A bug in the Apple operating system can lock the brand's devices, such as iPhone, macOS, Apple Watch and iPad, when receiving a message or notification with characters from the Sindhi language interspersed with emojis. The text in question freezes the iPhone and prevents the use of the touch, so that the user is forced to restart the smartphone. Reports of the flaw emerged on Thursday (23), and spread across Twitter and Telegram, according to comments from netizens on Reddit.
READ: Apple releases new iOS and fixes iPhone crash; Look
It has not yet been confirmed which versions of iOS are affected by the bug, but online posts indicate that it is present in all editions of iOS 13. A solution to the flaw is available in iOS 13.4.5 for beta testers, and the prediction is that repair will reach all users of the stable variation soon.
Apple releases iOS 13.1 with new iPhone features and bug fixes Photo: Rubens Achilles / dnetc
Want to buy cell phones, TV and other discounted products? Meet Compare dnetc
The text that causes the bug and freezes iPhones initially circulated on the Internet with the Italian flag emoji, but further tests indicate that the failure happens regardless of the choice of figurine inserted between the Sindhi character. Receiving notifications from native email and iMessage apps is enough to lock your smartphone, according to online complaints.
However, viewing the defective text in other apps, such as Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter, also causes the failure. In the case of social networks, it is not necessary to directly receive the message with emoji and syndicated letter if it is present in the text of any publication in the feed, the iPhone crashes.
Variation of the message that can lock the iPhone Photo: Reproduo / dnetc
The suspicion is that all editions of iOS 13 are flawed, but there is no consensus in previous versions, such as iOS 12. For example, a user on Reddit claims that the bug does not happen on an iPhone 7 Plus and another 6 Plus, both with update number 12.4.5.
The bug demonstration video, published on Twitter, shows that it is not necessary to use the Italian flag emojis to lock the iPhone with iOS 13.4.1. When the fault is activated, the smartphone does not respond to commands on the touch screen and freezes on the last page opened. It is then necessary to restart the iPhone to use the cell phone again. The bug does not leave serious sequels in the system, but it can bother those affected.
The flaw happens on iOS due to the way the system renders text. The Sindhi character demands excess memory from the cell phone to be displayed, which results in crashes. Similar cases have already occurred in the Apple system, such as the bug with Telugu writing in 2018, which crashed messaging applications when receiving the defective message.
The expectation that the solution will be released in the next update of iOS 13. The beta version of iOS 13.4.5 is no longer affected by the bug, and is being made available gradually to experimental users. While the update does not arrive, it is ideal to disable cell phone notifications and restart the iPhone if you encounter text on the Internet.
Is iPhone 7 worth it in 2020? Leave your opinion on dnetc's Forum.
Android 10 (Q) vs iOS 13: see system resources
