iOS 11 Bug: An Emoji Can Render The Messages App Unusable

The release of iOS 11 has been rough to say the least. Apple’s mobile operating system has faced several issues and now a new one has been discovered. An emoji-related bug seems to be rendering the Messages app unusable, according to user complaints.

The newly discovered bug in the iPhone Messages app was first brought up by users on the MacRumors forums. Users say that when they start a new conversation in the Messages app and send one emoji as the first message, the user interface for the menu at the top of the app will suddenly disappear.

When this glitch happens, it renders the Messages app unusable. So far, the only way to get the app running normally again is by force closing the app. To force close an app, users will have to open the multitasking menu by pressing the home button twice and swiping up on the app.

To force close on the iPhone X, users will have to swipe from the bottom of the screen and hold it in the middle to bring up the multitasking menu. Users will then have to tap and hold on the Messages app until the red indicator pops up at the left corner of the app. Users can force close the app by either tapping on the red indicator or by swiping up.

MacRumors was able to reproduce this bug on the Messages app running iOS 11.2, iOS 11.2.1 and the recently released iOS 11.2.5 beta. The bug can occur on iMessage chats (blue text bubbles) and SMS messages (green text bubbles). The bug is also occurring on other devices running the older iOS 11.1.2 software. It seems as though the issue is affecting most iPhone, iPad and iPod touch models.

Admittedly, this bug in iOS 11 is pretty minor and it already has a temporary, albeit inconvenient solution. However, it adds to the growing pile of other issues and bugs that have plagued Apple’s recent software releases.

One of the most talked about issues with iOS 11 was the autocorrect bug where the keyboard would automatically replace the letter “i” to “A [?]” when users are typing. The most serious software issue that Apple faced was on macOS High Sierra. A vulnerability in the Mac operating system allowed attackers to easily login to a user’s Mac without using the password. Apple has since provided fixes for these issues.

Apple has already been notified about this iOS 11 emoji bug and it’s likely that the company will release a software update to provide a permanent fix. Meanwhile, the iOS 11.2.1 was released yesterday and is supposed to fix some bugs from iOS 11.2. Users are adviced to update as soon as possible, but this won't fix the emoji bug.