Apple Working on a Fix for iOS 9.3 Web Links Crashing Issue

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Apple has confirmed that it is aware of an issue causing web links to crash in multiple iOS apps like Safari, Mail, and Messages, reports TechCrunch. Following multiple complaints about the bug over the past few days, Apple says it is working on a fix that will be released "soon" via a software update.

Shortly after the release of iOS 9.3, iPhone and iPad users began complaining about a bug that causes multiple built-in and third-party apps to crash or freeze after a web link is tapped or pressed using a long press. The issue does not affect all users, but based on threads in the MacRumors forums and the Apple Support Communities, it is impacting a wide range of iOS users and a long list of iOS devices including the iPhone 5, 5s, 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini.


The specific cause for the issue is still unconfirmed, but there is speculation that it is related to Apple's Universal Links feature. According to mobile specialist Ben Collier, the Shared Web Credentials daemon, which allows apps and websites to share login credentials for Universal Linking purposes, may be a factor.

Apps with large deep linking files for use with Universal Linking could also be causing the problem, as many users who had installed the Booking.com app have experienced crashing and freezing issues. The Booking.com app, though now fixed, was originally using an overly large 2.3MB deep linking file.

While there is no fix for the crashing issue, some users have had success turning off JavaScript in the Settings app by going to Safari --> Advanced, but this is a suboptimal option because it will degrade the web browsing experience. Force closing affected apps and restarting the iOS device does not solve the problem.

The web links fix may be bundled into iOS 9.3.1, which Apple is already working on. Over the last few days, we've seen an increasing number of visits from devices running iOS 9.3.1, suggesting Apple has sped up testing on the update.

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The web linking bug is the second major bug to affect iOS 9.3 users. The first rendered some older devices unusable due to a problem with Activation Lock, which required customers to enter the information originally used to set up their iPhone or iPad. Apple issued a new version of iOS 9.3 on Monday to fix the issue.

Tag: iOS 9.3
Related Forum: iOS 9

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Top Rated Comments

Asarien Avatar
Asarien
118 months ago
Their quality continues to decrease. Apple is on the verge of becoming Microsoft; too big to do everything right.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tbayrgs Avatar
tbayrgs
118 months ago
Give Apple some credit. It takes time to perfect code, and its not always easy to write in the first place.

Yes, they should have kept it in beta longer or worked on it more exclusively, but thats another story.
And yes, these things can appear after release rather than in the beta process.
Why? Writing code isn't new---Apples been doing it for a very long time. My issue is that these types of problems are becoming the norm vs. the exception. This release has been in beta for months yet we first see a bad version on 9.3 for older devices and now this.

Apple's reputation for polished software is getting a bit tarnished in my opinion.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cjducasse Avatar
cjducasse
118 months ago
For as long as this has been in beta, it's really unacceptable. I'm not affected, I hardly use bookmarks because I can navigate manually faster than I can scroll through a list of links to identify the page I want… but geez.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sirious Avatar
Sirious
118 months ago
Give Apple some credit. It takes time to perfect code, and its not always easy to write in the first place.

Yes, they should have kept it in beta longer or worked on it more exclusively, but thats another story.
And yes, these things can appear after release rather than in the beta process.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C DM Avatar
C DM
118 months ago
Give Apple some credit. It takes time to perfect code, and its not always easy to write in the first place.

Yes, they should have kept it in beta longer or worked on it more exclusively, but thats another story.
Might not have been found there either even with a longer beta. Some things just surface when they surface. Most people don't realize that about software or don't want to believe it, but that's the reality.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IPPlanMan Avatar
IPPlanMan
118 months ago
There were issues of all kinds in previous versions of iOS and iPhone OS as well. With the OS becoming more complex and larger and the list of supported devices growing and growing along with the apps and the number of users, all that will contribute to more potential issues being present and/or noticed. It's not to say that there isn't something in addition to that as far as Apple needing better/more development and quality control, but even that won't make it so that there aren't issues present, including some big ones sometimes, or that various people will still complain about this or that.
Apple needs to stop adding features and start adding reliability.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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