Downloaded files not going to Files app after updating iPhone to iOS 18.5

Yes. Updated yesterday and files do not save to my download directory this morning which I keep on my iphone only as default. Search for file on icloud drive and on onedrive and not there either. Bug for sure.

It is a bug that affects safari and firefox. Duckduckgo seems to work although it creates its down download folder so you can use that until they fix it. I did not try google browser.

Chrome works fine. It has its own download folder.

Yes, I have been facing the issues after updating ios 18.5. I hope they debug it sooner.

I've set my Safari download location to "On My iPhone," but the setting does absolutely nothing. Files don't save there. They get stuck in a temporary Safari cache, forcing me to manually use "Share > Save to Files" and then navigate back to the folder I already set as the default.

This is a broken workflow. Why offer a setting that is completely ignored? It's a bug that makes users think their downloads have disappeared.

I have the same issue on iPhone 15 Pro. Downloaded files are stored in "Downloads" section of Safari, and I have to save them manually to Files app. I have tried all of the suggested fixes (selecting "Downloads" directory in Settings for Safari, clearing cache, etc.) but nothing helped so far.

This started with iOS 18.5 and it's inconsistent: sometimes files are downloaded properly, and sometimes they are not.

I have a theory that this is related to the way how websites present files for you to download, maybe it has something to do with URL.createObjectURL and how Safari treats those links, this needs to be tested.

Yes! I I also have the same issue too!

Chrome does not save to "Downloads".

I will try DuckDuckGo, thanks for the suggestion.