Xcode 26.1.1 suddenly became unavailable on Xcode Cloud without any prior notice
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Around 10:00 on 2026/04/16, when checking Xcode Cloud workflows, I found that Xcode 26.1.1 was no longer available for selection. There was no prior announcement, and the Xcode Cloud release notes hadn't been updated since 2026/02/10, leaving us without any official explanation.
This article documents the timeline of how Xcode 26.1.1 became unavailable in Xcode Cloud without any warning.
In the configured workflow, an error was displayed indicating that Xcode 26.1.1 (17B100) was unavailable.
When checking the Xcode Version options, I found that Xcode 26.1.1 had disappeared from the list.
By around 9:00 the next day (2026/04/17), I noticed that Xcode 26.4.1 had been added to Xcode Cloud. This also wasn't mentioned in the release notes.
Deprecation Patterns from Past Release Notes
Xcode Cloud release notes contain several records of past deprecations.
| Date | Content |
|---|---|
| 2025/09/15 | Xcode 26.0 (17A324) released |
| 2025/09/30 | Xcode 26.0 (17A324), beta 6, RC, and all Xcode 15.x / 16.x versions removed at once |
| 2025/11/11 | Xcode 26.1.1 released and added to Xcode Cloud |
| 2025/12/19 | Xcode 26.2 (17C52) added to Xcode Cloud |
| 2026/02/10 | IP egress range update (no release note updates since then) |
| 2026/04/16 | Xcode 26.1.1 became unavailable (no official announcement) |
| 2026/04/17 | Confirmed that Xcode 26.4.1 had been added to Xcode Cloud |
Xcode 26.0 (17A324) was removed from Xcode Cloud just 2 weeks after its GA release, showing that some versions have extremely short lifespans. While Xcode 26.1.1 was available for about 5 months, how long any version remains available depends entirely on Apple, with no guarantee of a grace period.
Additionally, including this recent removal, deprecations can happen without being documented in the Xcode Cloud release notes. Users typically only notice when builds fail or when options disappear, forcing them to adapt reactively to these changes.
Xcode 26.4.1 Bug Fixes
Since Xcode 26.4 itself had bugs, migrating to Xcode 26.4.1 is recommended.
MetricKit Crash (FB22384135)
A fix for apps built with Xcode 26.4 that would crash when run on iOS/macOS/visionOS below version 26.4 due to missing symbols. Since iOS 26.4 adoption rates are currently low, this was affecting the majority of users.
Apps already built with Xcode 26.4 need to be rebuilt with Xcode 26.4.1 and redistributed.
Swift Compiler Async Function Crash
A bug causing "freed pointer was not the last allocation" crashes around swift_asyncLet_finish has been fixed. This issue became more common due to Swift 6.2 and 6.3 optimizer improvements and might have been the cause of mysterious crashes in apps heavily using async/await.
Other Minor Bug Fixes
iOS simulators feature a Pasteboard (clipboard) synchronization with the development machine, allowing text copied on the dev machine to be pasted directly into apps in the simulator. In Xcode 26.4, this synchronization wasn't working, preventing pasting in the simulator. Though not mentioned in the release notes, this has been fixed in Xcode 26.4.1. The fix was already present in Xcode 26.5 Beta 2, suggesting parallel development.
Conclusion
As users of Xcode 26.1.1, we decided to switch to Xcode 26.4.1 based on the following:
| Situation | Response |
|---|---|
| Old version no longer available in Xcode Cloud | Switch to Xcode 26.4.1 |
| Already distributed apps built with Xcode 26.4 | Rebuild and redistribute with Xcode 26.4.1 |
While Xcode 26.2 was still an option, there's a possibility that Xcode Cloud will only maintain about 3 versions going forward. With Xcode 26.5 Beta 2 already released, upgrading to Xcode 26.2 might soon be made obsolete. Therefore, migrating to Xcode 26.4.1, the current stable and latest version, seems safest.
Old versions can disappear from Xcode Cloud without warning when new versions are added. The reasons aren't officially announced, but I hope this information helps others who encounter similar situations.