An iOS 27 beta update has inadvertently deactivated the Digital ID passport feature for some iPhone users, leaving them unable to use their digital passport in Apple Wallet until they manually remove and re-add the card.
Apple confirmed the issue stems from interface and menu changes made to the Digital ID passport feature in iOS 27.
Whether the deactivations are a direct result of those changes or a related bug, the outcome is the same: affected users find their digital passport card no longer works.
Apple’s guidance is straightforward but requires action on the user’s part, removing the card from Wallet and adding it back from scratch.
What Changed in iOS 27
The iOS 27 beta modifies some of the information and menu layouts displayed alongside the Digital ID passport card in Apple Wallet.
Apple launched the Digital ID passport feature in November 2025, allowing eligible U.S. users to store a digital version of their passport directly on their iPhone.
The feature requires Face ID to function, so a third party cannot simply pick up someone’s phone and use it.
The problem appears to have started with recent iOS 27 beta builds, with some digital ID cards becoming deactivated after updating to beta 7.
What makes the issue particularly frustrating is that it wasn’t immediately clear what was happening.
People could easily spend time troubleshooting their phones or wondering whether something had gone wrong with their own digital ID before discovering that Apple was already aware of the problem.
Bring Your Physical Passport Anyway
For anyone currently running an iOS 27 beta, the fix is simple if inconvenient: remove the Digital ID card from Apple Wallet, then add it again.
The issue appears to affect people who had already completed the setup process, including travelers who had successfully used their digital passport at airports before the latest beta introduced the problem.
It’s also a good reminder that digital IDs still aren’t ready to replace the real thing. Even when a digital passport is working as intended, travelers should continue carrying their physical passport as a backup.
Acceptance of digital IDs at TSA checkpoints and other venues remains uneven, and a beta-related deactivation adds another reason not to rely on the digital card exclusively.
iOS 27 is currently in developer beta and is not expected to reach a public release until fall 2026, so further changes to the Digital ID feature are possible before the software ships to all users.
