Apple released iOS 17.6.1, iPadOS 17.6.1 and macOS Sonoma 14.6.1 on Wednesday. These are patches to fix a problem with Advanced Data Protection, a collection of tools to keep data and communications safe in the cloud.
While there are no new features, the updates are nevertheless important.
iOS 17.6.1, iPadOS 17.6.1 and macOS Sonoma 14.6.1 fix a problem that needed fixing
Apple introduced iMessage Contact Key Verification, Security Keys for Apple ID and Advanced Data Protection for iCloud on 2023. These are intended to help users protect important iCloud data like iCloud Backup, Photos, Notes and more. These went under the umbrella term Advanced Data Protection.
Following release of system software updates for iPhone, iPad and Mac in late July, users found that they couldn’t activate or disable these features. The patches introduced Wednesday remove the problem.
The release notes for iOS 17.6.1 say it all: “This update includes important bug fixes and addresses an issue that prevents enabling or disabling Advanced Data Protection.” The iPadOS 17.6.1 and macOS Sonoma 14.6.1 release notes are similar.
At this point, there are no security patches listed for these OS updates.
Just so there’s no confusion, these are new versions of operating systems Apple first introduced in 2023. They are unrelated to iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia 15, which were unveiled at WWDC in June, are now in beta testing, and won’t be released to the public until this autumn.
How to install these patches
iPhone and iPad users can install the new iOS and iPadOS versions directly by opening the Settings app and going to General > Software Update. Alternatively, you can update your devices by connecting them to a Mac (or to a PC running iTunes).
To download the macOS Sonoma update, go to Apple menu > About This Mac. Then click Software Update. Alternatively, you can install the new version from the App Store. (Note: At the time of this writing, Apple had not yet updated the version of macOS in the App Store. But it should happen soon.)
