Indian Language Symbol Crashes iPhone, iPads

Typing a particular word in the Telugu language on an iPhone can crash the device, Aloha Browser found recently. It can freeze the iOS device if another person sends the symbol to that device.

“The problem is in San Francisco font, which is default in many Apple devices, so not only iOS is affected, but watchOS, MacOS, tvOS as well,” Aloha Browser tweeted. The glitch affects iPhones and iPads too.

The problem arises whenever the symbol is placed in a text field in an iOS 11 device. Applications that try to place the symbol that says the word “sign” in Telugu will freeze and shut down, according to PCMag.

The bug crashes apps, including Mail, Twitter, Messages, Slack, Instagram and Facebook, TechCrunch reported. Apple is working to fix the bug.

New iOS 11.2.5 bug: This Indian character will crash your iPhone and lock down the Messages app https://t.co/njdOVMbvJK pic.twitter.com/mP60RRdKPr

— Handility (@handility) February 15, 2018

Beta versions of the upcoming iOS 11.3 have already had the glitch solved. Gadget Hacks suggests that downloading iOS 11.3 Beta would solve the problem that can potentially render your phone frozen.

According to Verge, to fix the problem ask a friend to text anything but the Telugu character. Open the message, tap the back arrow in the top-left corner of the display, then delete the thread containing the Telugu character. Removing the thread gives normal access to the Messages app. Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Outlook, and Gmail — third-party apps — also get affected by the bug but the solution that was applicable for Messages app is not applicable here.

This is not the first bug found in the iOS 11 and its different version. In November, iOS users who had downloaded the iOS 11 update were temporarily unable to use the letter “i”. In iOS 11.1, the letter “i” sometimes gets autocorrected to the letter “a” and another symbol. The bug doesn’t affect all iPhone and iPads. The letter “i” can be manually replaced but the solution was inconsistent.