Apple rolled out iOS 17.5.1 earlier this week in response to a strange issue. After updating to iOS 17.5, some users reported seeing deleted photos reappear on their devices. Apple attributed the problem to “database corruption” in the update’s release notes. To provide more clarity, they’ve recently shared some extra details with 9to5Mac.
One question many people had is how images from dates as far back as 2010 resurfaced because of this problem. After all, most people aren’t still using the same devices now as they were in 2010…
According to Apple, the photos that did not fully delete from a user’s device were not synced to iCloud Photos. Those files were only on the device itself. However, the files could have persisted from one device to another when restoring from a backup, performing a device-to-device transfer, or when restoring from an iCloud Backup but not using iCloud Photos.
Samuel Axon for Ars Technica:
The photos were retained on the local device storage due to a database corruption issue, and the bug resurfaced photos that were flagged for deletion but were not actually fully deleted locally.
The company claimed that when users reported the photos resurfacing on a device other than the one they were originally deleted on, it was always because they had restored from a backup other than iCloud Photos or performed a direct transfer from one device to another.
One user on Reddit claimed (the post has now been deleted) that they had wiped an iPad, sold it to a friend, and the friend then saw photos resurface. Apple told 9to5Mac that is impossible if the user followed the expected procedure for wiping the device, which is to go to “Settings,” “General,” “Transfer and Reset,” and “Erase All Content and Settings.”
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MacDailyNews Note: To properly erase a device before selling it or handing it down, see the Apple Support article, “What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch,” here.
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