Apple Intelligence setup error due to no internet connection on iPhone

Found it out! Go onto iCloud.com on some other device and accept the terms and conditions there. This must be the most garbage release that Apple has put out in years. You have no option to accept the new Terms & Conditions during the setup process so your device will be stuck in an endless "confirm update loop". You can remove the error message you're seeing by confirming on some other device.

Hope it helps!

How to fix Get Apple Intelligence Error. … - Apple Community

Okay, the solution for me was to simply restore my Iphone from scratch. To do this (on windows machine) you need to install the Apple Devices on the Microsoft store, then turn off your phone and have a connection cable ready that can connect your phone to the PC. Once your phone is off, you want to hold the power button and then connect the cable, keep holding until you see a computer and cable icon. Once there I was prompted to reinstall the software and erase the Iphone. After that I did the setup process and my phone worked!

It literally is connected to Wi-Fi that has internet access. I also tried with a personal hotspot directly, and it still didn't work.

This is an actual problem and not user error. The solution is to visit icloud.com and accept the terms of service from there via a different device.

The only thing that helped me, is going to the Apple store, where they did a hard reset and reinstalled the iOS... After that I skipped the Apple Intelligence set up at the iPhone initial set up, and it went through

Turns out that's not the issue with the error; you have to log in to another device to accept the terms and conditions. :p

Well, what else did you expect?

Stop trying to activate AppInt while you are not connected to the internet. Or else connect to the internet.

Yesterday, after a late-night update (Poland), I encountered the exact same problem. After an hour-long conversation with a senior Apple advisor, we got nowhere. We've tried everything. At the end he instructed me to force another update via PC. Unfortunately, it didn't work so I'll have to contact them again on Monday, as he told me to do so.

edit: after another 90 minutes of restarting and trying to set up the phone, it finally worked! About 15 minutes ago I accepted the terms and conditions on the iCloud page (I didn’t check if it was about Apple Intelligence), but the phone finally unlocked!!!

I just signed in to iCloud.com and then there was a big pop-up asking me to accept terms and conditions. I am afraid I don't have any good advice other than what worked for me. You should call Apple or ask for help in one of their stores. Hopefully they can help you resolve the problem!

Seems pretty self explanatory. You're not connected to the internet.

I have the same issue after updating to iOS 26. Stuck in the "confirm update loop" after updating and my phone is entirely bricked because of that. I am connected to the internet but it does not seem to work either way.

Just got myself an IPhone Air, the device is completely bricked for the time being, tried everything, accepting the terms and conditions on my IPad Pro, turning my device on and off again, doing the same with the router, trying to use another persons hotspot instead of WiFi. All to no avail, hard-stuck in the Internet connection loop.

Thank you for posting this!! Found it just in time before Apple support suggested wiping the iPhone and starting over (or that it had already been erased). All for a minor update from 26.0 -> 26.0.1. Poor form from Apple here.

How do I do that on iClound? I signed in, but don't see any terms of service pop up. In the settings I don't have any notifications either.

Post here if you find a solution. Hopefully it can help others as Apple does not seem to release an offical way of resolving the problem.