Apple’s wireless network, a crucial part of iOS, disappeared from the App Store in iOS 9’s beta.
The network was one of several features that were added in iOS 8 beta 2, but it has been absent since.
In a blog post, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Tony Fadell, said that while there is a chance that Apple’s beta 2 beta 1 app could still be available for download on Apple’s website, the iOS 9.3 beta 3 update was “the first time the network was absent from the store.”
“We’re not sure why it has disappeared, but in our experience, when we release software, you should expect that it will be available,” he wrote.
“And that is what we have been doing in iOS.”
Fadell also confirmed that iOS 9, while missing network hookups, does include a new “iOS 9.2 network” feature that allows users to connect to networks without the need to install third-party apps.
The removal of wireless network from iOS 9 Beta 2 may be related to iOS 9 security concerns that arose in the wake of the June 10 attack on the Sony Playstation Network, which took down hundreds of thousands of users’ iPhones.
Apple responded by introducing an iOS 8.1-style network security sandbox, in which only iOS apps can access network connections, limiting developers to third-parties.