Should I update iPhone to iOS 17.6.1 even with reported issues?

I have an iPhone 15 Pro Max and from my personal experience iOS 17.6.1 has been almost unbearable. I literally check for an update/restart daily because its so glitchy. IMO I’d wait until they release the next iOS update 🤷🏽‍♀️

Coming to forums is like visiting a hospital and seeing sick people, thus believing everyone everywhere may be sick. After EVERY iOS update, you will see people claim all manners of issues. They are a HUGE minority of users in the world. iOS 17.6.1 was an update intended to provide security and bug fixes. For the vast majority of users, the update caused NO issues whatsoever. None of my phones or iPads suffered anything from the update.

Whether you want to be protected on your iPhone, is up to you.

Don't do it for now. Like most updates, it is good to wait 30 days until any bugs could get worked out. I have had a discussion with Apple since I went to 17.6.1 on my Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max and a problem with using the email app at all. They've also have bugs in other programs. I had Apple remotely log into my iPhone Friday and do a diagnostic and they told me they know they have problems going on right now and they expect an update beyond 17.6.1 soon. So, wait a bit because 17.6.1 was also a test trial for iOS 18's upcoming release. On Friday, August 16 Apple told me their update would be out by Saturday but it hasn't happened yet so we all just have to be patient.

I just updated my iPad

To 17.6.1.

Issues with excessive heat and rapid battery consumption

I am a multi product user for past 30 years. Since this update involves security AND iCloud issues I would have waited had I known of reported issues. I’m on automatic updates so down the rabbit hole I go.

I've turned off automatic updates on my other products.

I'm concerned enough with heat issues that I’m charging and monitoring the heat issue until charge is finished.

Will then time battery consumption

Can someone from Apple team respond for this? This issue is serious, people out of warranty who is ever upgraded is facing this issue irrespective of the iPhone model/series! My husband uses 13 pro max, first he faced this issue, his screen is fully crashed with greenlight and the Service centre says display itself to be change to resolve this issue. My husband's brother who uses 14 pro max same as mine, his automatic software update caught him and the very next moment of the update he is now facing green lines! Knowing all these I have cancelled my auto update now, afraid that I just bought this a year back and it's warranty almost ended in July. I think iphone are now competing with Oneplus on this issue! This was Oneplus's, now iPhone follows their path! Atleast Oneplus is ready to assist users irrespective of warranty period, but iPhone isn't speaking about this issue in any forum!!!! Very disappointing!!

I have owned every iPhone since the 3G.

I have updated all of them as soon as the updates were available.

I currently have the 15 pro max and iPad Pro.

I have installed the most current update on both.

I have never experienced a single issue with any update, including this one.

iPhone 15 plus update ios 17.6.1 battery drain fast

You can avoid this update if you want......but when you do decide to update again, everything in the current update will be included in the next update.

So, you won't really be avoiding the current update.....you will be delaying things a bit.

iphone 11

17.6

For every update from iOS 1.0 to iOS 17.6.1, there will be claims that it is the worse thing ever created. So, if you decide to believe the claims that iOS 17.6.1 is bad compared to the same claims regarding ALL other versions, you should stay with the existing version.

Updated mine a week ago and everything’s been smooth sailing. Sure, some folks have reported hiccups with iOS 17.6.1, but that’s par for the course with any update tiny bumps in the road for a tiny fraction of users still worrying about any mishap

[Edited by Moderator]

See this post by msanders916 dated June 12 (in case the link doesn't go to the correct post automagically).

I'm inclined to agree with them.

The TLDR version is this:

First, understand that the software does housekeeping after an update. It can usually be accomplished overnight but that depends on your device and its data. Try to install updates overnight and leave the device on the charger (It’s ok to do so and won’t ruin the battery. That rule applied to older battery technology). This is so that processor intensive tasks like file indexing for Spotlight Search or iCloud syncing can occur then and not during your day.

It's not what iOS 17.6.1 is doing to the battery, it's the update process and not what it updates to. Any update, apparently. That housekeeping happens in the background so the only thing you're aware of is the sudden battery drain for seemingly little no user activity.

I updated my recently purchased refurbed iPhone SE 2nd Gen and (once I got it to successfully restore and update (at least 6 attempts, I thought it was bricked), the battery drain was such that even though I kept it plugged in all day the battery level dropped from 80% to 21%. By the next day it was okay. It probably took less time than for most people because it had only the iOS and not many more than the standard apps on it, very few personal files or media.

So relax, it'll (probably) get better on its own.

r-engineer wrote:

... and they expect an update beyond 17.6.1 soon. So, wait a bit because 17.6.1 was also a test trial for iOS 18's upcoming release. On Friday, August 16 Apple told me their update would be out by Saturday but it hasn't happened yet so we all just have to be patient.

So, is that update supposed to be iOS 17.6.2 (just a "fix" for 17.6.1), or iOS 18.0 with new "features", like the AI?

[later] I just read your post more closely. A supposed "next Saturday" update sounds like 17.6.2.

I might not have to worry about the AI component after all because I don't believe my phone (SE 2nd gen) cannot use it. I'd be perfectly happy just to get only security updates for iOS 17.x.x from now on.

Rest my iCloud and phone and hold factory reset

Unless you're never going to update again, then no, you cannot avoid it.

As others have said, every iOS update ever issued has been "the worst thing ever" according to a small number of users. Issues people claim are something to do the last iOS update they installed often have nothing to do with the update at all.

An example - sometime last year everyone was very sure that the update they had just done had "broken Facebook". Turned out that there was a worldwide Facebook outage - and Facebook was broken for everyone regardless of what device they were using.