iPhone and iPad users were reportedly facing a bizarre bug that was crashing the Safari browser while trying to search for certain words. The app was supposedly crashing as users entered the first three letters of certain words. The issue seemed to have affected Apple devices running on different versions of iOS 16. In addition, there have been reports of iOS 15 users also experiencing this bug. The exact cause for this error is unknown, however, several users are now claiming that this error has been fixed.
According to a report by MacRumours, several iPhone and iPad users have started experiencing a bug that would crash the Safari app when trying to search for certain terms. The issue had supposedly appeared overnight for several Apple devices running on iOS 15.7.1, iOS 16, iOS 16.1, iOS 16.1.1, and the iOS 16.2 beta.
@AppleSupport hello, I have a very strange issue with my new iPhone 14 and my mothers new iPhone 14. When we start to type Walmart “Wal” into the search engine the phones instantly close safari. See video below.. please help? pic.twitter.com/P5mq1ahaih
— 805 🇺🇸 (@Dakodes) November 14, 2022
The Safari app was said to be crashing whenever users tried to type tar, bes, wal, wel, old, sta, pla, and a few other phrases in the search bar. The bug seemingly prevented users from going beyond the first three letters of a word. Apple users had pointed out that turning off Safari Suggestions in the app settings would prevent the bug from surfacing.
It is believed to be a server-side bug that Apple has purportedly fixed without having to roll out an iOS update.
In related news, Apple recently released the iOS 16.1.1 update with several bug fixes and improvements that were not mentioned in the change logs. However, the update is said to have resolved a Wi-Fi connectivity issue faced by iOS 16 users. This update is available for iPhone 8 and later models. The Cupertino company also began rolling out the iPadOS 16.1.1 and macOS Ventura 13.0.1 updates at the same time.