Everything You Need to Know About Apple’s iOS 17.6.1 [CNET]

Apple released an updated version of its mobile software on Monday.

Apple initially released iOS 17.6.1 on Aug. 7, but on Monday it rereleased the update to its mobile operating system. The rerelease doesn’t bring any new features to your iPhone, but it does address an issue with an iCloud security feature called Advanced Data Protection. 

To download the update, go to Settings > General > Software Update, tap Update Now and follow the onscreen prompts.

Read more: Everything You Need to Know About the iOS 18 Beta

Here’s what you need to know about the update.

What’s new in iOS 17.6.1?

There are no new features in either iOS 17.6.1 update — the original or the rereleased version. Apple wrote in both versions’ release notes that it addresses some bugs and an issue with Advanced Data Protection. Both versions fix an issue that prevented some people from enabling or disabling the feature. 

Advanced Data Protection is the highest level of cloud data security Apple offers. Apple said it protects most of your iCloud data, including your iCloud backups, photos and more, with end-to-end encryption. 

According to IBM, end-to-end encryption is a secure communication process that prevents third parties from accessing whatever data is sent from one person to another. In the context of Apple, that means even if data from your iCloud account falls into nefarious hands, the other party wouldn’t be able to access it.

Is this the last iOS 17 update?

There might be more minor iOS 17 updates, but Apple is set to release iOS 18 in the fall. While we don’t have an exact release date for iOS 18, historically Apple releases major iOS versions in September. I wouldn’t expect any more significant iOS 17 updates, though.

For more on iOS, here’s what was included in iOS 17.6, my hands-on experience with the iOS 18 betas and our iOS 18 cheat sheet.