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This bug will freeze your iPhone if you’re dumb enough to try

Published Apr 25th, 2017 6:44PM EDT
iPhone Freezes Control Center Bug
Image: Shutterstock

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Given enough determination or pure luck, a device user will always find ways to freeze a gadget’s software. That’s exactly what happened with an iPhone user who discovered a way of freezing iOS by pressing a combination of menu options. Before you start worrying, this is not the kind of device freeze that can be performed with just a text message. Someone would need physical access to your phone to do it. Also, this freezing bug does not have any long-lasting effects on the phone even if it manages to temporarily render it useless.

Found by Italian site AmiciApple, the bug is fairly easy to replicate. All you need to do is bring up the Control Center screen and then try to tap simultaneously on three menu options. These are, from top to bottom, the AirDrop key, the Night Shift button, and one of the bottom buttons (Alarm, Calculator, Camera).

Once that’s done, iOS will freeze for a while, and you won’t be able to do anything with your phone. The screen will freeze on that Control Center menu, and you’ll have to wait for the iPhone to unfreeze itself.

The bug apparently works on iOS 10.2 all the way up to iOS 10.3.2 beta. It’s likely that Apple will patch it in the future. After all, it may be something insignificant, but it’s still the kind of unexpected iPhone behavior that can have negative effects on your daily iPhone experience.

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.