Level 1

58 points

Apple Intelligence loaded but not working on iPhone 17 Pro

I got my new iPhone 17Pro a couple of days ago. Apple Intelligence worked just fine including Visual Intelligence. All of a sudden it stopped working and it tells me that the models need to be downloaded first. In my iOS storage it tells me Apple Intelligence is installed with 6.59 GB.

I tried restarting, toggling setting off and on again, resetting network settings, and locking out of my Apple ID and back in again, already.

I live in the EU and settings are set to German. It’s strange that it worked for the first two days or so and suddenly stopped working. Any idea?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone 17 Pro

Posted on Sep 21, 2025 10:21 PM

Top-ranking reply

farfbangers

Level 1

26 points

Posted on Sep 30, 2025 2:58 AM

I got mine working again. I followed the below steps to eliminate known bugs (ie, wifi drop out when screen locked).

Disabled Apple Intelligence on my MacBook and iPad
Set iPhone display to never auto lock
Ensured connection to strong/ stable wifi available
Disabled wifi-assist
Disabled mobile data
Created new iCloud backup
Factory reset iPhone and setup through iCloud backup keeping phone plugged in to power
Never let screen lock once during the whole iCloud restore process - even throughout the beginning of the restore loading bar screen
Once iPhone booted up and was usable - when going through the get started pages I enabled Apple Intelligence
Then while apps and data was still downloading in the background - ensure mobile data still set to off and connected to wifi only, display to never auto lock
Left it overnight plugged into power to completely restore full back up with screen unlocked, display brightness at its lowest with a pure black photo to protect the oled display overnight

It has been 2 days since so hopefully it stays 🤦‍♂️ and the storage settings said it was 6.25gb once completed in the morning.

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31 replies

Sep 29, 2025 1:48 PM in response to seven_k

I just updated my iPhone 17 Pro Max 1 TB to iOS 26.0.1, and still having the same issue. I have been waited for a few hours while charging and connecting to Wi-Fi, but the Apple Intelligence still showing "Downloading support for Apple Intelligence". If I go to Settings-General-iPhone Storage, then scroll down to the bottom, and go to iOS, I can see Apple Intelligence is taking up 6.59 GB.

seven_k Author

Level 1

58 points

Sep 29, 2025 9:24 PM in response to YanWeixin

Same here. I was hoping for 26.0.1 to fix this problem, but I guess we need to wait for 26.1. … I really don’t want to totally reset my phone. I’ll probably still try some of the suggestions like the turn cellular service off and connect to wifi tip, but all the rest I had tried already.

But at least they fixed the unlock with iPhone issue in 26.0.1.

seven_k Author

Level 1

58 points

Sep 30, 2025 8:35 PM in response to farfbangers

@farfbangers I’m happy for you that you were able to get AI working. I must say though, AI for me absolutely is not worth that much of a hassle to be honest. I lived so many years with my 12 mini without AI, I think waiting another month or so for 26.1. to hopefully fix it and make Apple Intelligence work is fine for me.

Oct 2, 2025 12:18 AM in response to seven_k

For me, Apple Intelligence worked on my iPhone 17 Pro (Germany) until the 26.0.1 update. Now it is the same: Download forever, 6.59 GB in iOS storage. If only there would be a way to delete the downloaded Apple Intelligence files and restart the download. But obviously, there is none; otherwise, an Apple support guy would surely say something, right?

seven_k Author

Level 1

58 points

Oct 2, 2025 7:55 PM in response to Bluedietcoke

Just as a short update, after reading a comment on Reddit on how to remove AI from the iPhone, where you disable AI and let it sit over night with iOS slowly removing it from the device, I thought I could then reload it back afterwards … apparently this doesn’t work with iOS 26 anymore. AI hasn’t reduced by a byte.

Oct 3, 2025 4:03 AM in response to seven_k

This doesn’t work. Previously it did drop in storage, but apparently this is just the cache and personalisation clearing. It never completely uninstalls. Mine is sitting at 6.24gb of storage and still working after the steps I posted earlier. However, not sure if this is still a fix on 26.0.1.

seven_k Author

Level 1

58 points

Oct 3, 2025 5:40 AM in response to farfbangers

I thought so, but I still wanted to give it a try. I back up my phone to my mac and read that if you restore from your computer potential bugs are loaded back onto the phone again.

[Edited by Moderator]

seven_k Author

Level 1

58 points

Oct 5, 2025 5:21 AM in response to geWAPpnet

I see … or better to say … I don’t see any percentages in my settings. It just says that the models are going to be continued to be downloaded when plugged in. Which doesn’t happen.

I guess they don’t even know why AI doesn’t work on some devices. I would think they should be able to trigger a server sided re-initialization of the models download for everyone.

seven_k Author

Level 1

58 points

Oct 6, 2025 6:24 PM in response to iLLiTeraTeMoNkEy

Mine wasn’t working and I upgraded and migrated from a 12 Mini that definitely didn’t have Apple Intelligence and it didn’t work … until this morning. Guess they were right about the Tuesday update.

[Edit:] Apple Intelligence on my phone is now 10,07GB

Sep 27, 2025 5:36 PM in response to seven_k

iPhone air and have same issue. Keeps going errors

Oct 3, 2025 3:58 AM in response to seven_k

Agree, it was just more annoying than anything.

Oct 4, 2025 7:21 PM in response to seven_k

Same here. 17 pro. Worked fine when I got the phone. Since updating to 26.0.1 it’s stuck on 99% downloading, nothing I can do to turn it back on :(

Oct 5, 2025 1:54 AM in response to seven_k

I am still waiting for apple engineers to fix the problem. Does anyone know how long is that process going to take?

Oct 5, 2025 2:13 AM in response to Prasadfromstoke

I think they need to release a bug fix. iOS 26.1 might contain that, but we have to wait at least another month for the official release. I wish they would release a fix like 26.0.2 sooner.

seven_k Author

Level 1

58 points

Oct 5, 2025 3:40 AM in response to Kalafalas246

How can you tell at what percentage the download has gotten stuck?

Apple Intelligence loaded but not working on iPhone 17 Pro