Apple has released its latest software update (iOS 9.3) just a week ago however the new system is already having issues due to a bug that is causing iPhone apps to freeze and crash when the links are clicked. The new software update was released with several new features such as the Night Shift, which is a new mode that automatically makes adjustments in your display depending on the time of day. This helps in avoiding eye strain.
Just after the release, the users reported that the iOS 9.3 update was causing issues in some older devices, and the iPad 2 had more impacts than other models.
To provide a solution to the problem, Apple came up with a new version of iOS 9.3 to fix the issue. A workaround was quickly released to repair the damage caused in devices that have been affected.
iPhone owners who have upgraded their devices with the update are reporting that whenever they click on any link in Chrome, Notes, Safari, Mail and Messages, it causes the iPhone apps to freeze and then crash.
Apple was quick in responding to the problem and they said that the company was aware of the problem and that they would soon come up with a fix for the issue.
iPhone and iPad owners have complained about the issue in various social networking platforms and the support pages of Apple.
What is the root cause of the issue?
It is believed that the problem is caused due to the Universal Links, a feature that was introduced in iOS 9. It allowed the developers to link into their apps with the same links used for website.
The feature allows the customers to tap on a link and directly access the content inside an app that has been installed on the device. Off late, several apps started using this feature and some apps registered quite a lot of domains.
Now, when a user who has this feature on his device updates the software, it extracts the entire list of registered domains, and given the fact that the registrations are many, it is causing the apps to freeze and crash. If you are using a Safari app then disabling the Java Script can control the damage.
However, this is a temporary solution for Safari app and does not fix the issues in other apps such as Notes, Mail and Messages.
Rebooting the device, opening a different browser, and clearing the cache and history can be helpful. Uninstalling the app which causes the problem may also provide a temporary solution.