I just was notified of the first one of these from Apple today It was for my iPad Mini 6 and was numbered 16.4.1(a). However, I have received the equivalent for my iPhone 12 so I’m wondering if whatever the update patched was iPadOS-related only.
Here is Apple’s page on these type of updates: About Rapid Security Responses for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS - Apple Support
Assume you meant “have not received” with respect to your iPhone 12.
It has been reported that the update is being rolled out over 48 hours, so you will need to keep checking over the next day or two.
Oops! And I can’t blame autocorrect! 
The Finder iOS Software Update interface does not see Rapid Security Responses even when the device itself is telling you it’s available. However, it did appear to use the USB cable to install it, when started from the device.
I received the notification for the Rapid Security Response. I allowed the update to take place and it was quicker than most iOS updates.
Upon completion, I navigated to Settings–>General–>About–>iOS Version.
In that window there is information on iOS 16.4.1 (20E252) and a separate section for the Rapid Security Response iOS 16.4.1 (a) (20E772520a).
And below that is an option “Remove Security Response”
I didn’t click on that…does it remove the security update?
Do we know what the security response is for? I clicked on it but all I got was info on the general meaning of rapid security responses, not what it was fixing.
Diane
I found it interesting that the verb they used for installation was “Apply”. I had never heard of an update being “applied”
OK, here is a 9to5Mac article on it:
And here is a YT video:
I just told my iPhone 12 to check for updates and it found the RSR 16.4.1(a)
Note: you have to use a WiFi connection to update iPhones
Here’s one of Howard Oakley’s articles on yesterday’s release (for both Ventura and iOS):
He’s got a couple other articles on this subject as well; makes for informative reading.
Yes it does.
No. There’s a push on by the IT community to provide such information in the same way as they have done for standard Security Updates, but nothing yet.
I did not experience a restart to get to 13.3.1(a) with an M2 MBA.
Odd. My MBP M1 Pro does need a restart.
[Edit:] As apparently did my iPhone 13 Pro Max. I didn’t catch it on the “Update available” screen there, but after I applied it, the next thing I saw when I picked up my phone was “Your passcode is required after iPhone restarts.”
On a sort of related subject: Has anyone seen anything about a Monterey security update? I know it won’t come via RSR, but the security flaw may still exist in Monterey and need to be patched the old-fashioned way. Or maybe it doesn’t. Or maybe they’ve dropped Monterey and are only doing macOS security updates on Ventura?
@blm
Are you maxed out at Monterey on your Mac? If NOT, at least you can get Ventura for “free”.
I’m maxed out at High Sierra but Apple doesn’t care about users who don’t have the latest and greatest hardware and software. Eventually I’ll have to get a newer iMac but my current one still works just fine, even without MacOS updates.
Monterey will still get security updates, but possibly not all of them (only the current version gets all security updates). Certainly Monterey doesn’t get RSR updates, that’s a Ventura feature.
If Apple finds that the fixes in the Ventura RSR apply to Monterey, and they decide to release them for Monterey then I would expect you would see them in the next traditional update.
From what I am led to believe, RSR fixes will be included in the next “traditional” Ventura update, so I don’t think those traditional updates are going away very soon.
Yes, as I understand it the new RSR updates are for emergencies that can’t wait for a “routine” update; those “routine” updates usually have non-security bug fixes, minor feature tweaks, etc, in addition to any security updates.
Right. Apparently because of the secure implementation of the system volume in the most recent MacOS versions, there’s a great deal more overhead than there used to be in rolling out a “routine” update to the full system. So the RSR updates provide a way to patch vulnerabilities with less overhead.
Dave
The next Monterey Security Update (and one for Big Sur) is being progressed, but there is no way to know what it covers until public release. Normally the Big Sur and Monterey Security Updates are released on the same day as the next Ventura Update occurs.
I could go to Ventura, but I know enough people that have persistent problems with it that I’d rather not for the moment, although if that’s the only way to get security updates I may have to.
It’s my understanding that RSR is just a new way to distribute updates, it shouldn’t necessarily increase the number of updates, maybe just their frequency. So yes, Monterey clearly won’t get security updates via RSR, but could, if Apple chooses, get the same updates (if necessary, and modified for the different OS) via the old mechanism.
