iOS 17.5 has only recently touched down, bringing with it detection for unwanted trackers, “repair state” for broken devices, and the News+ spelling game Quartiles. But already Apple has released an emergency follow-up in the form of iOS 17.5.1 to fix two somewhat unsettling bugs.
Returning Photos
It’s a relatively rare bug, but some users have been finding previously deleted images resurfaces in the Photos app. Apple blames this on “database corruption,” with experts suggesting is has to do with how iOS 17.5 handles duplicate images saved to both the Photos and Files apps.
Whatever the cause, the bug had serious privacy implications. Nobody wants photos they thought were long deleted popping back up again. Luckily, Apple’s hot fix does the trick. Be sure to install iOS 17.5.1 ASAP if you’re worried about this happening to you.
Inactive Messages
Some users also experienced problems with iMessage activation, with the Messages app stuck in a “waiting for activation” mode indefinitely. Thankfully that issue has also been fixed.
If you’ve had any trouble with Siri, Music, Safari, or iCloud Drive, be sure to update too. Some minor issues were fixed there as well.
How to get iOS 17.5.1
Note that even with Automatic Updates switched on in Settings, it’s often faster to manually trigger the update process. Go to Settings > General > Software Update to check for the latest version of iOS, and App Store > Account to see which apps are due an update.