Earlier this week, Apple released iOS 17.5.1 to address a rare issue where deleted photos reappear on a user's device after installation iOS 17.5. In the release notes, Apple stated that this was caused by “database corruption.” The company has now confirmed a few additional details to 9to5Mac to further clarify the situation.
iCloud Involvement
One question that a lot of people had was how this issue caused images dating back to 2010 to reappear. After all, most people today aren't using the same devices they were in 2010. Apple confirmed to me that iCloud Photos is not to blame for this. Instead, it comes down to a corrupted database entry that existed on the device's file system itself.
According to Apple, photos that were not completely deleted from a user's device were not synced to iCloud Photos. These files were located only on the device itself. However, files may have been saved from one device to another when restoring from a backup, performing a device-to-device transfer, or restoring from an iCloud backup without using iCloud Photos.
>Are photos reappearing on sold devices? Nope.
In a now-deleted post, a Reddit user last week claimed that his photos had reappeared on an iPad he sold to a friend, despite the fact that he had deleted the contents of that iPad before selling it. Apple tells me that this claim was false.
The company says that once you completely wipe your device using the steps below, all files and content are permanently deleted.
- Open Settings
- Select “General”
- Select “Move or reset”
- Select “Erase all content” “and settings”
After these steps, everything will be permanently deleted from the user's device, and old photos will not appear again. In the Reddit user's situation, they most likely didn't follow the correct steps when rebooting their device before selling it… or they fabricated the situation in hopes of earning some Reddit karma.
Rare problem
Best comment from ted
I was actually going to install iOS 17.5, I just want to trigger this error. I have an old iPad Pro 2018, the factory settings have never been reset in 5 years of use. I used to have photos that I either deleted or exported but lost forever. Last week I transferred data directly from this 2018 iPad to the new iPad Pro M4 running iOS 17.5. Haven't seen anything yet.
Perhaps I should try updating my 2018 iPad Pro to version 17.5, but according to this article, if the error appears, the old photos should show up on mine too new iPad.
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Apple has repeatedly emphasized that this issue was rare and affected a small number of users and a small number of photos. The company did not and does not have access to user photos and videos.
This is still a concern, but it is comforting to know that the photos in question were not stored in iCloud and may not have appeared on the device after it was used. was duly erased and sold.
Also note: iOS 17.5.1 does not automatically delete photos that reappeared after updating to iOS 17.5. If this issue has affected you, you will need to go into the Photos app and manually delete these images. The images will then be moved to the Recently Deleted album in the Photos app, where they will remain for 30 days. You can delete these images immediately by selecting “Delete from all devices” in the Recently Deleted album.
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