Apple

5 Things to Know About the iOS 17.6.1 Update

Published

4 weeks ago

08/19/2024

Apple’s pushed a new iOS 17.6.1 update to iPhone users and the software addresses an issue discovered within the operating system.

iOS 17.6.1 is a small point upgrade and it replaces iOS 17.6 as the most up-to-date version of iOS 17 for iPhone.

Apple’s latest upgrade doesn’t have new features on board, but it’s still an important piece of software and most iPhone owners should think about moving to it in the near future.

With all of that in mind, we want to take you through iOS 17.6.1’s changes, provide iPhone users with some thoughts about the software’s performance, highlight iOS 17.6.1’s problems, and more.

We’ll start with a quick look at iOS 17.6.1’s performance.

iOS 17.6.1 Review

If your iPhone is currently running on iOS 17.6, you’ll encounter the smallest download size.

For the iPhone 12 Pro users, iOS 17.6.1 requires a 411 MB download and it should be in and around the same size for other iPhone models.

The update took around eight minutes to install on our iPhone 12 Pro. If your iPhone is running older iOS software, the installation could take longer.

For more about the iOS 17.6.1 download and installation, take a look at our walkthrough.

We’ve been using the iOS 17.6.1 update on the iPhone 12 Pro for several days now and we haven’t run into any major bugs or performance issues thus far.

That could certainly change as we put more mileage on the software and we’ll let you know if it does.

iOS 17.6.1 Battery Life & Connectivity

Battery life is currently stable
Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable
Bluetooth’s working normally
GPS and cellular data are also working properly

App Performance

Third-party apps including Netflix, Twitter, Slack, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are all working fine
First party apps like Safari, Podcasts, and Calendar are also running well

Speed

iOS 17.6.1 feels fast, we haven’t noticed abnormal lag or lockups

If you’ve encountered bugs and/or performance issues on iOS 17.6, or an older version of iOS, you may want to install iOS 17.6.1 on your iPhone today.

If you need help making a decision about the upgrade, check out our reasons to, and not to, install iOS 17.6.1 right now.

Quick note: Apple re-released iOS 17.6.1 on August 19th with a new build number. The new version of the firmware has build number of 21G101 which is up from 21G93. It’s unclear what the differences are.

iOS 17.6.1 Problems

We’ve had a good experience on iOS 17.6.1, but some iPhone owners have run into bugs, glitches, and performance issues.

If you do run into an issue with Apple’s latest firmware, have a look at our list of fixes for the most common iOS 17 problems.

We’ve also released tips that could help you improve your phone’s performance and some tips that could help fix abnormal battery drain.

Apple stopped signing on iOS 17.6 which means you can no longer drop your iPhone’s software back to iOS 17.6 if iOS 17.6.1 starts causing problems. You can’t downgrade to iOS 17.5.1 or any older versions of iOS either.

For more about the downgrade process, check out our guide.

iOS 17.6.1 Features

iOS 17.6.1 fixes an issue with Advanced Data Protection.

The company says the update includes important bug fixes and addresses an issue that prevents enabling or disabling Advanced Data Protection.

iOS 17.6.1 doesn’t have any new security patches on board.

iOS 17.6.1 Jailbreak

If you still jailbreak your iPhone, avoid the iOS 17.6.1 update.

We don’t expect developers to release a public jailbreak tool that’s compatible with iOS 17.6.1 today or at any point in the near future.

If you still jailbreak your iPhone(s), keep an eye out for new information in the weeks ahead.

What’s Next

iOS 17.6.1 was the last known iOS 17 update in Apple’s pipeline and it’s unclear if the company will push a new version to iPhone users before the release of iOS 18 in September.

We may see Apple push a new version of iOS 17 should issues arise, but there’s no guarantee. Keep an eye out as we push through August.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 17.6.1 & 11 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 17.6.1 for Better Security

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If security is important to you, and you missed older software, think about installing Apple's iOS 17.6.1 update right away.

iOS 17.6.1 doesn't bring any new security upgrades with it, but if you skipped an older version of iOS 17, you'll get the patches from the updates you skipped with your upgrade.

iOS 17.6 featured 30 security patches and they will help keep your device and its data protected from harm.

iOS 17.5 delivered 15 security patches, the iOS 17.4.1 update included two security patches, and iOS 17.4 had four security patches on board.

The update also delivered quantum security protection for iMessage. The company says the upgrade gives iMessage "the strongest security properties of any at-scale messaging protocol in the world."

The iOS 17.3 update brought 15 new security patches to iPhone. The software also added Stolen Device Protection to iPhone.

It increases the security of your iPhone and Apple ID by requiring Face ID or Touch ID to gain access to passwords, make purchases in Safari, and more. This is useful if someone gets access to your iPhone and its passcode.

iOS 17.2 delivered 10 new security patches to iPhone. If you wish to find out more, you can head on over to Apple's security site for the details.

iOS 17.2 also included iMessage Contact Key Verification which improves the security of iMessage. The company also fixed an exploit that let the Flipper Zero multi-tool lock up iPhones.

iOS 17.1.2 had two security patches on board. Both were related to WebKit. If you want to learn more, you can do so right here.

iOS 17.1 brought 18 security fixes to iPhone. It addressed issues within Weather, Status Bar, WebKit, and more.

iOS 17.0.3 brought two patches for two security issues Apple identified within the software. If you want to read about the patches, head here.

iOS 17.0.1 delivered three important patches to iPhone. If you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website.

As for iOS 17 itself, it brought 40+ new security patches with it. A staggering number to say the least. If you want to learn more about them, head over to Apple.

In addition to those patches, iOS 17 brings some additional enhancements to privacy and security including improvements to Communication Safety beyond Messages.

It now includes content sent by AirDrop, Contact Posters in the Phone app, FaceTime, and the systemwide photo picker. You now have an option to blur out sensitive photos and videos before you choose to view them.

There's also an expanded Lockdown Mode which will help protect you against cyber attacks.

Apple's also improved sharing permissions and you now have more control over what you share with the apps on your device.

The company also notes that starting in iOS 17, Voice Memos encrypts the titles of recordings stored in iCloud, in addition to the recordings themselves.

If you skipped older versions of iOS, you'll get the security patches from those updates with your iOS 17.6.1 update as well.