A new character-linked bug has cropped up, and it is freezing iPhone, iPad devices, Apple Watch, and other iOS devices. When a string of text is sent to iOS units, the devices crash or completely stops responding to touch input upon receiving the message. The message includes the Italian flag emoji along with characters in the Sindhi language.
Apple is yet to release a fix publicly. Currently, the information on the origin of the text is scarce, but it is being reported that it all started from a Telegram group. Now, the test message is going viral on Twitter and other social media platforms. Apple is expected to fix these character bugs within a few days as there is no way to stop these characters from causing crashes. MacRumors reported that the issue is fixed in the second 13.4.5 iOS beta update.
Watch: OnePlus 8 vs OnePlus 7T: Is this a meaningful upgrade?
Before Apple rolls out a fix, users can try to get the crashed app working again by reinstalling it from scratch. Notably, this is not the first time that a character bug has caused iPhones and other iOS devices to crash. In the year 2018, a critical bug affected iMessage along with other messaging apps including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. The bug involved sending an Indian character to iPhones and Apple’s iOS Springboard crashed upon receiving the message.
Online miscreants also started taking advantage of this bug by sending messages on social media apps containing the Telugu characters in the hopes of crashing users’ iOS devices. The bug involves sending an Indian character to devices and Apple’s iOS Springboard will crash once the message is received. The messages app will no longer open since the app tries and fails to load the characters just received on the device.
