Your iPhone may crash if you type this in the search box, new character bug spotted

iPhone users running iOS 17 can trigger this character bug causing Springboard to reset.

Apple will likely address and fix the character bug in the next iOS update. (AP)

iPhone is reportedly infested with a character bug that is causing the smartphone to crash. As mentioned in a report by TechCrunch, the bug can result in a respring on the iPhone. For those who are unaware, respiring is not a full reset, and your iPhone will take a few seconds before it starts functioning again. If you swipe over to the App Library and type “”:: in the search field, the iPhone may respire. MacRumors reports that the character bug is not only limited to iOS 17. An odd behavior can also be observed in the iOS 18 that is still in beta stage and will be rolled out to the public in the coming weeks.

iPhone app also crashing due to character bug

The character bug in the App Library section is causing Springboard to reset, and it drops you back at the ‌iPhone‌'s Lock Screen. Apart from this, if you type in the same characters in the search interface of the Settings app, it will cause the app to crash. However, no impact of the bug can be noticed in the Spotlight search. As mentioned earlier, the respring is taking place in iPhones running iOS 17. In iPhones with iOS 18, characters disappear and the Settings app crashes when “”:: is typed in the search box.

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As noticed by MacRumours, the respring can also happen when you just type in “”:, suggesting that there is something related to the first three symbols in the sequence.

Not first character bug in iPhone

Apple will likely address and fix the character bug in the next iOS update. This isn't the first time the Cupertino-based tech giant is facing a Character bug. Over the generations, such bugs have spread through Messages, allowing users to crash iPhone of others. However, the recent one seems pretty insignificant as the ‌iPhone‌ owner needs to manually add the characters into a search interface.

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