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Apple Releases iOS 17.5.1 With Fix for Reappearing Photos Bug

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Apple today released iOS 17.5.1 and iPadOS 17.5.1, minor updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 operating system updates that came out last September. The 17.5.1 updates come a week after the launch of iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5.

iOS 17
iOS 17.5.1 and iPadOS 17.5.1 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.

According to Apple's release notes, the updates include a fix for an issue that could cause images to reappear in the Photos library even after being deleted.

This update provides important bug fixes and addresses a rare issue where photos that experienced database corruption could reappear in the Photos library even if they were deleted.

There have been several complaints from iPhone and iPad users who saw their old, deleted photos resurfacing after installing the iOS 17.5 update. Images deleted as far back as 2010 were surfacing again, leading to confusion and worry over what was going on. Apple's information today indicates that it was a database corruption issue, and iOS 17.5.1 should solve the problem.

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Top Rated Comments

sniffies Avatar
sniffies
28 months ago
"Now 'deleted' photos won't reappear, but we still have all your deleted photos stored somewhere. Just in case."

Well, good to know that they have addressed the privacy breach of catastrophic proportions in a routine oopsie-woopsie bug fix release.

And thanks to this bug fix, Apple won’t get busted again. Phew!



But folks, don't be distracted by this "bug fix" and every media outlet trumpeting "They fixed the bug! They fixed the bug! Yay Apple!"

The question still remains:

WHY WERE DELETED PHOTOS NEVER DELETED IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Score: 143 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MysteriousStain Avatar
MysteriousStain
28 months ago
Ever wondered what was in the “other” in your iPhone storage? Now you know
Score: 98 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I
iLoveDeveloping
28 months ago
So they just going to ignore the photos returning as a bug? It’s just an oops?! That’s not good enough. So are photos deleted or not? We want details not a note on an update screen.
Score: 96 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stiligFox Avatar
stiligFox
28 months ago
Okay but that still says nothing about *why* they were able to resurface to begin with, after being deleted many iOS updates ago…
Score: 79 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
zorinlynx
28 months ago
I suspect since they mention database corruption that these photos were on your device but not referenced in the database.

Apple added code to recover these photos (including possibly non-deleted ones that you've lost) and didn't check if they'd been deleted.

They played it safe, better to recover something thought deleted than to not recover something that was lost. I agree with this thinking.

At least that's my speculation. Orphaned data recovery that was too ambitious.

For the record I didn't get any resurfaced photos myself.
Score: 61 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tomowl Avatar
tomowl
28 months ago
Unreal. Wtf is going on at Apple, they’ve been dropping the ball lately. This is a nightmare of a bug.

Edit: also, what happens to the photos that have reappeared? Do they disappear again? We need way more info than a footnote.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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