A mysterious text notification is suddenly causing iPhones and other Apple devices to crash

• A new bug makes it possible to crash an iPhone and other Apple devices with a single string of characters.
• The message consists of characters in the Sindhi language.
• Those who receive the message can get their phone working again by performing a hard reset, according to one YouTube channel that tried it.
• Apple reportedly has a fix for the bug in the beta version of its next iPhone software update.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple's iPhone software has once again been affected by a bug that makes it possible to crash an iPhone when receiving a specific string of text through a notification.

The message consists of several characters from the Sindhi language and the Italian flag emoji, according to 9to5Mac, which spotted the issue on Thursday. Other reports, however, such as one from The Verge and a video from Everything Apple Pro, indicate that the Italian flag does not need to be present in order to freeze an iPhone.

Receiving these characters through a notification from any messaging or social media platform, such as Apple Messages, Twitter, or Telegram, among others, will cause Apple devices to freeze and crash, according to multiple reports.

Filip Koroy from the Everything Apple Pro YouTube channel demonstrated the flaw in a video posted to Twitter. When he received the string of text, he was unable to navigate back to the home screen or turn off his device. According to Koroy, the issue should resolve itself on its own, but he also said that you can perform a hard reset to fix it.

—EverythingApplePro (@EveryApplePro) April 23, 2020

The flaw is said to be impacting iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches, according to the reports. It's unclear where and how the character string originated, but 9to5Mac says it's believed to have originated on Telegram.

Apple did not immediately respond to Business Insider's question about when the problem would be addressed.

But the tech giant appears to be aware of the bug, as 9to5Mac reports that the issue appears to be fixed in the beta version of Apple's next iPhone software update.

Those concerned about receiving the text in question could turn off notifications from all messaging and social media apps as a precaution.

It's not the first time an issue like this has surfaced. A similar bug that would cause iPhones to crash when a URL was sent via text message emerged in 2018, which Apple quickly fixed. In 2015, a text string caused the Messages app to crash and in some cases forced iPhones to reboot upon receipt.

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