Apple Releases iOS 10.3.1 with Bug Fixes and Security Improvements

By AppleVis, 3 April, 2017

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Apple has today released iOS 10.3.1 to the public, one week after the release of iOS 10.3.

While full release notes for iOS 10.3.1 are not yet available, the iOS 10.3.1 update screen says the following about the update:

iOS 10.3.1 includes bug fixes and improves the security of your iPhone or iPad.

AppleInsider speculates that the purpose of this release is to fix a problem with iOS 10.3 and the iPhone 5 and 5c, which saw Apple withdraw the OTA update for those models within hours of its release last week.

As iOS 10.3.1 appears to be primarily an update focused on patching a specific problem and weighs in at less than 30MB as an OTA update; it is unlikely that there will be any changes in this update specific to accessibility. However, if you do notice any accessibility-related changes, please do let us know in the comments.

iOS 10.3.1 is available via Over-the-Air Update (Settings>General>Software Update) or via iTunes on your Mac or PC. As always, we recommend making a backup of your device before installing any software update.

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Comments

By Morgan Watkins on Friday, April 21, 2017 - 18:08

I just installed the updated iOS and 3D Touch still does not work correctly on my phone.

I am running iOS 10.3.1 with VoiceOver enabled on a 128GB iPhone 6S Plus. I am using AirPods and a Logitech Keys-To-Go BlueTooth keyboard.

By J.R. on Friday, April 21, 2017 - 18:08

Saw this from Steve Gibson, Security Now:
<hr>
Steve Gibson: iOS users: Time to update (again). Last week's update left a worrisome (bad) remote WiFi attack possible. Grab v10.3.1 when you can. /Steve. 1 hour ago from TweetDeck
<hr>

I'm sure this week's Security Now, as part of the <a href="http://www.twit.tv">Twit network </a> will have coverage of this. I reset my phone settings to fix a battery issue that I was having, and have no issues with WIFI, so am interested on what this is all about. Glad whatever the fix is, Apple is on top of it. Keep up the great work.

By Fatima.Hamoud10 on Friday, April 21, 2017 - 18:08

I haven't discovered any accessibility changes in iOS 10.3.1, but was hoping that Apple would add a feature that will allow all iPhones to vibrate the time just like watchOS 3.

By dvdmth on Friday, April 21, 2017 - 18:08

Here is an article with more info about the security fix included in the update:

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/04/project-zero-uncovers-a-nasty-wi-fi-chip-exploit/

To summarize, it is a flaw in the Broadcom chip used for Wifi connectivity, which allows anyone in Wifi range to potentially take over the device remotely, without any indication to the user that anything is going on. In other words, it's bad, and you absolutely have to update by yesterday if you haven't already.

What's worse, this isn't just an Apple issue. A lot of other smart phones, including those from Samsung and Google, are also vulnerable. Apple and Google have both been quick to react to this problem, but as is often the case in the Android world, it may be a long time, if ever, before the patch is fully distributed. A proof of concept already exists, so it's just a matter of time before this gets exploited by the bad guys.

Sadly, Security Now didn't say much, but mentioned the update needed to be installed. Nothing that was at the time it was recorded was mentioned. Great job.

By kool_turk on Friday, April 21, 2017 - 18:08

They may have fixed security, but what ever they did is really putting a dent in my battery usage.

I'm talking about going from 100% to around 70% with in 5 minutes.

All I did was check email, and I only had like 4 messages.

Well, i had the problem a few times, and a reset of settings seem to fix it, for whatever reason.

By Kelsey Nicolay on Friday, April 21, 2017 - 18:08

Hello,
Apple may have fixed the security indeed, but they still have not fixed connectivity issues with the Brailliant Bi even though I've reported it to them for the past three months. Any other Brailliant users experiencing slow connectivity to their Ios device on Ios 10.3.1? It got slightly better with this update, but not like 10.1.1 was.