Hot Restart for iOS is not included in Visual Studio 2026: What .NET MAUI Developers Need to Know
Source: Dev.to
If you’re a .NET MAUI developer who’s been enjoying the convenience of Hot Restart for iOS development on Windows, I have some bad news: this beloved feature didn’t make it into Visual Studio 2026. For many developers, Hot Restart was one of the standout features that made mobile development accessible without the hassle of maintaining Mac hardware. Its removal has left the community frustrated and searching for alternatives.
What Was Hot Restart?
Hot Restart was a game‑changing feature that allowed developers to deploy and test .NET MAUI (and previously Xamarin) iOS apps directly to a physical iOS device from a Windows machine – no Mac required. Instead of going through the full build cycle that typically requires a Mac build host, Hot Restart streamlined the deployment process by pushing only code changes and resources to an existing app bundle already installed on your connected iPhone or iPad.
Why It Was Huge for Windows‑Based Developers
- Test on real iOS hardware without owning a Mac
- Avoid the complexity of setting up and maintaining a Mac build environment
- Quickly iterate on UI and business logic
- Test hardware features (camera, Bluetooth, Wi‑Fi, etc.) on actual devices
The traditional iOS workflow forces you to pair Visual Studio with a Mac, keep Xcode and all build tools up‑to‑date, and maintain network connectivity between the two machines. Hot Restart eliminated all of that friction for day‑to‑day development tasks.
A Familiar Analogy: Expo Go
If you’ve used React Native, you’ll recognize the similarity to Expo Go. Expo Go lets React Native developers test their apps on iOS and Android devices without owning a Mac or running a full native build. You simply scan a QR code, and the app loads on your device through the Expo Go client.
Both solutions share a critical limitation: they only work with certain types of apps. Expo Go can’t handle third‑party libraries that require custom native code—once you need a native module that isn’t bundled with Expo, you must switch to a development build, which requires the full native toolchain (including a Mac for iOS).
The Core Limitation: XCFramework Compatibility
Hot Restart had a similar constraint. According to the official documentation, it didn’t support static iOS libraries, certain frameworks, or XCFrameworks containing static libraries. This limitation is what ultimately led to its demise.
- XCFrameworks are now the standard for packaging native iOS dependencies in .NET MAUI.
- Building with XCFrameworks requires macOS‑specific build tools that simply aren’t available on Windows.
A GitHub discussion about the removal highlighted the technical reasons:
“Building with XCFramework has never been supported in Hot Restart due to the fact that some build tools are only available on macOS.”
Because of this architectural incompatibility, Hot Restart couldn’t evolve alongside the platform.
Operational Angle: Maintenance Cost vs. User Base
Gerald Versluis, a Microsoft engineer, commented on a LinkedIn post about the feature’s removal:
“I’m glad the experience was great for you! Unfortunately I don’t think that many people were using it and the maintenance effort on it was pretty high. So that’s not a great combination.”
In other words, Hot Restart was expensive to maintain for what Microsoft perceived as a relatively small user base. The team had to choose between continuing to support a feature with significant technical debt or focusing resources elsewhere.
Could It Have Been Fixed?
Theoretically, yes—Microsoft could have pre‑built and packaged XCFrameworks with each .NET MAUI release. However, developers in the GitHub thread noted that this would create a substantial maintenance burden and potentially introduce versioning and compatibility headaches.
What to Do If You’re Currently Using Hot Restart
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Stay on Visual Studio 2022 | Hot Restart is fully supported in VS 2022 (v17.3+). If the feature is critical, you can avoid upgrading to VS 2026 for now. Many developers are doing exactly this. |
| Invest in Mac hardware | The traditional “Pair to Mac” workflow is now the standard for iOS development in VS 2025+. You’ll need a Mac on your network (or a cloud‑based Mac service) to build and deploy iOS apps. |
| Consider cloud‑Mac solutions | Services like MacStadium or MacinCloud provide cloud‑hosted Mac build agents that integrate with Visual Studio. |
| Switch to alternative tooling | Some developers are exploring cross‑platform IDEs like Visual Studio Code with the .NET MAUI extension. You’ll still need Mac build tools for iOS targets, but the workflow can be more lightweight. |
| Use a Mac with Rider | Rider is a cross‑platform IDE that supports .NET MAUI development and runs on macOS. It allows you to develop on a Mac and deploy to iOS devices using Hot Restart (still requires a Mac). This is what I do: • When I need to test macOS/iOS → use a Mac with Rider. • When I want to test Windows → use Windows with VS 2022/2026. |
Bottom Line
If you want to continue developing .NET MAUI apps for iOS, having access to macOS is no longer optional—it’s a requirement.
The brief window where Windows‑only developers could build for iOS without Apple hardware has closed. The removal of Hot Restart is disappointing, especially for developers in resource‑constrained environments or teams without dedicated Mac hardware. While the situation is unfortunate, the alternatives above can help you keep moving forward.
Hot Restart for .NET MAUI iOS Development
Microsoft’s reasoning makes sense from a technical and resource perspective, but it does raise the barrier to entry for .NET MAUI development. When I worked at EY this was pretty amazing for developers because we didn’t need to have two laptops to do development—one for Windows and one for Mac.
If Hot Restart was a critical part of your workflow, I’d encourage you to make your voice heard in the upcoming .NET MAUI community surveys. Microsoft has indicated they’re open to feedback, and if enough developers demonstrate the value of this feature, there’s a chance—however slim—that a solution could be reconsidered.
For now, though, if you’re serious about .NET MAUI development for iOS, it’s time to add a Mac to your development toolkit.