Some Macs recently received a macOS system update which disabled the simulator runtimes used by Xcode 15, including the simulators for iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS. If your Mac received this update, you will receive the following error message and will be unable to use the simulator: The com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-17-2 simulator runtime is not available. Domain: com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimError Code: 401 Failure Reason: runtime profile not found using "System" match policy Recovery Suggestion: Download the com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-17-2 simulator runtime from the Xcode To resume using the simulator, please reboot your Mac. After rebooting, check Xcode Preferences → Platforms to ensure that the simulator runtime you would like to use is still installed. If it is missing, use the Get button to download it again. The Xcode 15.3 Release Notes are also updated with this information.

After updating to Xcode 26.4 (public release), I’m no longer able to paste from the Mac clipboard into the Simulator. Automatically Sync Pasteboard is on, and I have content on the clipboard, but paste doesn’t work—Cmd+V does nothing, and there’s no Paste option in the context menu. Is anyone else seeing this?

Each time I launch a Debug version of the app on iOS Simulator, I see the Launch Screen presented and then about a 30-second delay before the app is responsive and debug output appears in the console panel. Filed FB22345091

mac mini xcode 26.4, but the simulator version is 16. how can i update the simulator to version 26?

Attempting to bring up the access point yields the following error log: [GameCenterOverlayService] Failed to create GameOverlayUI Dashboard Remote Proxy [GameCenterOverlayService] Could not create endpoint for service name: com.apple.GameOverlayUI.dashboard-service [GameCenterOverlayService] Failed to create GameOverlayUI Dashboard Remote Proxy [GameCenterOverlayService] Could not create endpoint for service name: com.apple.GameOverlayUI.dashboard-service [GameCenterOverlayService] Failed to create GameOverlayUI Dashboard Remote Proxy [GameCenterOverlayService] Failed to create GameOverlayUI Dashboard Remote Proxy The same code (which is a single line setting 'active' to true) works on physical devices and on the simulator in iOS 18.6 I haven't been able to find any mention of this issue online. Any suggestions or help greatly appreciated.

After updating to Xcode 26.4 the pasteboard sharing feature in the simulators doesn't work.

After updating to Xcode 26.4 and also the update on the simulator the copy paste feature in the simulators doesn't work anymore and i can't build my app without it because the user has to copy and paste api keys in it. Is there an solution for it I have tried to install an other simulator ios version but then the simulator doesn't work on the the new xcode. Have someone already found an solution?

Im working on my laptop with Mac OS 15.7.5 and Im using Xcode 26.0.1 and Im trying to simulate the code I've written. It only allows me to simulate on iPhone 16e but it never finishes loading, I also tried using my personal iPhone as a simulator but that doesn't work either. Could it possibly be my storage on why the simulators don't work?

I'm trying to download the iOS 26.2 simulator, but it fails both in Xcode and via the command line. When I run: xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS -buildVersion 26.2 -exportPath ~/Downloads It returns: iOS 26.2 is not available for download. I would like to know: Why iOS 26.2 simulator cannot be downloaded at the moment. Whether iOS 26.2 simulator is still available, or if it has been removed or replaced. How to properly get and install the iOS 26.2 simulator. Any official explanation or solution would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

For difficult reasons I won’t get into, I ended up manually downloading the latest iOS 26 simulator runtime. I now have a file named 78756498-8AB4-4E5A-986C-7AA435758657.aar copied to my Mac. How do I get this archive installed so Xcode 26 recognizes it as a proper simulator runtime component? All searching I‘ve done for manually installing simulators references dmg files and older versions of Xcode. There’s no mention of aar files. When I tried the command: sudo xcrun simctl runtime add ./78756498-8AB4-4E5A-986C-7AA435758657.aar I get the result: An error was encountered processing the command (domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain, code=22): Error while creating AEA backend Invalid argument I tried to use Archive Utility to open the file but that just says it is unable to expand the file. I even tried renaming the file with a dmg extension and then tried mounting the file and I get the same “AEA backend” error. My Mac doesn’t have sufficient Internet access to let me download and install this normally through Xcode. I need to find a way to get this file installed manually.

My app uses SwiftData so I need at least iOS 17 as the minimum deployment target. When I select iOS 17 in the dropdown it selects iOS 17.6 as the target. However, the newest simulator available is iOS 17.5. Should I set my minimum deployment target to 17.0, 17.5, 17.6, or something else?

I'm unable to reset simulators using the menu or the xcrun simctl tool: <output of xcrun simctl list> == Devices == -- iOS 17.5 -- iPhone SE (3rd generation) (5A06623A-173D-4C96-8DD3-3E9FE39A06F1) (Shutdown) iPhone 15 (iOS 17.5) (F4329E8D-29BB-4EA7-8465-C11A98D04ED7) (Shutdown) -- iOS 18.0 -- iPhone SE (3rd generation) (2DDE8F03-F8E1-4C1B-8E28-CD9B208F3FFA) (Shutdown) iPhone 16 Pro (DE788688-8AC6-40A0-B25C-A56AA423798E) (Shutdown) iPhone 16 Pro Max (1405184C-36A9-40F3-B0D0-4EEB88452883) (Shutdown) iPhone 16 (0CBBA7DB-B20E-4F17-BBC5-910F1F6E1A0A) (Shutdown) iPhone 16 Plus (95421C27-11A0-4FCF-A889-DAAE8557B271) (Shutdown) == Device Pairs == ~/Library`` ❯ xcrun simctl erase 0CBBA7DB-B20E-4F17-BBC5-910F1F6E1A0A An error was encountered processing the command (domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain, code=513): “data” couldn’t be moved because you don’t have permission to access “Deleting-8FEDFF47-5B2F-4534-BCA2-036BBE68CE37”. You don’t have permission. To view or change permissions, select the item in the Finder and choose File > Get Info. Underlying error (domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain, code=1): The operation couldn’t be completed. Operation not permitted Operation not permitted Xcode Version 16.0 (16A242d) MacOS 15.0.1 (24A348)

I have an orphaned asset folder taking up 9.13GB located at: /System/Library/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_iOSSimulatorRuntime/c0d3fd05106683ba0b3680d4d1afec65f098d700.asset It contains SimulatorRuntimeAsset version 18.5 (Build 22F77). Active Version: My current Xcode setup is using version 26.2 (Build 23C54). I checked the plist files in the directory and found what seems to be the cause of the issue: The "Never Collected" Flag: The Info.plist inside the orphaned asset folder explicitly sets the garbage collection behavior to "NeverCollected": <key>__AssetDefaultGarbageCollectionBehavior</key> <string>NeverCollected</string> The Catalog Mismatch: The master catalog file (com_apple_MobileAsset_iOSSimulatorRuntime.xml) in the parent directory only lists the new version (26.2). Because the old version (18.5) is missing from this XML, Xcode and mobileassetd seem to have lost track of it entirely. What I Have Tried (All Failed) Xcode Components: The version 18.5 does not appear in Settings -> Components, so I cannot delete it via the GUI. Simctl: xcrun simctl list runtimes does not list this version. Running xcrun simctl runtime delete 22F77 fails with: "No runtime disk images or bundles found matching '22F77'." Manual Deletion: sudo rm -rf [path] fails with "Operation not permitted", presumably because /System/Library/AssetsV2 is SIP-protected. Third-party Tools: Apps like DevCleaner do not detect this runtime (likely because they only scan ~/Library or /Library, not /System/Library). Has anyone found a way to force the system (perhaps via mobileassetd or a specific xcrun flag) to re-evaluate this folder and respect a deletion request? I am trying to avoid booting into Recovery Mode just to delete a cache file. Any insights on how AssetsV2 handles these "orphaned" files would be appreciated.

Hi everyone, I'm experiencing a persistent issue for months now where I'm unable to download the iOS 26 simulator Runtime. I've tried reinstalling Xcode and also Xcode Beta but same issue. iOS 26 Simulator is also not on developers download page, so manual installation is impossible. And sadly I can't compile any code without having iOS 26 simulator installed. Anyone able to get passed this? Hardware: M1 Pro OS: Tahoe 26.1 Heres the error Download failed. Domain: DVTDownloadableErrorDomain Code: 41 User Info: { DVTErrorCreationDateKey = "2026-01-07 11:35:35 +0000"; } -- Download failed. Domain: DVTDownloadableErrorDomain Code: 41 -- Failed fetching catalog for assetType (com.apple.MobileAsset.iOSSimulatorRuntime), serverParameters ({ RequestedBuild = 23C54; }) Domain: DVTDownloadsUtilitiesErrorDomain Code: -1 -- Download failed due to not being able to connect to the host. (Catalog download for com.apple.MobileAsset.iOSSimulatorRuntime) Domain: com.apple.MobileAssetError.Download Code: 60 User Info: { checkNetwork = 1; } -- System Information macOS Version 26.1 (Build 25B78) Xcode 26.2 (24553) (Build 17C52) Timestamp: 2026-01-07T12:35:35+01:00

I’m working on an iOS workspace with: a static library project: M800SDK a test app project: TestAppObj I was able to build M800SDK for iOS Simulator on Apple Silicon as a simulator static library, and I also verified the architectures in the produced .a file. However, when I link the app target against that simulator build and try to build TestAppObj for iOS Simulator, I get the following linker errors: Undefined symbols for architecture arm64: _OBJC_CLASS_$_TokenMngr clang++: error: linker command failed with exit code 1 Additional context: The library links and works correctly when building the app for a physical iPhone. And the public header TokenMngr.h is found correctly by the app target. The app target is compiled as Objective-C++ where needed. The library is linked in the app target under “Link Binary With Libraries”. Could you help me understand: Is it possible to run on iOS Simulator ? the recommended way to package and consume this library for iOS Simulator on Apple Silicon? Also I am aware i can also build the library for : Any iOS Simulator Device (arm64, x86_64) And specify that on Build Phases in Link : Link Binary With Libraries adding the .a Before i do that i ensure the .a is arm64, x86_64 using the command : lipo -info libM800SDK.a end it returns : Architectures in the fat file: libM800SDK.a are: x86_64 arm64 However, even after confirming those architectures and linking the library to the app target, the app still does not link correctly for iOS Simulator. In some cases, Xcode reports errors suggesting that the build is targeting iOS Simulator, but that one of the linked binaries was built for iPhoneOS instead. This is where I am confused: I understand that lipo -info only shows the CPU architectures present in the library, but not whether a given arm64 slice was built for iPhoneOS or for iOS Simulator

I have three rogue iOS simulators, how to correctly delete them and reclaim the disk space? These img files are costing me 18gb of storage.

When I have a TextField or TextEditor, tapping into it produces these two console entries about 18 times each: CHHapticPattern.mm:487 +[CHHapticPattern patternForKey:error:]: Failed to read pattern library data: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 "The file “hapticpatternlibrary.plist” couldn’t be opened because there is no such file." UserInfo={NSFilePath=/Library/Audio/Tunings/Generic/Haptics/Library/hapticpatternlibrary.plist, NSURL=file:///Library/Audio/Tunings/Generic/Haptics/Library/hapticpatternlibrary.plist, NSUnderlyingError=0x600000ca1b30 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}} <_UIKBFeedbackGenerator: 0x600003505290>: Error creating CHHapticPattern: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 "The file “hapticpatternlibrary.plist” couldn’t be opened because there is no such file." UserInfo={NSFilePath=/Library/Audio/Tunings/Generic/Haptics/Library/hapticpatternlibrary.plist, NSURL=file:///Library/Audio/Tunings/Generic/Haptics/Library/hapticpatternlibrary.plist, NSUnderlyingError=0x600000ca1b30 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}} My app does not use haptics. This doesn't appear to cause any issues, although entering text can feel a bit sluggish (even on device), but I am unable to determine relatedness. None-the-less, it definitely is a lot of log noise. Code to reproduce in simulator (xcode 26.2; ios 26 or 18, with iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro): import SwiftUI struct ContentView: View { @State private var textEntered: String = "" @State private var textEntered2: String = "" @State private var textEntered3: String = "" var body: some View { VStack { Spacer() TextField("Tap Here", text: $textEntered) TextField("Tap Here Too", text: $textEntered2) TextEditor(text: $textEntered3) .overlay(RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 8).strokeBorder(.primary, lineWidth: 1)) .frame(height: 100) Spacer() } } } #Preview { ContentView() } Tapping back and forth in these fields generates the errors each time. Thanks, Steve

Have a peculiar problem I'm not able to solve. Working on an app with a mapview in the max zoomed out globe level. For some reason this morning Xcode froze/crashed when I was working and I had to force quit to get it back up. Then a new issue of graphical artifacts on the space section of the Mapview showed up. This Tuesday has now been spent in full on trying to solve this to no avail. I created a new project for iOS/iPadOS and added a similar map implementation. It works fine. I used Claude to help me after a few reinstalls of Xcode with this. I asked claude to summarize - this is what has been done: Claude generative AI summary starts here---------- Here's a complete summary of everything attempted: The Problem SwiftUI tvOS app with MapKit globe view showing severe rendering artifacts — corrupted pixels surrounding the globe. Started after Xcode crashed while the tvOS simulator was actively running. iOS simulator, macOS Maps app, and all native apps work perfectly. Only tvOS simulator MapKit is affected. Hardware Confirmed Fine Geekbench 6 Metal GPU score: 124,666 (normal for M1 Max) Apple Diagnostics (Apple Silicon method): No issues found macOS Maps globe renders perfectly Everything That Was Attempted Simulator resets: Erased all simulator content and settings Created brand new simulator devices Deleted derived data Killed CoreSimulator service Runtime reinstalls: Removed and reinstalled tvOS platform runtime multiple times Tested on Xcode 26.3 and 26.4 beta — same issue on both Installed fresh tvOS runtime after full Xcode reinstall Cache clearing: ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.CoreSimulator ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.apple.iphonesimulator.savedState All Metal shader caches in /private/var/folders/ including: com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRenderingServices.SimMetalHost com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRenderingServices.SimRenderServer com.apple.CoreSimulator.CoreSimulatorService com.apple.iphonesimulator com.apple.dt.Xcode com.apple.dt.xcodebuild com.apple.CoreSimulator.simctl ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/XcodeToMetalToolchainIndexMapping.plist ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/SDKToSimulatorIndexMapping.plist ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData Full Xcode reinstall: Deleted Xcode completely Removed ~/Library/Developer Removed all Xcode-related caches and preferences Fresh install from Mac App Store APFS simulator volume cleanup (required disabling SIP): Discovered 138GB of orphaned APFS simulator volumes in /Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Volumes/ that were protected by SIP and couldn't be deleted normally These volumes were left in a corrupted/limbo state from the original Xcode crash Temporarily disabled SIP via Recovery Mode Successfully deleted all orphaned volumes Re-enabled SIP Reinstalled fresh tvOS runtime Metal Toolchain: Found three leftover Metal Toolchains (17A324, 17A5241c, 17A5295f) in Xcode settings Cleared toolchain index mapping file Reinstalled fresh Metal Toolchain with new tvOS runtime Current State Fresh Xcode installation Fresh tvOS runtime All simulator volumes cleared SIP re-enabled Issue still persists What Has NOT Been Checked /Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Cryptex /Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Images /Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Profiles Conclusion This is almost certainly a bug triggered by the hard Xcode crash corrupting something at a level that has survived complete reinstallation of Xcode and all simulator components. The corruption is somewhere in a system-level component that normal developer tools cannot reach. Requires Apple Developer Technical Support or escalation via Feedback Assistant with the full timeline and screenshots. For Apple's reference: Machine: MacBook Pro M1 Max Xcode: 26.3 / 26.4 beta (both affected) Started: After hard Xcode crash while tvOS simulator was actively rendering MapKit globe Affected: tvOS simulator MapKit globe only Not affected: iOS simulator, macOS Maps, all native apps ----------(Claude generative AI summary ends here) ----------- Anyone seen this before? Absolutely wild. Can't think of more things to try. Been eyeing a new Macbook for a while. Strange coincidence that the new M5 Macbook Pros dropped today :D But in sum it does not seem like a GPU issue since the same rendering works on the iOS sim. Thanks!

Can I download the iOS 26 simulator runtime via a download link? The machine I need to deploy on may require an offline package installation due to firewall restrictions.

Can I download the iOS 26 simulator runtime via a download link? The machine I need to deploy on may require an offline package installation due to firewall restrictions.

Prior to iOS 26.0 we were able to download specific simulator runtimes from the command line by using a command like xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS -buildVersion 18.0 This is described in the documentation here. This no longer works for 26.x. If I run the following command: "xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS -buildVersion 26.0" it fails with the following error: "Finding content... iOS 26.0 is not available for download." If I omit the -buildVersion flag it will download the latest version, currently 26.2, but if I try and specify 26.2 as the buildVersion I still get "iOS 26.2 is not available for download". This behavior has been confirmed on Xcode 26.2. Perhaps related, it appears these runtimes are also no longer being made available for download on https://developer.apple.com/download/all