After installing the latest IOS upgrade a couple of days ago the search function on Photos no longer works as before (on Ipad or IPhone) Used to be able to search by date or date range to find photos taken on those dates and now it’s not working that way. It was working fine the morning before I did the IOS upgrade 17 and afterwards it no longer worked that way.
[Re-Titled By Moderator]
iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 17
I fixed it! Again, currently, I don't use icloud, everything came from an Itunes backup that had over 80k photos total. How I fixed it.
I reset location services as some write-ups have said it may not be working properly. The Photos app and Camera are using your phone’s location via GPS to tag photos or photos. To reset Location Services. On your device, go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset Location & Privacy. This will reset your location settings to the factory default.
After that I did a hard reset and I could see the photos start updating in the search crazy fast.
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One other small annoyance, I came from an Iphone XS with super old firmware, and now on a 15 pro with 17.4.
In text messages, say someone texted you today, and you went in and deleted the individual text from them, (this would move the conversation back down your list to say yesterday or the last time they texted you, and that message wouldn't show up at the top of your screen still) Now with ios 17.4, if you delete say all the texts someone sent you today, their message thread still says up at the same spot from the original time stamp that was sent to you. It doesn't know to put that message down in your list further after you delete the single messages. I don't know when that changed? or if it's a bug in the new ios.
Or say you send a new text today to someone that that haven't texted in a few days ago... If you delete your own message that you just sent them after you send it, it still has their message thread at the TOP of your phone, it doesn't push it back to a few days later where it should be.
I fixed it! Again, currently, I don't use icloud, everything came from an Itunes backup that had over 80k photos total. How I fixed it.
I reset location services as some write-ups have said it may not be working properly. The Photos app and Camera are using your phone’s location via GPS to tag photos or photos. To reset Location Services. On your device, go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset Location & Privacy. This will reset your location settings to the factory default.
After that I did a hard reset and I could see the photos start updating in the search crazy fast.
_________________________
One other small annoyance, I came from an Iphone XS with super old firmware, and now on a 15 pro with 17.4.
In text messages, say someone texted you today, and you went in and deleted the individual text from them, (this would move the conversation back down your list to say yesterday or the last time they texted you, and that message wouldn't show up at the top of your screen still) Now with ios 17.4, if you delete say all the texts someone sent you today, their message thread still says up at the same spot from the original time stamp that was sent to you. It doesn't know to put that message down in your list further after you delete the single messages. I don't know when that changed? or if it's a bug in the new ios.
Or say you send a new text today to someone that that haven't texted in a few days ago... If you delete your own message that you just sent them after you send it, it still has their message thread at the TOP of your phone, it doesn't push it back to a few days later where it should be.
I fixed it this issue finally! Again, currently, I don't use icloud, everything came from an Itunes backup that had over 80k photos total. How I fixed it.
I reset location services as some write-ups have said it may not be working properly. The Photos app and Camera are using your phone’s location via GPS to tag photos or photos. To reset Location Services. On your device, go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset Location & Privacy. This will reset your location settings to the factory default.
After that I did a hard reset and I could see the photos start updating in the search crazy fast.
_________________________
One other small annoyance, I came from an Iphone XS with super old firmware, and now on a 15 pro with 17.4.
In text messages, say someone texted you today, and you went in and deleted the individual text from them, (this would move the conversation back down your list to say yesterday or the last time they texted you, and that message wouldn't show up at the top of your screen still) Now with ios 17.4, if you delete say all the texts someone sent you today, their message thread still says up at the same spot from the original time stamp that was sent to you. It doesn't know to put that message down in your list further after you delete the single messages. I don't know when that changed? or if it's a bug in the new ios.
Or say you send a new text today to someone that that haven't texted in a few days ago... If you delete your own message that you just sent them after you send it, it still has their message thread at the TOP of your phone, it doesn't push it back to a few days later where it should be.
I had the Exact same issue. Apple Genius team were helpful, but they didn't know how to resolve it. Last resort: backed up to icloud and Erased my phone to factory settings & everything is restored. There's a bug/glitch/issue when loading the ios update to phones. Hope this helps everyone. Back up to icloud and erase to factory settings then sign back in.
Apple support have this app-specific article online for iOS 17:
Search for photos on iPhone - Apple Support
Eg: says
"Tap Search,
then tap the search field at the top of the screen to search by any of the following:
Tip: Looking for something more specific? Refine your search with multiple keywords—simply keep adding keywords until you find the right photo. Search also suggests keywords to add to your search.
Also for more general searches: Search with Spotlight on iPhone - Apple Support
If the above Apple search methods are not working for you in iOS17:
You might want to send feedback to Apple. Although they likely will not reply, and it won't help right away ... the more feedback there is on an issue, the more likely we will see it addressed in a future update:
Online webform for feedback:
Hi clerkofcourts,
welcome to the Apple (user-to-user) Community!
Re: Can't search photos by location- I type the word and there are zero results.
Maybe Photos is / was still quietly indexing your photo's after the recent update ?
If your photos include embedded location information (GPS data).
on your iPhone.(Pinch the map to zoom in and out, or drag to see more locations.)
More info: Browse photos by location on iPhone - Apple Support
_______________________________________________________
Else: Try searching by month or year ... and you can add multiple key words too
Eg: September Jamaica
or 2020 Caifornia. etc.
Other iOS 17 articles have various search tips:
Search for photos on iPhone - Apple Support
Search with Spotlight on iPhone - Apple Support
If the methods Apple shares in its iOS 17 articles aren't working for you on your iPhone model, you may want to send some feedback to those who work behind-the-scenes at Apple. Although it won't help you right away, and Apple likely won't reply, your feedback may help contribute to changes in a future update.
Web-form for feedback to Apple:
All the best :-)
I fixed it! Again, currently, I don't use icloud, everything came from an Itunes backup that had over 80k photos total. How I fixed it.
I reset Location Services as some write-ups have said it may not be working properly. The Photos app and Camera are using your phone’s location via GPS to tag photos or photos. To reset Location Services. On your device, go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset Location & Privacy. This will reset your location settings to the factory default.
After that I did a hard reset and I could see the photos start updating in the search crazy fast.
_________________________
One other small annoyance, I came from an Iphone XS with super old firmware, and now on a 15 pro with 17.4.
In text messages, say someone texted you today, and you went in and deleted the individual text from them, (this would move the conversation back down your list to say yesterday or the last time they texted you, and that message wouldn't show up at the top of your screen still) Now with ios 17.4, if you delete say all the texts someone sent you today, their message thread still says up at the same spot from the original time stamp that was sent to you. It doesn't know to put that message down in your list further after you delete the single messages. I don't know when that changed? or if it's a bug in the new ios.
Or say you send a new text today to someone that that haven't texted in a few days ago... If you delete your own message that you just sent them after you send it, it still has their message thread at the TOP of your phone, it doesn't push it back to a few days later where it should be.
Hello! The most recent iOS 17.2.1 update on my iPhone 14 Pro resolved this search function issue. I hope this helps everyone else.
Hello! The most recent iOS 17.2.1 update on my iPhone 14 Pro resolved this search function issue. I hope this helps everyone else.
YES!! I actually updated to 17.2.1 and it is back to normal... i am able to search photos again!!! Merry Christmas!!
To be honest, the only way to resolve this issue was to back up everything to iCloud and erase the phone and start from scratch- factory settings.
There is a bug or glitch in that iOS update.
After I installed IOS upgrade, I had the same issue and here’s how I fixed it: Go to Settings, Privacy and Security, then tap Location Services, then scroll down and tap Photos. Under Allow Location Access, toggle on “while using app” and toggle on “precise location” to allow the app to access the specific location from the geolocation in the photo. Hope that helps!
Wondering if the update to iOS17.01 may be helpful. (iOS17.02 is just for iPhone 15)
About iOS 17 Updates - Apple Support
Apple support have this app-specific article online for iOS 17:
Search for photos on iPhone - Apple Support
Eg: says
"Tap Search,
then tap the search field at the top of the screen to search by any of the following:
(& etc. etc.)
Also for more general searches: Search with Spotlight on iPhone - Apple Support
If this is not working for you in iOS17:
You might want to send feedback to Apple:
Online webform for feedback:
Thank you for letting us know :-)
If you want, you could send feedback to those who work behind-the-scenes:
The more feedback they receive on an issue, the more likely it will be addressed.
Webform: Feedback - Photos - Apple
Re: When will this issue be resolved?
We are all Apple users, like yourself, in the community ... so no-one here really knows what Apple will do next, and comments to Apple only reach the Apple users.
Meanwhile, if the search function does not work as expected, Apple can be informed, or features requested, using their feedback form:
The more feedback they receive on an issue, the more likely it will be addressed.
Webform: Feedback - Photos - Apple
Photos search function no longer working on my iPhone post iOS 17 upgrade
