iPhone Users Beware! The ‘Black Dot of Death’ Is Out to Get You

iPhone users need to be aware of the ‘Black Dot of Death’ bug that’s making iPhone messaging app crash.

The ‘Black Dot’ bug is a major reason many iPhone apps are crashing 

(Photo: The Quint/@2shar)

For all those who thought their iPhones were safe from viruses and bugs just because they run on iOS, a very ‘secure’ operating system devoid of all malicious malware; your worst nightmare just came true.

iPhone users around the world are being warned about the ‘Black Dot of Death’, some sort of a bug that seems to be infecting iPhones, which not only renders iMessage useless but also deletes messages.

How Does It Infect Your iPhone?

An iMessage bug with a string of hidden texts and a black dot emoji (⚫️) is the biggest reason for this problem. The bug was spotted by YouTuber ‘EverythingApplePro’, who calls a prank that freezes people’s phones. 

What's even worse is that there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to get rid of the message once you’ve received it.

If the user opens the message, the screen goes blank and you're left at the mercy of Apple. At the moment, the bug affects the current version of iOS (11.3) and the iOS 11.4 beta as well.

Just FYI, if you think that restarting your device will fix the issue, you’re headed for disappointment. DO NOT RESTART as the bug will affect other applications on the phone as well.

Is There a Way to Fix It?

I was surfing through the internet when I came across a video by EverythingApplePro who seems to have found a fix for the bug. According to the video, one needs to 3D touch on the iMessage application, tap on New Message and voila! As simple as that! Here’s how to do it:

• First, force close the iMessage app.
• Then 3D Touch on the iMessage app and select New Message.
• Tap on Cancel on the New Message screen, and that will redirect you back to your list of iMessage conversations.
• From there, you can delete the message that has the bug.

Now here’s the other bit. What if your phone doesn’t support 3D touch? Relax, there’s a way to fix that as well. Here’s how to do it:

• Force close the iMessage app.
• Activate Siri and ask it to “Send a reply to... (whoever sent you the message with the bug)”.
• You have to keep sending replies through Siri until the bug goes off screen in the iMessage.
• Open iMessage again and tap on Back to go to the conversation list.
• Then from the list, you can delete the thread with the bug.

Apple is looking to release a fix for this issue in its iOS 11.4 version.

A couple of days ago, WhatsApp users too were in a spot of bother with such a bug called “text bomb” that could block access to apps and crash your entire smartphone. The bug didn't spare either iPhone or Android users.

The problem was first sighted when a Reddit user claimed that a specially-designed text message with hidden codes could crash many messaging apps including WhatsApp.

The message which reads “This is very interesting!” signing off with a “face with tears of joy” smiley emoji has the ability to damage your device to a great extent.

There was another text bomb that was in the form of a Telugu character which disabled access to iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Outlook and Gmail, and also caused the iOS Springboard to crash.

Currently, not many Indian users have come forward with the problem and the issue remains isolated mostly in the western part of the world. With India being one of the largest markets for the iPhone, don’t be surprised if you’re the next one to receive the buggy message.

(The Quint is now on WhatsApp. To receive handpicked stories on topics you care about, subscribe to our WhatsApp services. Just go to TheQuint.com/WhatsApp and hit send)