Despite not being permanently damaging, the glitch can definitely be used to annoy an iPhone user.
Modders have discovered a new text bug that can freeze an iPhone with a simple SMS. iPhones running the latest OS versions i.e. iOS 10.0 to 10.3 Beta 1 are all susceptible, though any of Apple’s devices running iOS 9 and below are immune.
First reported by YouTube channel EverythingApplePro, the glitch is relatively harmless, albeit somewhat annoying. Pranksters can visit a hosted link where the message text is saved to copy it. Once the text is sent to an iOS 10 device, it effectively freezes the smartphone or tablet for between 15 to 30 seconds, though it returns to normal functionality after that duration.
In addition, the iPhone 7 suffers a bit of lag after receiving the text, until it’s restarted, and the status bar disappears. The iPhone 5 and 6 series see further effects, like making it impossible to swipe away the message notification, as well as stopping the user from waking their phone if the text is received while inactive.
A second method to activate this glitch, hosted on the same web page, is somewhat more troublesome. This particular version of the text freezes up the iPhone for a considerably longer duration, and can only be fixed by deleting the offending message thread when control is returned.
Both messages here appear blank to the receiver, but in fact contain unparseable symbols. A previously discovered hack to create unnamed app folders on the iPhone was found to generate them with a boxed question mark symbol. The ‘blank’ SMS in question here actually contains this symbol repeated multiple times, which taxes the phone processor as it tries, and fails, to render it as readable text.
This particular glitch is only temporary, so you likely won’t encounter it often. However, a dedicated prankster could theoretically spam you with this message, effectively rendering your phone useless for minutes at a time. It even works when being sent from Android devices, though it only affects devices with iOS 10 and up.
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 "latest premium smartphone, Smartphone OS, iOS 10, smartphone hacks")
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