Apple Releases iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2; Bringing Some Bug Fixes for VoiceOver Users

By AppleVis, 13 December, 2022

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Apple has today released iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 to the public.

Our experience is that the following accessibility bugs have been resolved or significantly addressed in iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2:

It initially appeared that these releases also resolved three bugs effecting braille displays running Humanware firmware version 2.0. However, each of these bugs has subsequently resurfaced.

At the time of writing, we are aware of the following new bugs:

As we always stress, we can make no claims on the completeness or accuracy of our testing. We are only a small team, and it is simply impossible for us to test all devices, configurations, applications, and use cases. Accordingly, to help us ensure that the information on this page is as complete and accurate as possible, please let us know in the comments of any additional fixes; enhancements; or regressions that you find in your own use of iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2.

It had previously been reported by 9to5Mac that [iOS 16.2 was to introduce ‘a Custom Accessibility Mode’ with streamlined experience. This does not appear to be the case. We shall have to wait to see if this feature has been pushed back to a future update or has been shelved completely.

iOS 16.2 Release Notes

This update introduces Freeform, an app that offers a great place to brainstorm and bring your ideas to life. This release also adds Apple Music Sing, Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, Lock Screen improvements, and other features and bug fixes for your iPhone. Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices.

Freeform

  • Freeform is a new app for working creatively with friends or colleagues on Mac, iPad and iPhone
  • A flexible canvas lets you add files, images, stickies, and more
  • Drawing tools let you sketch anywhere on the canvas with your finger

Apple Music Sing

  • A new way to sing along with millions of your favorite songs in Apple Music
  • Fully adjustable vocals let you duet with the original artist, sing solo, or mix it up
  • Newly enhanced beat-by-beat lyrics make it even easier to follow along with the music

Advanced Data Protection for iCloud

  • New option expands the total number of iCloud data categories protected using end-to-end encryption to 23 — including iCloud Backup, Notes, and Photos — protecting your information even in the case of a data breach in the cloud

Lock Screen

  • New settings allow you to hide wallpaper or notifications when Always-On display is enabled on iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
  • Sleep widget lets you view your most recent sleep data
  • Medications widget lets you view reminders and quickly access your schedule

Game Center

  • SharePlay support in Game Center for multiplayer games so you can play with the people you are on a FaceTime call with
  • Activity Widget allows you to see what your friends are playing and achieving in games right from your Home Screen

Apple TV

  • Live Activities for Apple TV app let you follow your favorite teams with live scores right on your Lock Screen or in Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max

Home

  • Improved reliability and efficiency of communication between your smart home accessories and Apple devices

This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:

  • Improved search in Messages allows you to find photos based on their content, like a dog, car, person, or text
  • Turn Off Hide IP Address setting enables iCloud Private Relay users to temporarily disable the service for a specific site in Safari
  • News articles in Weather display information relevant to the weather in that location
  • Participant Cursors in Notes allow you to see live indicators as others make updates in a shared note
  • AirDrop now automatically reverts to Contacts Only after 10 minutes to prevent unwanted requests to receive content
  • Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models
  • Fixes an issue that causes some notes not to sync with iCloud after updates are made

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

iPadOS 16.2 Release Notes

This update introduces Freeform, an app that offers a great place to brainstorm and bring your ideas to life. This release also adds Stage Manager improvements, Apple Music Sing, Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, and other features and bug fixes for your iPad.

Freeform

  • Freeform is a new app for working creatively with friends or colleagues on Mac, iPad and iPhone
  • A flexible canvas lets you add files, images, stickies, and more
  • Drawing tools let you sketch anywhere on the canvas with your finger or Apple Pencil

Stage Manager

  • External display support with resolutions up to 6K available on iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later), and iPad Air (5th generation)
  • Drag and drop files and windows from your compatible device to your connected display, and vice versa
  • Support for using up to 4 apps on the iPad display and 4 on the external display

Apple Music Sing

  • A new way to sing along with millions of your favorite songs in Apple Music
  • Fully adjustable vocals let you duet with the original artist, sing solo, or mix it up
  • Newly enhanced beat-by-beat lyrics make it even easier to follow along with the music

Advanced Data Protection for iCloud

  • New option expands the total number of iCloud data categories protected using end-to-end encryption to 23 — including iCloud Backup, Notes, and Photos — protecting your information even in the case of a data breach in the cloud

Game Center

  • SharePlay support in Game Center for multiplayer games so you can play with the people you are on a FaceTime call with
  • Activity Widget allows you to see what your friends are playing and achieving in games right from your Home Screen

Home

  • Improved reliability and efficiency of communication between your smart home accessories and Apple devices

This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:

  • Improved search in Messages allows you to find photos based on their content, like a dog, car, person, or text
  • Tracking Notifications alert you if an AirTag separated from its owner is nearby and has recently played a chime to indicate it is moving
  • Turn Off Hide IP Address enables iCloud Private Relay users to temporarily disable the service for a specific site in Safari
  • News articles in Weather display information relevant to the weather in that location
  • Participant Cursors in Notes allow you to see live indicators as others make updates in a shared note
  • AirDrop now automatically reverts to Contacts Only after 10 minutes to prevent unwanted requests to receive content
  • Fixes an issue that causes some notes not to sync with iCloud after updates are made
  • Fixes an issue that may cause Multi-Touch gestures to become unresponsive while using the Zoom accessibility feature

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

How to Update

iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 are available via Over-the-Air Update (Settings > General > Software Update) via Finder on a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, or via iTunes on a PC or Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier.

Options

Comments

By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Did they fix VO not reading notification on the lock screen? Did not see anything about it on the bugs address.

By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

The answer looks like yes. It is fix so far. I get my notifications without no issues. VO is reading them. Happy. It only took 2 months for Apple to fix. Sad.

By Dennis Long on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

It takes time to fix things. Apple fixes them it just takes time.

By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

If the issue with notification affected sighted people in which they can not se any notification on the lock screen, Apple would had release a fix.

By Lily Rose on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

So happy braille bugs are fixed. It is going to be very good for me to get back into my usual braille display enter key habits. Good job, Apple!

By Lily Rose on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I just updated both my devices. News about the braille display problems? About to test it myself right at the end of this line...
Later: After a powering off and back on of my Brailliant BI 40X it seems that the only time this bug is resolved is that in a non-multiline textfield such as the one in the messages app the message can send with dot8. If I'm missing something please let me know.

By Lily Rose on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I am not running version 2 I am running v1.12 something or other. Thought people may like to know.

By Lily Rose on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I don't know about you, but ever since updating to IOS16 the calendar widget has had alot of extraneous text on it, making it abit difficult to navigate past it. This seems to have been fixed in 16.2.

By ming on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

well,
I found thatin IOS 16 that when we call someone in the call history tap in the phone.
it sometime call the wrong person.

By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I have not use this for a long time. I use Siri to make calls. I will test this next week.

By Bingo Little on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

AccessWarrior, if you are able to I really would update to version 2 of the brailliant firmware. Aside from fixing these frustrating braille problems it really is a good update, the addition of TTS I really like.

By Ben on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I lost my iPhone shutdown sound after upgrading to iOS 16.2. Oh well.

By Lily Rose on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I had no idea the Brailliants have tts. How do I activate it? Does it have different voices to the brlNoteTouch+? If so, which ones? There are some voices not on the BrailleNote that I've had my eye on.
Also, will they ever fix these bugs for users below humanware v2 or will I be stuck with these bugs forever unless I update?

By Scott Davert on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Sadly, I must report that this was a false alarm. Here's what happened. I installed the GM the day it came out (I believe last Tuesday) and after resetting the Brailliant, everything worked as it would have if these bugs were present. This morning, while typing something, I noticed dot 8 again brought up that menu. Now that it has done this, all 3 of htese bugs are back for me. This is running firmware 2.0 on a Brailliant BI20X. These are the joys of being the only active braille tester on the team. My apologies to anyone who may have already upgraded and experiencing these issues! I can only report things as I encounter them.

By Mlth on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

One workaround for now if you don't want to call the wrong person with the current focus issues in the phone app (I got this from an other thread on applevis):
Flick for more info in the VoiceOver actions rotor, then make sure that the name on the info screen is the person you wish to call, then proceed to call them. That way, even if focus is wrong, you can avoid misdialing.

Best
Malthe

By Jonathan Candler on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Hey, I lost my soothing shutdown sound when shutting down my phone as well. Got the IPhone 13 here running 16.2. Oh well. Not needed but gunna miss that sound. Was nice while it lasted though... Hee.

By Siobhan on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Love how they dangled the carrot in front of the horse then snatched it back. Hoping my weird bug with the app sotre is gone but when I've loaded it twice, the account screen comes up but it's taking forever. Heard there was some down app stores, maybe I was lucky or something.

By Saj on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Nice to know that they fixed some issues but still can’t turn the volume up and down when on a phone call using the earpiece. This is ridiculous! I know it’s not a specific VoiceOver issue, but I really wish they would fix it. It’s so annoying when we’re now in 16.2.

By Jim D on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I just upgraded to 16.2. On the iPhone 14 Pro, I still have a shut down sound, as well as the start up sound.
Jim

By Jim D on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

After upgrading to 16.2, I'm noticing that selecting a location in the weather app using the location chooser doesn't always work. Traditionally, I flick through the various locations using the location chooser. When I hear the one I want, I touch the top left corner of the screen and get the weather for that location. In 16.2, this does not work and the behavior is very inconsistent. Sometimes it reverts back to my current location and sometimes I get the last location in my list.
Is anyone else seeing this when using weather?
Jim

By Lily Rose on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I was freaking out "I'm not on version too I'll have to stick with these bugs forever!" Glad that's figured out. Thank you.

By Felix on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Hi! Does anyone know whether turning pages in Books app is back to normal again? This is one of the major reasons I haven’t updated to iOS 16. Thanks

By Jo Billard on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Page numbers appear to be headings but you can't do anything with them. I tried to read a sample of The Paris Apartment by Kelly Bowen and I can't get more than a couple of sentences before the next page is announced, and then I'm at a dead end.

By wiljames on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Or at least according to social media. I believe it because it is not in 16.3 either.

By Maldalain on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Still the same issue, calling wrong contact on the Phone app.

By Lily Rose on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Not surprising the shutdown sound was an accident. Shutdown sound was supposed to be a fun bit of consumer manipulation to get people to get an iPhone 14 pro. "OH no, now everybody else have a shutdown sound now they won't buy a iphone 14!" That's why they got rid of it. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted.
As for the books app, i believe some improvements have been made. I purchased a new book recently and although it was laid out strangely I was able to turn the pages by threefinger swipe left/right and the associated commands on my braille display.

By Brian Giles on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I wonder if the Braille bugs also affect the NLS EReader since it's basically a bi20x with its own software.

In my limitted playing with my display since upgrading to 16.2, everything behaves as expected. Letters work after emulating the command key, so I can do things like close a tab or go to the address bar in Safari, which hasn't worked for me for a while. I also tried command N to compose a new text and that worked.

Everywhere I've tried it, pressing dot 8 either sends a text as it should, or enters a new line (I tested this by trying to post a reply earlier here). I haven't seen that annoying context menu. FWIW, I recently updated my display to 2.0, where the main new feature is BookShare support in the display software itself, but that doesn't apply to using it as a display for another device.

By Magic Retina on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I think I have the terminology right with that title heh. When I single finger press and hold to open a link in Safari the cursor will read that I'm on one thing in the menu that comes up while in reality it has jumped to the top of the menu (the "open" option). I've opened so many things when trying to open them in the background and lost my place on pages because I've had to go back and find what I was opening in the background all over again. How do they keep managing to make the focus issues so much worse with every update? It's honestly impressive at this point.

Kind of validates my theory that some sighted person is doing accessibility testing with the voice speed set to slow so of course there's no issue for them, they're not moving faster than the slippery cursor haha.

Also, I've not seen this brought up but for I think at least two versions of iOS now when entering text in a form field, the first word is never spoken with Voiceover. I've been kind of ignoring it for years but realized this is a pretty obnoxious bug, especially if you're trying to enter your username or search for a single word or just want to be sure you typed what you think you did when texting someone.

By Daniel on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Hello

For those who own older devices such as myself. If you have an iPhone XR, how is the performance of that particular device running 16.2

I am still on 15.7.1

Was worried that if I update the software, will it lag using Voiceover?

Thanking in advance, for any replies.

By kool_turk on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I wonder what happened to the custom accessibility interface that some articles were talking about during the beta?

Did that get pulled at the last minute?

Or is that going to be saved for iOS 17.

By Carter Wu on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

As you guys said, all versions of iOS16 appear to be very unstable with VoiceOver focus issues.Not just the recent call page, the problem of unstable focus is manifested in all the operation pages you may come into contact with.For example, I often press and hold the App Store icon on the desktop and select Update in the pop-up menu to check the latest version of the APP. Since I upgraded to iOS16, this operation has become very unreliable. When I click "Update" After that, VoiceOver would often click the "Delete" option by mistake, and then the iPhone would ask me if I wanted to delete the App Store or remove it from the desktop.In addition, when I receive several notification messages in a row, I have to wait for VoiceOver, because once I operate the iPhone like iOS15, VoiceOver will definitely crash.I'm using an iPhone 13 Pro, and I think my hardware is advanced enough, so that's the problem with VoiceOver.

By nikos daley on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

The braille bug was fixed for me as soon as I updated. I had to reset the brailliant and the bug is back is there a way to have it revert to it was doing having enter key work?

By gailisaiah on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I'll say to Siri, "Read my message." And he'll say, "To who?" and I have to repeat my request. Or when I ask him to read a message and say something like, "Reply to Sharlene." He'll then say, "What do you want to know about Sharlene?" And the other day I asked him to start the song I was listening to over again, and he played a totally different song. This is why I think Siri needs hearing aids!

By Kareem Dale on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I have experienced similar problems but I have found that if you wait an extra beat or extra second after the SIRI sound, SIRI will work a thousand times better. I believe what is happening most of the time if you don't wait this extra beat or second is SIRI is missing the first word or 2 of your request. Not saying SIRI will be perfect but I have found that most all of the problems are solved by using this technique.

By gailisaiah on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Hi Karee, I tried your suggestion of waiting about a second or so before responding to Siri. That really worked. I would have never thought to do that. Thanks for the tip. So Siri hasn't lost his hearing. It's the impatient operator!

By Bob Cavanaugh on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I agree with the person who was complaining about Siri, when I hear the tone, I expect it to be ready to listen right away as it was in previous versions.
I agree with the weather app now, it's nearly impossible to choose your location from the list now. Hopefully this will be fixed soon.

By Igna Triay on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Its just a wild guess, but from what I remember, the old siri tone in ios 15 and below was significantly shorter than this one, hense the waiting after the tone sounds.

By sockhopsinger on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Here's a strange bug for you to think about. When I am entering text in a text field using the regular keyboard on iOS 16l2, if M an entering something like an e-mail address, instead of saying "period" right next to the "at" sign, my phone honestly said "full stop". For example, ted at Yahoo full stop com.

On a separte note, Siri makes me use language that could teach Samuel L. Jackson a thing or two, whether it's just plain slow or completely gets wrong what I say.

By ming on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

well, I updated it. and I found the shutdown sound is gone...

By Lily Rose on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

So go to the focus indictor on the lockscreen and swipe down and you should hear "Open Focus Settings". You can click that. But yes if you don't it won't work.

By Lily Rose on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I was having those exact same problems. The reasoning makes sense and it works to wait a bit.

By Magic Retina on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

I've never seen this and didn't find anything that soubded like it on the lock screen or home screen or in settings. Do you have more information?

Edit: my mistake, I was so hopeful this was about fixing the cursor focus but I think you're talkibg about the productivity settings

By Lily Rose on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

It is the focus indicator—the indicator on the lock screen and notification center when a focus mode is active. If you clicked on said indicator on the lockscreen before ios16.2 it would open a little focus settings popup. Now, there is a bug where that action doesn't work with VO on and you have to swipe down for the custom action "Open Focus Settings" instead.

By Magic Retina on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Another bug I haven't seen reported but which I've experienced on three phones now: Voiceover will frequently not open anything in the dock on the home screen. It will just read the item names but if you want to open anything you have to quit Voiceover and restart it. There's no indication of why this happens, sometimes it just appears randomly.

By Ben on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Has anyone had the following issue. After opening the contacts app and making a call, I cannot dismiss the contacts app to get to the home screen. I have to toggle off VoiceOver. I then slide my finger up the screen like a non VoiceOver user would do to get to the home screen. I then toggle VoiceOver back on and am able to use the iPhone as usual. I am using an iPhone 11 and running iOS 16.2. Just wondering. Thanks.

By nikos daley on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 23:12

Does anyone know how I may be able to get the enter key to work as it should once again? It worked just after installing ios 16.2 but once I restarted brailliant it reverted.

By Magic Retina on Saturday, January 21, 2023 - 23:12

Not sure if I did this or it's a bug but it is happening in every app now. Turning on screen recognition will allow me to explore and read exactly one screen in an app or on Safari. Even though I turn it off and back on later, it will reread that first screen regardless of what I'm trying to read and only exiting the app and going back will let me read the new thing. Initially I would just have to tap the thing I'm trying to read a couple of times before screen recognition would acknowledge the new item, now I have to exit the app then go back to it every time. This is happening on a brand new 14 Pro Max.