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Important Notice: iOS 26 Compatibility Issue

  • Updated

Date: October 8, 2025

The following apps have been updated. Users of these apps should update them as soon as possible.
  • NIH Toolbox V3 French

  • NIH Toolbox V3 Italian 

     

 

 

Date: October 6, 2025

The following apps have been updated. Users of these apps should update them as soon as possible.
  • NIH Toolbox V2 MDM
  • NIH Toolbox V2 Spanish MDM 

 

 

 

Date: October 3, 2025 

The following apps have been updated. Users of these apps should update them as soon as possible.
  • NIH Toolbox V2
  • NIH Toolbox V2 Spanish

 

NIH Toolbox, NIH Baby Toolbox, and Participant/Examiner Toolbox apps can now be run on iOS 26, provided the iPad settings are adjusted per the guidelines below. iPads MUST remain in full-screen mode and landscape orientation when using these apps. Please confirm the following settings on all relevant iPads.

For NIH Toolbox V3 (all translations), NIH Toolbox V2 (English & Spanish), NIH Toolbox Participant/Examiner (English & Spanish):
  1. Enable Orientation Lock (landscape mode):
    • Swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center.
    • Activate Orientation Lock.
    • If not visible: go to Control Center > + Add a Control > Display & Brightness > Orientation Lock.
    • Ensure the iPad is in landscape when enabling this.
  2. Adjust Multitasking & Gestures:
    • iOS 26 or later: Settings > Multitasking & Gestures > Full Screen Apps.
    • iOS 18: Settings > Multitasking & Gestures > Off.
 
For NIH Baby Toolbox (English & Spanish):
  • iOS 26 or later: Settings > Multitasking & Gestures > Full Screen Apps.
  • iOS 18: Settings > Multitasking & Gestures > Off.

 

 

 

Date: September 29, 2025 

As of today, the following apps have been updated. Users of these apps should update their app(s) as soon as possible.
  • NIH Toolbox V3
  • NIH Toolbox V3 Spanish
  • NIH Baby Toolbox
  • NIH Baby Toolbox Spanish
  • Examiner Toolbox V3
  • Participant Toolbox V3
  • Examiner Toolbox V3 Español
  • Participant Toolbox V3 Español

 

 

 

Date: September 23, 2025 

Important Notice: Required iPad Setting Changes
Our recommendation remains that you do not update to iOS 26 at this time due to continued compatibility issues. However, if you must update your iOS (e.g., due to institutional requirements), you must manually update the iPad settings detailed below to ensure our apps work correctly. 
 
Please note that our tech team has resolved several (but not all) issues introduced with iOS 26. Updates were just released (September 23, 2025) for the NIH Toolbox V3 apps (English and Spanish) and NIH Baby Toolbox apps (English and Spanish). Please install these updates. 
 
Remaining iOS 26 Issues 
Two issues remain that could impact test administration:
  • Portrait Mode: Occurs if the iPad is rotated into portrait orientation (short side up).
  • Resizing: Occurs if the app is shrunk or adjusted to anything other than full screen.
     
⚠️ Important: If the app enters portrait mode or is resized during test administration, the collected data will be invalid. Please avoid these actions at all times.
 
Recommendation
Again, we recommend not updating to iOS 26 at this time. Regardless of your iOS version (26 or earlier), please manually update the following iPad settings to prevent issues:
 
For NIH Toolbox V3 (all translations), NIH Toolbox V2 (English & Spanish), NIH Toolbox Participant/Examiner (English & Spanish):
  1. Enable Orientation Lock (landscape mode):
    • Swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center.
    • Activate Orientation Lock.
    • If not visible: go to Control Center > + Add a Control > Display & Brightness > Orientation Lock.
    • Ensure the iPad is in landscape when enabling this.
  2. Adjust Multitasking & Gestures:
    • iOS 26 or later: Settings > Multitasking & Gestures > Full Screen Apps.
    • iOS 18: Settings > Multitasking & Gestures > Off.
 
For NIH Baby Toolbox (English & Spanish):
  • iOS 26 or later: Settings > Multitasking & Gestures > Full Screen Apps.
  • iOS 18: Settings > Multitasking & Gestures > Off.

 

 

 

Date: September 12, 2025

Please do not update your iPad's operating system to iOS 26 which Apple plans to release on Monday, 9/15/25. The NIH Toolbox team has been conducting extensive testing and have identified significant compatibility issues between iOS 26 and the NIH Toolbox (all versions and languages), NIH Baby Toolbox (all versions and languages), MyCog, and Participant/Examiner apps. We are working on creating a fix for these compatibility issues and will share a notification when this fix is available.

 

Until testing is complete and the NIH Toolbox, NIH Baby Toolbox, MyCog, and Participant/Examiner apps are updated to address identified issues, we ask that all users of these apps turn OFF automatic iOS updates on their iPads and to NOT update the iOS when prompted. Please communicate this guidance to respective staff at the earliest possibility. Disabling the updates should only take a few minutes.

 

To turn off automatic iOS updates on an iPad, you must disable software updates in the Settings app. Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates and turn off the toggles for "Download iOS Updates" and "Install iOS Updates".

 

If your device updates automatically and you do not have the permissions to delay this iOS 26 update, you will be impacted by significant usability issues. You may wish to cease data collection until a fix is released.

 

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. 

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