--- description: A specific single line of text can reportedly freeze and shut down a user's iPhone title: This Bizarre New Bug Is Causing iPhones to Melt Down image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2cb6171d3fe4c6a/6988519d55a8597d15a8c2f3/gettyimages-455053466.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Bizarre New Bug Is Causing iPhones to Melt Down by [Daniel Roberts](/author/daniel-roberts/) ## Daniel Roberts Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 8:15 AM CUTPublished: May 27, 2015 11:50 AM CUT  A member of the media inspects the new iPhone 6 during an Apple special event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on September 9, 2014 in Cupertino, California. A member of the media inspects the new iPhone 6 during an Apple special event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on September 9, 2014 in Cupertino, California.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Daniel Roberts](/author/daniel-roberts/) ## Daniel Roberts Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 8:15 AM CUTPublished: May 27, 2015 11:50 AM CUT A single line of text can [reportedly freeze](http://9to5mac.com/2015/05/26/ios-messages-crash-bug/ "undefined") and shut down iPhones. Technology blogs are reporting that a specific text message, when sent to an iPhone from any device, causes the phone to crash, shut down, and turn back on—and in some cases, some users are still unable to access messages again until the offending sender sends another text message. (The recipient can also return the phone to normal by responding to the sender from a different device, like an iMessage-enabled Mac or iPad, some sites report.) Users on Reddit have been [discussing the problem](http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/37enow/about%5Fthe%5Flatest%5Fiphone%5Fsecurity%5Fvulnerability/ "undefined") and how to fix it. The text message itself is not exactly something people would happen to be writing in the course of a normal day. If someone texts this to you, they are likely doing it with malicious intentions. We won’t replicate the specific message here, but it includes the words “effective,” “power,” and then a string of characters, including Arabic and Chinese letters. A post on Reddit’s Apple subreddit, however, does [share the message](http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/37enow/about%5Fthe%5Flatest%5Fiphone%5Fsecurity%5Fvulnerability/ "undefined"). And it is quickly resulting in people using the text to play jokes on their friends: > [](https://twitter.com/IAmYaqoob/status/603522086884265984) > [](https://twitter.com/geriuxx/status/603501374584807424) > [](https://twitter.com/madddie%5Fstewart/status/603486388244320257) It’s unclear whether this is an accidental bug, or a sort of failsafe that Apple intended by design. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment on the issue and will update this story. Some news sites have suggested the cause of the bug is a problem with how the iPhone displays Arabic text. Regardless of the cause, the issue appears to be already becoming a popular and dangerous tool for aggravating pranks. **_Update, 11:21 EST:_** Apple sent _Fortune_ the following comment regarding the bug: “We are aware of an iMessage issue caused by a specific series of unicode characters and we will make a fix available in a software update. ### PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today  1916 A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I. Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images  1970 French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point'). Keystone/Holton/Getty Images  1980 An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London. Kypros/Getty Images  1983 Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on an FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work. Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images  1986 THE A-TEAM "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5\. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith. Bill Dow—NBC/Getty Images  1992 Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton talks on a cell phone while meeting with Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in a New York hotel on Sept. 25. Mark Lennihan—AP  1993 Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi. India Today Group/Getty Images  2001 A woman watches smoke pour out of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on September 11. Nicholas Goldberg—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images  2011 A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 in Ben Jawat, Libya. John Moore—Getty Images  2011 A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo. Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images  2012 Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Marc Serota—Getty Images  2014 A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast. The Queen has apparently voiced her dismay that when she carries out engagements she is greeted by a sea of mobile phones. Peter Macdiarmid—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP _This_ [_article_](http://fortune.com/2015/05/27/iphone-text-crash/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Fortune.com_](http://www.fortune.com "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3897555/iphone-text-crash/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3897555/iphone-text-crash/"},"headline":"This Bizarre New Bug Is Causing iPhones to Melt Down","datePublished":"2015-05-27T11:50:35.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T08:15:14.000Z","description":"It's reportedly generated by a specific single line of text","url":"https://time.com/3897555/iphone-text-crash/","keywords":["Tech","Apple","reddit","iPhone","Hack","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2cb6171d3fe4c6a/6988519d55a8597d15a8c2f3/gettyimages-455053466.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel Roberts","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-roberts/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2cb6171d3fe4c6a/6988519d55a8597d15a8c2f3/gettyimages-455053466.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Apple Unveils iPhone 6","caption":"Apple Unveils iPhone 6","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3897555/iphone-text-crash/","name":"This Bizarre New Bug Is Causing iPhones to Melt Down"}}]}] ```