Apple Releases iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1 With Many Fixes for VoiceOver Users

I think it is safe to say that "this" is the update we were all expecting last month.
Here's to hoping macOS 14.1 is just as good. 😇

Well it looks like I am the only one with this issue? VO keeps reading the F time when I get any notification. Did not happen with iOS 16. Nuts.

The annoying volume dipping issue has not been fixed, neither has the long-standing disappearance of the punctuation item from the rotor when the device is powered on.
Siri will now identify music again on the lock screen, but is still not working with VoiceOver properly when using the dictionary function to define a word.
The erroneous reporting of misspelling issue also remains, at least with the daniel voice, when editing plain text, such as Applevis or the Mail app.
The Weather app does appear to have been fixed, which is something.
It also seems that the issue where sounds were not played if you had none of the alert options selected in the notifications centre has also been resolved, which was particularly problematic with Mail.
Finally, there seems to be some improvement in the haptics, for example, I’ve noticed more haptic feedback when unlocking my device, or if the volume goes to0 when using volume buttons.
So, overall, some good fixes, but some bugs that have been kicking around for a very long time are still there.

iOS 17 introduced an issue with the Podcasts app that persists in iOS 17.1. When the mini player is open, the player controls cannot be located by dragging on the screen. Instead, swipe right from the Media Artwork Image.

Otherwise, all seems to be well after an hour of light use.

A tip for those of you who upgraded to iOS 17.1 and can no longer access the language option in the voiceover rotor. you may need to re-enable that option in the rotor settings. settings > accessibility > voiceover > rotor > rotor items.

First off, I hope when I upgrade I don't get bit by the Mail bugs. I thought we were past that particular bug.

Hello, on my Iphone 15 Pro the VO-bug when using Apple Notes with a bluetooth keyboard is still present. This is the bug where VO will read from the beginning of a paragraph as you use up or down arrow to navigate through the paragraph.
*Reported to Apple, again.

I was relieved to hear about the time reading thing in this post. Compaired to most bugs, it's extremely minor, but I did find it odd. However, Since, at least as of writing this, the Alex morphing into Samantha thing seems to be resolved, I am a very happy camper. I was also happy to set up my custom alert tones again. However, I did notice one tiny, only slightly disappointing issue. For reminders, I always liked using the Circuit sound. It seems to have completely disappeared, at least under alert tones. I am using the Update sound from the classic sounds, which works fine for my needs, but I really enjoyed Circuit, and would love it if it came back. I'm also now curious if some of the other ring tones from that era, such as Playtime, have also disappeared. It's not something I'm overly upset about, but I can't help feeling curious what happened to those particular sounds and if there's any way to get them back. With all that being said, I'm over all very, very happy with the update since it seems to have fixed all of the issues which truly annoyed me. the time reading weirdly and a couple of missing ring tones are no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Hoping the Hillside ringtone survived the update... 😐

Another issue I have noticed is fixed is that for an app like Westminster Chimes, it again reads the time when you have it set to do so. I had forgotten all about it, and my phone just voluntarily announced 6:30 p.m." Hopefully those who use this app or other similar apps also have success with this.

Any way to remove the dictate button from the tabs screen next to the search tabs field on Safari?

i'm still ios 16 cause of many accessibility issues i read, is it now safe to upgrade? VO navigation and daily use?
i'm not use braille display.

My Focus is, again, not working with iOS and iPadOS.

I'm currently using the latest version of iOS 16, but am considering upgrading to 17.1. When 17 came out last month, I heard that the new default notification sound was quieter than what people were used to. Does anyone know if this issue has been resolved in 17.1?

I think the only way would be to turn off dictation entirely. Other than that, I do not know of a way to remove the button from just one app.

This is just an opinion, but I do not think they are any louder. Sorry not to pass along better news.

PS: I pulled out Shades of Doom the other day and that reminded me what excellent voiceover work you did in that game's intro. I wish they had made a Part 2.

Does anyone know if the double tap issue was resolved in this release? If it is, I'll go for it. If not, I'll need to wait for 17.2. What's the word?

Hello,
Has the 3 finger swipe up gesture been fixed in this update?
Thanks.

Hi, Having read that custom ringtones were supposed to be available again in the 17.1 update, I was very disappointed to find that mine don't appear to be there even though in files it says they are on my iPhone. I've tried importing them back in to music on my Mac then re-sinking the phone to the Mac but no joy. So I tried air dropping the files over and all this did was to make another copy of the files. Anyone any ideas?

Just for clarity, these are not files purchased from the store but M4R files I put together.

Many thanks for any advice or help offered.

Graham

Yes, the three finger swipe up in Braille screen input now works again to send messages.

I know this really won’t help the person that was asking about custom ringtones, but they are working for me. I have created a number of tones and I can see them all under sounds. I can even use them once again as text tones.

Brian Giles thank you very much for your response.

It now reads the deleted word as it did before 17.0.

I read an article in the Apple news app today that said garage band automatically imnports custom ring tones, and from there you can do something to make it the ring tone you want to use. sorry I can't be more specific than that.

I have an iPhone 15 pro with IOS 17.1, the new update. Today my phone, all on its own, suddenly switched to a voice I've never used, and the language option in my rotor disappeared. I had to restore language to the rotor and switch back to my default voice. I haven't yet tried getting my second choice alternative voice restored. Very strange.

Custom tones are back, bugs are fixed on my side of things and I can safely say that I'm rather pleased with this update!

Doing a force restart may cause custom tones to reappear. Press volume up, then volume down, then hold side button for 10 seconds. These buttons should be pressed somewhat quickly.

With notifications even though the sound is still the same I've noticed the taptic is more like a vibration other than a small tap.

All,
This sounds like a solid update. I'm buying a 15 pro Max in December, but currently running 16 on my 11 pro. Does 17 run okay on older hardware? I'm finding contradictory info online.

Here are some of the bugs that I have noticed, the forefinger tap at the bottom of the screen to jump down the cursor to the end of the screen does not work, you would have to repeat this gesture more than once to make it happen. Next I have noticed a battery drainage on my iPhone 14, it usually lasts me between 12 to 13 hours, but now that I updated to iOS 17.1, it’s barely lasting 10 hours. And finally my iPhone is heating up, which I’m still not sure what’s causing it. This did not happen when I was in iOS 16.7.1, but now that I just updated to iOS 17.1 it’s starting to heat up. and one more thing, for some reason, my voiceover sounds muffled. It’s perfectly clear when I put in headphones, but with the iPhones normal speaker, it sounds muffled.

how is the battery doing on your SE3? I have an SE2, and have been concerned about the reports of overheating iPhones. Also any other quirks or perks with 17.1 and an SE iPhone?

At first, I didn't think it was fixed either, especially for alert tones, but the layout is slightly different, and if you keep swiping, they'll show up eventually. Also, try the download all purchased tones but ton near the top. Still a bit disappointed that I can't go back to using Circuit for calendar alerts, but since everything else is significantly improved, I think I'll get over it. LOL! As for the person asking about the Hillside ringtone, I'm not familiar with that one, but my guess, just based on my findings from playing around is that it *might* show up as an actual ring tone, but it won't exist as a choice for alert tones. The way I see it, that bug is only partially fixed, but it's probably close enough to being fixed for most people. I tried reporting the issue to Apple last night, just in case, but the person I talked to didn't seem as though she was documenting my concern.

Hillside has been around for years, and its name is misleading. You see, it basically sounds like a simple phone ring. Nothing more.
I am, however, old school and like my phone ring to sound like a ringing phone.

Perhaps I am in the minority, but my VO seems to be freezing up with light to moderate load, many times a day. Swipes take forever to execute and the phone may become completely inoperable before VO decides to start up again - with Samantha rather than Eloquence-Reed. Yesterday or the day before, prior to updating, I turned VO sounds off but left haptics on, and I was very pleased with the results. I don't know if this is affecting anything, or if leaving sounds on and haptics off would fix it.

@Daniel
VO freeze very often for me.

Hi Adrian and others,

I did a force-restart as described above and things seem to be doing better for now. We'll see how long that lasts 😬

I have updated to iOS 17.1 on my iPhone 13 Pro Max and in most parts I like the update. The only serious issue I face is that when I try to compose or replay a message in the native Mail app using Braille screen input it becomes extremely sluggish and olmost unusable when I try to write something in body of a message.
Has anyone experienced the same issue?

I, too, have noticed sluggishness with Braille Screen Input in the native mail app--so much so, in fact, that I have to write my mail reponse or message using Notes and then copy/paste what I wrote into the Mail message body.

Will they put siri voices size back to normal back? I loved siri4’s voice in previous version and if it’s possible,i want it back

did you notice any cretical bugs with this device? is it safe to update ios from v16, please?

In 17.1, you can now again read continuously in books and VO doesn't stop/needs you to manually turn pages. Worth the upgrade for that alone.

After updating to IoS 17.1 in my IPhone 11, I have started facing range of issues: 1. voiceover does not read status bar items such as signals, wifi connectivity status or battery status. Keep touching the top of screen and it is only successful wile being inside few apps such as whatsapp. 2. The voiceover keeps saying "call ended from "(name of person" long after the call is over. I have to restart VO to fix this. 3. I noticed, and maybe its my misperception but battery is draining faster than 17.0 in IPhone 11 at least. Any solutions/fixes? Is there anyway I can go back to 17.0?

Since I updated to 17.1, text messages will not show on my Mantis braille display. When a message in a conversation is focused, the display is blank. I upgraded to 17.2 beta, and it still happens. I have reported to apple. Also, messages in the beta feedback app do not show either. This is on an iPhone 15 Pro.

I use a bluetooth keyboard while talking on my iPhone. While on the phone, I use the keyboard to create calendar appointments, automatically dial account information, and send messages.

Using the keyboard worked well until iOS 17.1. I have my iPhone set to lock automatically after a given period of time. While on the phone using a Braille or QWERTY keyboard, I can no longer switch apps or unlock the phone.

I have tried unpairing and/or forgetting the device and rebooting the phone. Nothing I have tried is working.

I currently have an iPhone 12 pro. I did not notice any of these issues until I updated to iOS 17.1.

I have a friend who is experiencing similar issues.

Is anyone else experiencing this situation?

Please refer to my message regarding Significant Issues With Bluetooth Keyboards While Using iPhone for more information.
I have a partial solution regarding this situation. I turned on Full Keyboard access and I am able to use a Magic Keyboard while talking on the phone. Please note that I don’t have the same success with a Perkins Style (Braille Bluetooth keyboard).

Hi All,

I am experiencing an onscreen keyboard bug. The software keyboard keeps disappearing, and I don't know how to restore it or unhide it, whichever is the appropriate term.

Does anyone know how to toggle the onscreen keyboard to show or hide?

I would greatly appreciate your help.

Thank you,

Bruce

If you have the Scrub Gesture, or a custom gesture in place of it, that can hide the onscreen keyboard. Usually double tapping into any text field will bring it back.

This issue just started a couple days ago for me but every now and again Voiceover will read a paragraph and then repeat it. This is a huge problem when I'm trying to read a full page from the top. Sometimes turning VO off and on again fixes it and sometimes it doesn't. Been having a lot of issues like this where something weird will happen, then stop, then become an even worse problem down the line. I'm not on any betas but I am experiencing a ton of bugs that I see reported in the betas and I have no idea how or why that's happening.

I can say that this problem is also happening to me. It does not occur on all sites, only on specific pages. VoiceOver repeats the last read line twice in a row