Apple last week released iOS 9.3, a major new iOS update that includes several great new features. Unfortunately, iOS 9.3 is also plagued by various issues that Apple is currently patching up. After fixing the iOS 9.3 issue that was killing older iOS, Apple has also acknowledged the problem of broken links in Safari, which affects iOS devices across the board.
WARNING: Anyone can access sensitive info on your iPhone without even unlocking it
With the new update, tapping links inside Safari, Mail or other apps just causes an iPhone or iPad to hang or even crash. According to 9to5Mac, Apple will soon release a software update to patch up the broken links issue.
“We are aware of this issue, and we will release a fix in a software update soon.”
Workarounds for the issue are available, though they’re only temporary solutions, assuming they work in the first place. Digging through code, some developers discovered that the error appears only on some devices, and it’s tied to how apps handle universal links.
For example, Bookings.com is one app that produces this issue, but there are others that will cause similar behavior on your iPhone or iPad. High-profile apps including Wikipedia and Eat 24 are also impacted, and so are other apps that misuse the universal links APIs.
Sources told the site that Apple is already working with developers to help them understand how these APIs are supposed to work.
If you do discover apps that trigger this issue on your iPhone, you should get rid of them until iOS 9.3.1 rolls out to fix the matter — though it should be noted that simply deleting them won’t do the job. You’ll also have to clear the cache on your iPhone or iPad to make sure links will work again – here’s how to do it.
