Apple recently released iOS 17.5.1 for iPhone models eligible with iPadOS 17.5.1, and the software update brings a fix for a bug related to the Photos app that caused previously deleted photos to reappear for some users. The latest update also brings other unspecified bug fixes for Apple’s smartphone and tablet operating system. It comes days after Apple released the iOS 17.5 update along with cross-platform tracking detection, an offline mode for Apple News+, and multiple security and bug fixes.
Apple’s brief release notes for iOS 17.5.1 state that the update addresses a “rare issue” that caused photos to reappear in the Photos library after they were deleted. According to the company, these images were affected by a database corruption issue that caused them to be displayed in the Photos app even after they were deleted. The company also says other bug fixes have made their way into the update, but didn’t provide specific details.
The bug, which Reddit users pointed out in a thread more than a week ago (via MacRumours ), affected iPhone models running iOS 17.5, with some users claiming that photos deleted years ago started appearing in their photo library. On iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, all images deleted from the Photos app are moved to the Recently Deleted folder, after which they should be deleted. But the bug apparently prevented some photos from being deleted, and it seems that Apple has finally fixed this problem.
Unlike the iOS 17.5 update that was released earlier this month with new wallpapers and features, the latest version does not include fixes for any significant security vulnerabilities, according to Apple’s official support page. This contrasts with the iOS 17.5 update, which contained fixes for at least 15 security vulnerabilities affecting various parts of the operating system.
Like previous iOS 17 updates, users with iPhone 15 and older models up to iPhone XR should download and install the iOS 17.5.1 update to fix the issue affecting deleted photos on the company’s smartphones.
To install iOS 17.5.1, users can open the Settings app and select In general > Software update > Now install. After entering the code, the device will download the latest version of the operating system and system and ask the user to install the update, but the installation can also be delayed. This will schedule the update to install overnight.
