today in case Apple repeats this schedule.

While no official release date has been set for iOS 12, we know that the general public will have access to the update starting this fall. However, since we're now on the seventh beta, the official update is most likely upon us. Apple doesn't usually do more than eight beta releases. Unless the company is changing things up this time around, we might see iOS 12 sooner than later.

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Cover image by Jake Peterson/Gadget Hacks