Change tint of back button in UINavigationItem on iOS 26

Question

Created 2w

Replies 6

Boosts 1

Participants 2

I am struggling to change the tint of the back button in an UINavigationItem. In iOS 18.6 it looks like this Screenshot 2026-01-12 at 09.38.21.png while on iOS 26 the same looks like this

Screenshot 2026-01-12 at 09.36.17.png I can live without the Dictionary but I'd like to get the blue color back.

In viewDidLoad() I have tried navigationItem.backBarButtonItem?.tintColor = .link but this did not work since navigationItem.backBarButtonItem is nil. My second attempt was navigationController?.navigationBar.tintColor = .link but this didn't work either.

I have even set the Global Tint to Link Color Screenshot 2026-01-12 at 10.02.59.png but this had no effect either.

Does anyone have an idea how to change the tint of the back button in an UINavigationItem on iOS 26?

Boost

Answer 1

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

5d

Hello psco,

Have you considered setting the color via UINavigationBarAppearance? For reference, you might want to check out this Tech Note- TN3106: Customizing the appearance of UINavigationBar, specifically Configure the UINavigationBarAppearance.

Thank you for your patience,

Richard Yeh  Developer Technical Support

0

Answer 2

psco OP

5d

I have tried to use the approach described in TN3106 but I was not able to change the appearance of the back button. I got the impression that UINavigationBarAppearance is primarily useful for changing text attributes but I could not see how to set the color of the back button chevron image.

0

Answer 3

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

4d

Hello psco,

Have you tried modifying your navigation bar's backButtonAppearance? You might find this guide helpful: Customizing your app’s navigation bar.

If you're still experiencing issues, please share a code snippet of your view controller, at least the section where you are styling the navigation bar.

Thank you for your patience,

Richard Yeh  Developer Technical Support

0

Answer 4

psco OP

4d

Actually I have no code so far to style the navigation bar. I am looking for code to put into viewDidLoad() to style the back button so that it has the same blue color as the other buttons. In my original post I have listed some unsuccessful attempts.

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Answer 5

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

4d

Hello psco,

For further investigation of this issue, could you please file a bug report? Feel free to copy over the same information you've provided from this thread to it. Please see this guide for more information: Bug Reporting: How and Why?

With a bug report in Feedback Assistant, you'll be able to track the status of the issue directly. You can also add attachments such as sample code and documentation of the issue (screenshots, videos, etc.). I'll make sure it gets to the relevant engineering team.

Please don't forget to include the iOS version and device information in the report. Once you open the bug report, please post the FB number here for my reference.

Thank you for your patience,

Richard Yeh  Developer Technical Support

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Answer 6

psco OP

3d

I would do so if I would see any chance that anybody would look at it or even fix it. Since my experience is that bug reports are basically ignored I am not in a position to spend any more time on this. Actually a similar case has been reported in NavigationStack back button ignores tint when presented in sheet.

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