iOS 17.1.1: Apple releases new iPhone update to let phones charge in cars without breaking

Latest update comes as Apple reportedly pauses work on new updates to stabilise existing software

Apple has released a new iPhone update that ensures they won’t break when being charged in the car.

The iOS 17.1.1 update includes a range of bug fixes for some unusual and high-profile issues with Apple’s new iPhones. It is available to download now as usual.

When the iPhone 15 was released, some users of specific cars – particularly those made by BMW and Toyota – reported that charging their phones in the car would break them. In some cases, when people used the built-in wireless charging then Apple Pay would stop working, for instance.

That is now fixed in the new update, according to Apple’s release notes. It fixes an issue where “In rare circumstances, Apple Pay and other NFC features may become unavailable on iPhone 15 models after wireless charging in certain cars”, it says.

The new operating system update also fixes an issue where “Weather Lock Screen widget may not correctly display snow”, the release notes say. That refers to a problem where users would instead see a file icon, which had been widely reported.

Apple has also released an update for the Watch, numbered 10.1.1. That fixes another prominent issue that led to unexpected battery drain on the Watch, with some reporting that their devices lost all their charge in just a few hours.

The Mac and HomePod also have their own bug updates. They can all be installed as usual: through the Settings app on the iPhone or Mac, or through the devoted apps for the Watch and HomePod, though all devices should eventually prompt the user to update automatically.

The update came after a Bloomberg report that indicated Apple had taken some engineers off work on upcoming major updates to ensure that the current operating system versions were as free of bugs as possible. Recent weeks have seen a range of unexpected bugs in Apple software, including widespread reports that the iPhone 15 would get uncomfortably hot, which was later fixed with another software update.