Update your iPhone and Mac – a new emergency update is available

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Apple is rolling out some urgent security updates for iPhones, iPads, and Macs. They fix two zero-day vulnerabilities that could have let bad actors access the internal memory of the operating system.

Additionally, this update also fixes the battery drain issue that popped up in iOS 15.4.

Apple says that both vulnerabilities “may have been actively exploited.” That doesn’t mean your device has been attacked, but it’s important to update to get the security patches.

If you’ve got one of the following Apple devices, it’s time to go update:

• Any iPhone 6s or later

• Macs running macOS Monterey

• iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation)

How to update your iPhone to iOS 15.4.1

Open the Settings app on your iPhone

Then, tap on General

Tap on Software Update 

Tap on Download and Install

You might get asked if you want to temporarily remove apps because the update needs more space. Tap on Continue. iOS will reinstall those apps after the update is finished

The last step is to tap on Install and wait for the iPhone to finish updating and reboot itself

That covers updating your iPhone to the latest version of iOS. For iPad users, the process is exactly the same.

Update your Mac – here’s how

Mac users on macOS Monterey will also want to go check for an update.

1. Click on the Apple menu in the corner of your screen then click on System Preferences

2. Click on Software Update

3. Click on Update Now or Upgrade Now

Now all of your Apple devices are up-to-date and safe from zero-day vulnerabilities. To be clear, it’s most likely that these bugs were only used in targeted attacks.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t update, as it’s wise to keep your devices updated at all times to prevent attacks.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.