How To Fix Telugu Character Bug Crashing Messages App on iPhone and iPad

How To Fix Telugu Character Bug Crashing Messages App on iPhone and iPad. When you have an iPhone, you almost certainly know that iOS 11 hasn't been the smoothest iOS version released, to put it lightly. We've seen bug after bug cripple the software's usability, often within the Messages app. Now, yet another glitch has emerged to drive us crazy, one where only a simple Indian character can crash Messages and also other third-party apps.

You don't need to open a text containing the Telugu (a Dravidian language native to India) character to see the full weight of the glitch. As demonstrated in a video by Tom Warren, even though you allow the message notification to pass unchecked, when you open the Messages app, your iPhone's springboard reloads, blocking you from accessing the iphone app at all. The bug reportedly impacts iPhone running iOS 11.2.5.

Fix Telugu Character Bug Crashing Messages App on iPhone and iPad

Option 1 Update to iOS 11.2.6

The official method for patching this new bug is to download and install iOS 11.2.6. Apple released this version of iOS 11 Feb. 19, four days after the initial discovery of the Telugu glitch.

This update was built to address the debilitating iOS bug. If you're running iOS 11.2.5, updating to the latest system software is a no-brainer. Just open your iPhone's Settings app, tap "General," then tap "Software Update." Follow the on-screen instructions to download, install, and protect your iPhone with 11.2.6.

Option 2 Have a Friend Text You

According to The Verge, the fix is straightforward — simply have a friend text you anything but the troublesome Telugu character. Then, open that message, tap the back arrow in the top-left corner of the display, then delete the thread containing the Telugu character.

Once the thread is deleted, you should regain regular access to the Messages app. However, if the character is sent to your iPhone again, you may have to repeat the steps above to solve the issue.

Option 3 install the iOS 11.3 Beta

While Messages, fortunately, has a remedy to the mess, third-party programs aren't so lucky. It seems Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Outlook, and Gmail all fall prey to the same bug, however, the Messages fix can not work.

If any of these other apps on your iPhone are affected, or if you'd like to add an extra layer of security to your iPhone to start with, consider installing the general public iOS 11.3 beta. From what we've seen, iOS 11.3 is not susceptible to this character bug, so by installing the software on your iPhone, you mustn't experience the glitch in any of your apps.

Whether Apple fixed this glitch intentionally when developing iOS 11.3 is unclear at the moment, however, they have now openly acknowledged the bug. The business states a fix for the problem is in the works, which we anticipate could arrive when iOS 11.2.6.