DO NOT TEST...THIS IS FOR INFO ONLY.
New iOS Bug Crashing iPhones Simply by Receiving a Text Message [Includes Fix]
Tuesday May 26, 2015 8:34 pm PDT by Juli Clover
A new bug has been discovered in the Messages app, allowing a string of
characters sent to a person via iMessage or SMS to crash an iPhone and cause
the Messages app to crash after being opened. The bug, which requires a
specific string of symbols and Arabic characters to be sent, was first noticed
on reddit earlier this afternoon and has been spreading around the Internet
since then.
Sending the string of characters to an iPhone results in an immediate respring,
causing an iPhone to crash and quickly reboot. From there, if the Messages app
was opened at a list view, the Messages app crashes automatically when you try
to open it. If it was opened to the conversation where you received the
message, the app will open, but attempting to go to another conversation causes
Messages to crash.
MacRumors tested the bug on iPhones running iOS 8.3, but it may also be
affecting other versions of iOS.
If you receive one of these messages, there are a few possible fixes that have
worked for us and for other people who have encountered the bug. If the
Messages app was opened to the conversation with the person who sent the
offending message, the Messages app can be reopened to this conversation.
Sending a reply message fixes the problem.
If Messages was opened to the conversation list view, the app will crash when
you attempt to open it. You can fix this by having someone send you a message
or by sending a message to yourself. There are several options for sending a
message to yourself, including sending yourself a message via Siri or through
the Share sheet in any app.
To send yourself a message in Siri, tell Siri to "Send a message to myself."
Siri will open up a dialogue where you can give her a quick message like "Fix"
that'll be sent to your iPhone to clear away the malicious message.
Alternatively, you can open an app like Notes, craft a quick note, and use the
Share option (the little document with an arrow) to message it to yourself.
Sending yourself something though the share sheet of an app opens a new
messages window where you can enter your own contact information.
According to a Twitter user who spoke to Apple support, Apple's engineers are
aware of the problem and are working on a fix.
