Issue

Apple confirms a fix for iOS 9.3’s misbehaving web links is in the works and coming soon

Apple is aware that some folks are seeing unexpected behavior when tapping web links on iOS 9.3 and is working on a fix which will be deployed to users in the form of a minor software update, a company spokesperson has confirmed to TechCrunch.

An unknown portion of people who have upgraded their iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices to iOS 9.3 have reported being plagued with this issue where tapping web links would crash apps like Safari, Messages, Mail, Chrome, Tweetbot and more.

Apple reposts iOS 9.3 for older devices bricked by Activation Lock

Shortly after releasing the new iOS 9.3 firmware, Apple was forced to stop signing the update following numerous complaints from owners of older iPhones and iPads, such as the original iPad Air and the iPhone 5s and older, that it was bricking their devices.

Monday, Apple re-released iOS 9.3 to fix an issue that prevented users from activating their device via Activation Lock if they couldn't recall their Apple ID password used to originally set up their device with.

The re-released versions of iOS 9.2 carries a build number of 13E237 and is now available as an over-the-air download although those with a bricked device might want to apply the update through iTunes in DFU mode.

Some people complain that iOS 9.3 crashes after tapping on web links

It seems that iOS 9.3 is causing unexpected behavior when tapping web links, as evidenced by Twitter and a growing thread on the Apple Support Communities forums. Hundreds of affected users are reporting that the latest iPhones, and some older devices, become unresponsive or crash after tapping or tapping-and-holding web links in both first and third-party apps such as Safari, Messages, Mail, Notes, Google Chrome and more. For others, tapping on links does nothing.

Other people claim they were plagued with the same issue on iOS 9.2 devices, with some users claiming they heard from an Apple Support representative that the company is aware of the issue and is working on a fix, which should be released soon.

Apple releases a new iOS 9.3 build for older devices affected by the bricking issue

As we reported, numerous users took to Apple's support forums to complain that some owners of older iPhone and iPad devices saw their hardware bricked after updating to the recently released iOS 9.3 firmware. Apple has since detailed the problem in a support document on its website and pulled the software update for select devices.

Today, the company has re-released iOS 9.3 for those devices. The new build of iOS 9.3 for the iPad 2 has version number “13E236” versus the now defunct iOS 9.3 build “13E234” for the iPhone and “13E233” for the iPad, as per 9to5Mac's Chance Miller.

Some iPhone owners complain about receiving undeletable emails from 1970 and 1969

iOS has been hit with another strange bug which causes users to receive ghost emails from 1969 and 1970 that cannot be deleted.

As some Reddit users have discovered, an error with the mail server not downloading the headers correctly appears to be causing some iPhone owners to receive undeletable 'null' emails dated back to December 31, 1969 or January 1, 1970.

It's unclear if this issue is related to the infamous 'January 1, 1970' bug which can brick some devices and that Apple has fixed in the forthcoming iOS 9.3 software update. We have reached out to Apple asking them to comment on the new issue and will report if we receive a reply.

Apple will repair 2011-2013 MacBook Pros with video issues until December 31, 2016

Apple has extended a repair program to fix MacBook Pro notebooks that are plagued with video issue until December 31, 2016, reveals an updated support document on the company's website. The MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues, as it's officially referred to as, was originally scheduled to expire on February 27, 2016.

A small percentage of 15 and 17-inch MacBook Pro models sold between February 2011 and February 2013 may display distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen, show no video on the inbuilt screen or external display or the machine may restart unexpectedly.

Apple Pay launch in China hits a snag over sign-up issues

The official launch of Apple Pay in China didn't go as smoothly as hoped as a lot of users faced problems trying to link their credit cards to their accounts. According to local reports collected by Mashable, Apple may have underestimated the demand from China as its servers struggled to keep up with a huge rush of people trying to sign up for the service.

Apple promises a fix for iPhone bricking stemming from date and time bug

A newly published support document from Apple, which was first discovered by German blog Apfelpage.de, has acknowledged an issue where any 64-bit iPhone could be bricked by setting the date back to a specific time, causing it to fail to boot properly and requiring a physical repair to put the device back into working order.

According to the document, a permanent fix for the problem will be released as part of a future software update. Meanwhile, the affected iPhone owners are advised to contact Apple Support.

Law firm moving forward with class action lawsuit over ‘Error 53’ iPhone bricking

Seattle-based law firm Pfau Cochran Vertexes Amala (PCVA) has decided to follow through with plans to drag Apple to court over software safeguards in iOS which have been specifically designed to render iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets inoperable after unauthorized Touch ID and Home button repairs.

As first noted by AppleInsider yesterday, the pending class action lawsuit was filed with with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging the Cupertino firm has “gone too far” in employing the extreme measure of bricking users' handsets without any advance warning.

Don’t try this at home: iPhones apparently getting bricked after date is set back to a specific time

According to a post on Reddit and reports out of China, it is possible to brick an iPhone by setting the date back to a specific time.

I wasn't brave enough to test it myself, but the post claims the bug only affects 64-bit iOS devices.

It would seem that changing the device's Date & Time values to a specific point in time would cause it to fail to boot properly.

Basically, it gets bricked and stuck at the Apple logo boot image. Neither DFU mode nor restoring from a backup would bring a bricked device back to life as a physical repair is required to put it back into working order.

Latest El Capitan beta has fixed Safari’s mishandling of shortened Twitter “t.co” links

An annoying issue pertaining to broken Twitter links, which has persisted in Safari for Mac since November 2015, has been fixed in the third beta of the forthcoming OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan software update, according to user reports on the Apple Support Communities forums.

The “Safari can’t open the page because the server where this page is located is not responding” error page no longer appears when clicking shortened “t.co” Twitter links with the secure HTTPS protocol in Safari and third-party apps like Tweetbot.

Error 53: Apple could get sued over iPhone bricking

'Error 53,' the infamous cryptic message that appears on an iPhone after iOS 9 renders the device inoperable due to an unauthorized Home button repair, is attracting attention of top law firms which are reportedly considering taking Apple to court over the snafu, reports The Guardian.

“At least one firm of US lawyers said it hopes to bring a class action against the technology giant on behalf of victims whose £500 phones have been rendered worthless by an Apple software upgrade,” the British paper said.