Apple is finally working on a fix for a bug that has locked some users out of their iPhones for months, The Register understands.
Cupertino’s iOS engineers apparently became aware of the Czech keyboard blunder last week via university student Connor Byrne’s Reddit post and set out to fix it in an upcoming iOS 26 release.
Apple update looks like Czech mate for locked-out iPhone user
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Byrne’s post highlighted the issue involving missing keyboard characters rendering his iPhone passcode useless, which he detailed in greater depth during an interview with us over the weekend.
Even if they deliver on the fix, I’ll purchase an Android soon because of how much better the cameras are …
The student, 21, used the unconventional method of authentication for his iPhone 13. Instead of using the four-number PIN that most iPhone users opt for, Byrne instead chose to use a custom alphanumeric string, like a regular password.
The only issue was that he used the caron/háček (ˇ) on the iPhone’s Czech keyboard as one of his special characters – a character Apple removed in iOS 26, which became generally available to iDevices in September 2025.
The software update meant Byrne was left without any hope of unlocking his device, upon which a catalog of valuable photos and memories are stored, unless he were to restore the phone, wiping off the only files of any importance to him.
However, since publishing Byrne’s story, The Register has learned that Apple is currently working on a fix that it is hoping to introduce in an upcoming major iOS 26 release.
We’re told that Apple started working on a bug fix internally a few days after Byrne’s cry for help on social media, and a few days before we published our story, but we’ll claim the assist in any case.
Byrne said, in response to the news, that his feelings were mixed, and he still plans to jump ship to team Android soon.
“On one hand, it’s impressive that they’re working on a fix within nine days of the issue being reported,” he told us over email. “On the other, it’s hard to believe that the breaking change was ever signed off on, considering how the current lock-screen keyboard makes no sense.
“Looking at it once, someone should have realized that there’s two of the same character right next to one another.
“Even if they deliver on the fix, I’ll purchase an Android soon because of how much better the cameras are. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is my top pick at the moment.”
Apple spokespeople have still not responded to our requests for comment. ®