diff --git a/.github/scripts/folio-run-test.sh b/.github/scripts/folio-run-test.sh
index ef2344b..7986211 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/folio-run-test.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/folio-run-test.sh
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ expect_argv "--seed" argv-ios
 expect_argv "7" argv-ios
 expect_argv "240" argv-ios
 expect_argv "20m" argv-ios
-expect_argv "iPhone 16 Pro" argv-ios
+expect_argv "iPhone 17 Pro" argv-ios
 
 run argv-android android 2 <<TRACE
 $on_txn
diff --git a/.github/scripts/folio-run.sh b/.github/scripts/folio-run.sh
index a746506..7d2ef74 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/folio-run.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/folio-run.sh
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ case "$platform" in
     # away from the `simctl uninstall` + `install` path that races FrontBoard
     # ("app.folio is unknown to FrontBoard"), which needs an app path to reach.
     folio_args+=(--platform ios
-      --ios-device "${IOS_DEVICE:-iPhone 16 Pro}")
+      --ios-device "${IOS_DEVICE:-iPhone 17 Pro}")
     ;;
   web)
     dist="examples/folio/app/webApp/build/dist/wasmJs/developmentExecutable"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index dac1d1f..e22c78a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -236,13 +236,14 @@ jobs:
 
   folio-ios:
     name: Folio (ios)
-    runs-on: macos-15
+    runs-on: macos-26
     timeout-minutes: 90
     env:
       SEED: "7"
       MAX_STEPS: "240"
       DURATION: 20m
-      IOS_DEVICE: iPhone 16 Pro
+      IOS_DEVICE: iPhone 17 Pro
+      IOS_RUNTIME: iOS 26.2
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
 
@@ -265,10 +266,47 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build sanderling
         run: make sanderling-ios
 
+      # simctl resolves a device by name alone, and one image carries the same
+      # phone under several runtimes: iPhone 17 Pro exists here on iOS 26.2,
+      # 26.4 and 26.5. Booting by name is therefore booting on whichever one
+      # simctl happens to list first, and a seed only means something against a
+      # fixed runtime. So the pair is resolved to a UDID here and every step
+      # after this is handed that. An image that stops carrying the pair fails
+      # here naming what it does carry, rather than as a `bootstatus` error to
+      # read backwards from.
       - name: Boot a simulator
         run: |
-          xcrun simctl boot "$IOS_DEVICE" || true
-          xcrun simctl bootstatus "$IOS_DEVICE" -b
+          udid="$(python3 <<'PY'
+          import json, os, subprocess, sys
+
+          want_device = os.environ["IOS_DEVICE"]
+          want_runtime = os.environ["IOS_RUNTIME"]
+          devices = json.loads(subprocess.run(
+              ["xcrun", "simctl", "list", "devices", "available", "--json"],
+              capture_output=True, text=True, check=True).stdout)["devices"]
+
+          def name_of(runtime):
+              family, _, version = runtime.rsplit(".", 1)[-1].partition("-")
+              return "%s %s" % (family, version.replace("-", "."))
+
+          for runtime, entries in devices.items():
+              if name_of(runtime) != want_runtime:
+                  continue
+              for entry in entries:
+                  if entry["name"] == want_device:
+                      print(entry["udid"])
+                      sys.exit(0)
+
+          carried = sorted({"%s on %s" % (e["name"], name_of(r))
+                            for r, es in devices.items() for e in es})
+          sys.exit("no %r on %r in this image. it carries:\n  %s"
+                   % (want_device, want_runtime, "\n  ".join(carried) or "no simulators at all"))
+          PY
+          )"
+          echo "booting $IOS_DEVICE on $IOS_RUNTIME ($udid)"
+          xcrun simctl boot "$udid"
+          xcrun simctl bootstatus "$udid" -b
+          echo "IOS_DEVICE=$udid" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
       - name: Build and install folio
         working-directory: examples/folio
diff --git a/docs/development/ci.md b/docs/development/ci.md
index e723a4e..2ac40e4 100644
--- a/docs/development/ci.md
+++ b/docs/development/ci.md
@@ -170,6 +170,14 @@ reinstall-and-launch cycles on iOS 26.1, 10 of them reinstalling on top of a
 live app, so any fix for it has to be developed on a host that can still show it
 failing.
 
+The leg names a device and a runtime, `iPhone 17 Pro` on `iOS 26.2`, and boots
+by the UDID that pair resolves to. Both halves matter: one runner image carries
+the same phone under several runtimes, so booting by name alone is booting on
+whichever one `simctl` lists first, and a seed that is only calibrated against a
+runtime it did not run on says nothing. A runner image that stops carrying the
+pair fails the boot step naming what it does carry, which is the cue to pick a
+new pair and recalibrate rather than a `bootstatus` error to read backwards.
+
 Only one sanderling run may drive a given simulator at a time. The driver takes
 an advisory lock on the target's UDID and a second run is refused with the lock
 path in the message, because two runs interleaving app lifecycle leave the first