iPhone 12 Upgrades Interfering With COVID-19 Contact-Tracing App Notifications, How to Fix

Some iPhone 12 and ‌iPhone 12‌ Pro users in the UK have reported that their new devices are recieving an error message in the "NHS COVID-19" contact-tracing app, rendering it unusable (via BBC News).

'Unfortunately, You Can't Run This App'

115056693 error

Similar errors and issues have been reported in other regions contact tracing apps that also use Apple's Exposure Notification API. The error appears to occur when apps are transferred from an older iPhone using an iCloud Backup data transfer. To rectify the issue, UK users are being encouraged to do the following:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Select Notifications.
  3. Tap on Exposure Notifications.
  4. Turn on the Allow Notifications option.

Users in other countries may simply have to re-launch their contact tracing app to re-enable the permission, or follow the same procedure above.

The issue seems to be caused by iOS not asking users to enable the Allow Notifications permission when transferring to a new device, and it is not clear that this needs to be done. Consequently, the contact-tracing app cannot enable the Bluetooth-based technology it requires to function correctly.

While simply deleting and reinstalling the app seems to resolve the issue, this is not recommended. A fresh install prompts the exposure notification to appear again, however, this method wipes all information previously gathered by the app, including all venues that users had checked in to, so it is not advisable unless the initial fix does not work.

To verify your history of exposure notification locations, go to Settings -> Exposure Notifications -> Exposure Logging Status -> Exposure Checks.

Matters have been confused further by the fact that the ‌iPhone 12‌ and ‌iPhone 12‌ Pro have not yet been included in the NHS's list of compatible devices.

The ‌iPhone 12‌ and ‌iPhone 12‌ Pro should in fact be capable of running England and Wales' contact-tracing software, which uses the Apple and Google Exposure Notification API. Around 18 million Brits have installed the NHS COVID-19 app so far.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Related Roundup: iPhone 12
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

Akrapovic Avatar
31 months ago
Glad to see that v2 of the NHS England & Wales app is going well.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hagar Avatar
31 months ago
I am happily running the Belgian app on my iPhone 11 pro, but it does take a considerable hit on battery life.
Whatever it takes to get rid of this virus while protecting myself and each other.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
User 6502 Avatar
31 months ago
On newer iPhones seem to have a much smaller impact, maybe newer Bluetooth chips are more energy efficient. For example in my case it’s 2%, so quite negligible.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeanL Avatar
31 months ago
The issue is not due to the apps.
It’s due to the fact that Exposure Notifications settings in iOS need to be re-enabled manually when restoring the data of a previous iPhone to a new one.
Huge oversight from Apple, especially because users are not notified.
I found out randomly on Friday that the exposure notifications were turned off while playing with the settings.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GadgetBen Avatar
31 months ago
This is sheer stupidity from a developer point of view. You couldn't have a more poorly designed and badly descriptive error message for this type of situation.

Error messages are so easy to program. It's text which takes minutes to code. This is such a cheap default message that probably deals with multiple errors.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeanL Avatar
31 months ago

What do you expect from government run software development? Lol people are hilarious to even trust this stuff
The problem is Apple, though. The settings are not backed up properly. Exposure Notification apps are supposed to be "set and forgotten". When I restore my phone backup, I don't have to reopen all 150 apps to re-accept permissions that were already granted on my previous phone.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
airpodsd 3 purple 4

iOS 16.4 Seemingly References New AirPods and AirPods Case

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:43 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968. There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds Release Candidate Versions of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 to Developers [Update: Public RC Available]

Tuesday March 21, 2023 10:25 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the launch of the fourth betas. The RCs mark the final version of the software that will be provided to the public in the near future. Registered developers are able to download the iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates...
google bard

Google Opens Up Access to Bard AI Chatbot

Tuesday March 21, 2023 4:23 pm PDT by
Google today began allowing users to sign up to use Bard, its AI-powered chatbot that rivals Microsoft's Bing chatbot. First announced back in February, Bard is an experimental conversational AI service for Google Search. Those interested in Bard can join Google's waitlist to get access, and some users have reported getting invitation emails just hours after signing up. There are a long list ...
smart monitor m8 samsung

Deals: Samsung's iMac-Like Smart Monitor M8 Drops to Lowest Price of Year So Far With $250 Discount

Monday March 20, 2023 8:27 am PDT by
Samsung today kicked off a special "Discover Samsung" event, which will be a week-long savings event focusing on Samsung monitors, smartphones, TVs, appliances, and more. While some deals will stick around the entire week (through March 26), others will refresh every day. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...