Apple Releases iPadOS and iOS 15.7.1 With Important Security Fixes - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple Releases iPadOS and iOS 15.7.1 With Important Security Fixes

Apple today released iOS 15.7.1 and iPadOS 15.7.1, operating system updates that are designed for older iPhones and iPads unable to run iOS 16 and iPadOS 16. The updates are also available to those who have chosen not to update to iOS 16 at this time.

iOS 15 General Feature Purple
The ‌iOS and iPadOS 15.7.1‌ updates can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.

iOS 15.7.1's launch was delayed because during the beta testing period, it was found that the update was breaking Face ID for some people. Apple has presumably fixed the Face ID issue before releasing the new software.

According to Apple's release notes, the update includes important security fixes and is recommended for all users. iOS 15.7.1 addresses a long list of vulnerabilities, including a kernel vulnerability that Apple says may have been actively exploited, so all users should update as soon as possible. iOS 16 users received these fixes in the iOS 16.1 update.

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Wednesday March 18, 2026 7:39 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another six months or so, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component...
ios 26 4 yellow

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for iOS 26.4

Wednesday March 18, 2026 11:56 am PDT by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, which means we're going to see a public launch as soon as next week. The RC versions of the software include Apple's official release notes, giving us final details on what's included in the update. Apple Music - Playlist Playground (beta) generates a playlist from your...
Apple Logo Sketch Feature

Apple Has Now Unveiled Eight New Products This Month

Tuesday March 17, 2026 9:25 am PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping eight new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, and now the AirPods Max 2 this week. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as the iPhone...

Top Rated Comments

44 months ago

Since there has been no other Release Candidate, the presumption is the opposite - the released version stll has the FaceID bug, not the other way around.
This public release version is not the same as the RC. RC build number ends with 115, today’s release ends with 117.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44 months ago

This public release version is not the same as the RC. RC build number ends with 115, today’s release ends with 117.
I stand corrected and thank you for pointing out an actual indicator of change from the Release Candidate and the release version. The Macrumors article should have pointed to this and not relied on a presumption - of course, we still have to see if the bug was quashed.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KFridman Avatar
44 months ago
I'm installing it now on my Air 2. Wondering how much longer I'll get security updates for iPadOs 15 since I can't get iPadOS 16.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Steve121178 Avatar
44 months ago

I'm actually impressed they are letting the AirPods Pro 2 stick around with major functional issues for so long.
They let the first gen stick around with gimped ANC for 3 years. It started off just fine then made worse and worse with each dodgy firmware update.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44 months ago
Nice, was looking forward to them dropping this - will be waiting on 16 just a bit longer.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44 months ago

I’d like to do that. However, I backup my iPhone to my Mac, so my backup will be from 16.1. Is it possible to get the 15.7.1 ISPW file and restore from a backup that was made while using 16.1?
Yes you can. You just need a Mac and some patience. See Step 6 of this video
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Related Apple News: Ipad | Mac | Sport | Local News | Mac