Apple has published a temporary workaround for a frustrating Messages bug\u00a0that causes iOS devices to crash and reboot when a certain string of characters is\u00a0received via SMS or iMessage. A permanent fix is on the way, but this will allow you to use your iPhone again in the meantime.<\/p>\n
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We won\u2019t publish the string here, which uses mostly Arabic characters, but as soon as it is received by an iPhone, it causes an immediate crash and forces a reboot. Users are then unable to open the Messages app without the same thing happening again.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, the string is so random that it\u2019s highly unlikely anyone would receive it by chance. What\u2019s more,\u00a0Apple has already acknowledged the problem, and it is working on a fix for a future iOS update.<\/p>\n
But in the meantime, those affected by it can follow the\u00a0official workaround below to get their Messages app working again.<\/p>\n
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- Ask Siri<\/a>\u00a0to \u201cread unread messages.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Use Siri to reply to the malicious message. After you reply, you\u2019ll be able to open Messages again.<\/li>\n
- In Messages, swipe left to delete the entire thread. Or tap and hold the malicious message, tap More, and delete the message from the thread.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n
This isn\u2019t the first time Messages has been affected by an issue like this; there\u00a0have actually been a number of \u201cmalicious messages\u201d just like this one that have caused iOS devices to crash. But Apple typically works quickly to eliminate them soon after they pop up.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\nSOURCE<\/span> APPLE<\/a><\/div>\n