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Apple has acknowledged a flaw in the latest update to its iOS 9 mobile operating system that is causing app hang-ups and OS crashes when users tap links while using various apps.
Reports indicate that multiple versions of iOS 9 are affected by the problem, including the latest 9.3 version and earlier editions of the OS, according to a March 29 story by 9to5Mac.
Apple has issued a statement about the flaw after reports began building, and it acknowledged that code repairs are under way.
“We are aware of this issue, and we will release a fix in a software update soon,” the company said.
The flaw that’s causing the issue is affected by specific apps that have been installed by users and how those apps handle universal links, according to the 9to5Mac story. The Bookings.com app early on was found to be a cause of the bug and was related to its Website association file, the story reported. Key files used by the system for the universal links feature would overload the daemon that had to parse the files, causing the crashes, the story reported. “Users of Booking.com should delete and reinstall the app, to refresh the system caches for the URL association file.”
Other apps, however, are also causing the crashing and hang-up problems.
Apple has had other operating system issues recently.
In February, the company apologized to iPhone owners and issued a patched version of iOS after an undisclosed number of iPhones were rendered inoperable by an “Error 53” security feature that the company said was built into the devices when they were assembled.
The affected iPhones had been repaired by third-party service centers using non-Apple parts, which triggered the error message as a security feature, according to Apple. The Error 53 message was designed to come on if the phone’s built-in fingerprint ID mechanism or its cable was replaced by someone who was trying to gain access to the device.
The problem was that the error message also came on after a phone was simply repaired. The company issued its apology after several weeks of hearing customer complaints about the glitch.
That problem was specific to iPhones that were given iOS updates through Apple iTunes, the company said. The Error 53 in iTunes was designed as a security feature to check whether Touch ID worked properly before the device left the factory. The company provided an online support document describing more details about the error message and how affected devices could be repaired.
Apple recently announced that customers can now trade in damaged iPhones toward the purchase of new iPhones, replacing Apple’s long-standing policy of not accepting damaged iPhones on trade. Under the rules, Apple will accept late-model broken iPhones that have damaged screens, cameras or buttons and will credit customers $50 for an iPhone 5s, $200 for an iPhone 6 and $250 for an iPhone 6 Plus.
Under the previous Apple Store Reuse and Recycle iPhone trade-in program, older iPhones with cracked displays or broken cameras and buttons were not eligible for trade-ins. The updated trade-in program now allows Apple Stores to credit customers for damaged iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus handsets.