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Apple just told us all how to fix the crazy iPhone-crashing iMessage bug

Published May 29th, 2015 9:05AM EDT
iPhone iMessage Crashing Bug Fix

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A few days ago, a critical iOS bug capable of crashing and rebooting iPhones with a simple message was discovered. Apple didn’t take long to acknowledge the issue, and not the company has shared a temporary fix that should help affected users get their iPhones back.

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The fix isn’t final. It’s really just a workaround meant to temporarily patch the problem, and the company will probably issue a permanent solution in an upcoming software update.

Meanwhile, users affected by the nasty iPhone-crashing iMessage bug can try Apple’s fix immediately.

“Apple is aware of an iMessage issue caused by a specific series of unicode characters and we will make a fix available in a software update,” the company said. “Until the update is available, you can use these steps to re-open the Messages app.”

The company says that users should ask Siri to “read unread messages,” and then use the virtual assistant to reply to the malicious message. Once that’s done, users should go to the Messages app, then swipe left to delete the entire conversation containing the message.

Apple doesn’t specifically say this, but you’ll have to repeat the procedure every time a malicious message is received.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.