Apple’s iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems have been confirmed to sync login details for captive Wi-Fi networks seen in hotels, gyms and some public spaces.
Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach says it works as you’d expect. All you need to do is log in once to a captive Wi-Fi network on an iPhone and the operating system will sync those details across your other iPhones, iPad and Macs.
He shared a screenshot showing an iPhone providing an autofill suggestion above the onscreen keyboard to connect to a captive Wi-Fi network for a Hilton hotel he was staying at and previously logged on using his iPhone. Weinbach didn’t mention it, but the feature will likely come to macOS Tahoe 26, too.
iOS 26 syncs login details for captive Wi-Fi networks
On iOS 18 and earlier, login details for captive Wi-Fi networks don’t sync. As a result, you must fill out a login form to access the internet separately on each device.
Oh cool iOS and iPadOS 26 synced the WiFi details from my iPad to my iPhone to connect to the WiFi pic.twitter.com/eGxkPRlTMa
— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) June 30, 2025
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said ahead of the WWDC25 that iOS 26 (iOS 19) would sync captive Wi-Fi details across Apple devices. The feature would let you enter login information via a captive Wi-Fi portal on an iPhone and have it sync to other devices using the same Apple account. This will make things a bit more convenient to access captive Wi-Fi networks usually seen in gyms, hotels, coffee shops, airports, and certain public places.
Also referred to as “subscription networks” or “Wi-Fi hotspot networks”, captive networks require signing in using a captive portal, basically a web form that automatically pops up when you try to connect to a captive Wi-Fi network. Apple’s support page has more on using captive Wi-Fi networks on the iPhone or iPad.
Where’s AirPods live translation?
Gurman recently said that Apple could add this feature to iOS 26 at any point during the beta phase, or release them via iOS 26.1 in October or iOS 26.2 in December. Another missing feature that Apple hasn’t mentioned at all but is reportedly also coming, according to Gurman, is live translation for the AirPods.
The feature will use the phone to capture the speech and play real-time translation in the Siri voice through the AirPods. Conversely, the iPhone would play a translated response through the loudspeaker for the other person to hear.