Apple’s release notes for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 reveal that AirPort Utility will soon be removed from the App Store. Here are the details.
AirPort Utility app is going away soon
Earlier today, Apple released iOS 27 developer beta 2, alongside its counterparts for the upcoming 27 release cycle of its operating systems.
In the release notes for the new systems, where the company also confirmed that AirPods Max 2 users can now install beta firmware updates, Apple announced that the AirPort Utility app will soon be removed from the App Store.
From the iOS & iPadOS 27 Beta 2 Release Notes:
AirPort Utility
Deprecations
- AirPort Utility will no longer be available for new downloads from the App Store. If you previously downloaded the app, you can still re-download it. When using AirPort Utility on iOS 27 and later, functionality is not guaranteed. (158364073)
And here’s a similar item in the macOS 27 Golden Gate Beta 2 Release Notes:
AirPort Utility
Deprecations
- AirPort Utility is no longer included with new clean installations of macOS. However, if you update macOS when AirPort Utility is already installed, it remains on your system but functionality is not guaranteed starting in macOS 27. (158248382)
Top comment by John Lockwood
I currently use some old Airport routers but have to accept they are obsolete in that they have various security flaws. (Even WPA2 is compromised.)
The AirPort Express did/does have the useful feature of being an AirPlay device but even here many AV Receivers now have this built-in and there are various 3rd party AirPlay devices available.
I have for sometime been considering replacing all my AirPorts and going straight to a WiFi 7 Pro aka. 7e setup - even though Apple have been very slow to role out this in their devices despite now having their own custom WiFi chip. (A number do now support WiFi 7 but not yet 7 Pro.)
The main reason I have been holding off is my dislike of the fact that most 'modern' WiFi devices seem to require management via a cloud service. This I feel exposes you to the risk that the supplier system has an outage or even goes bust, and a greater exposure to external security breaches and snooping. The US government recently shutdown a huge range of cheap Chinese made Internet routers over such a concern.
PS. You could make a free macOS VM to run an older macOS and hence the soon to be removed AirPort Utility.
Apple has not formally announced when the app will be removed and will likely confirm a date closer to its departure from the App Store.
For now, the company is simply warning that the app will be going away soon and may no longer work properly on iOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate or future releases.
Today’s news comes just days after reports highlighted that macOS 27 would drop support for the file-sharing protocols used by Apple’s discontinued Time Capsule, preventing it from serving as a Time Machine backup destination.
A Microsoft engineer has since released a workaround that restores compatibility, even as Apple prepares to phase out the app used to configure the device, and you can learn more about that workaround here.
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