After installing iOS 26.2, you can miss an important change if you tap through the setup screens too quickly. The update can enable automatic software updates without clearly asking you.
What happens during setup
During the “Software Update Complete” screen, you usually tap Continue and move on. However, this screen can now include a short notice. It says future updates will download and install automatically. If you tap Continue, iOS accepts this setting by default.
Meanwhile, a smaller option appears on the same screen. It says “Only Download Automatically.” If you select it, iOS will not install updates on its own. Because the option is subtle, many people miss it.
Who sees this pop up?
In some cases, you will not see this notice at all. If automatic updates are already on, iOS shows nothing new. In other cases, even users with automatic installs turned off do not see the message.
Because of that, you should still check your settings. In short, Apple can add this prompt to any update, and you may not notice it when rushing through setup.
How to turn automatic updates off
If iOS 26.2 turned this on by mistake, you can fix it in seconds.
- First, open Settings
- Next, go to General
- Then, tap Software Update
- After that, open Automatic Updates
- Finally, turn off automatic installation
You can still allow downloads while blocking automatic installs if you prefer.
iOS 18.7.3 update confusion
At the same time, Apple released iOS 18.7.3 for people who want to stay on iOS 18. However, some users report a problem. The update does not appear on their devices.
Instead, they only see iOS 26.2 listed. Even after restarting, iOS 18.7.3 stays hidden. This affects older devices running iOS 18.7.2.
For now, checking update settings remains the only option.
Again, this is not new behaviour. I’ve had to re-check the automatic updates settings and sometimes reset them back to off for newer updates or major upgrades to the latest iOS and iPadOS. Also, regarding the prompt to upgrade to version 26.2 versus 18.7.3 for devices that support both, this to is not new behaviour. Apple has been doing this for quite some time for devices that will support the newer iOS or iPadOS release, versus the update for the prior release (they’re subtly trying to “make” you upgrade to the latest). You just have to tap back to the upper left of Available Updates to see the 18.7.3 upgrade screen.