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Apple acknowledges iOS 9 crashing bugs when tapping links, fix coming ‘soon’ with a software update

Screen Shot 2016-03-29 at 10.52.11

Since posting our original story, we have heard from a lot of readers that are affected by iOS 9 crashes or app hangs when tapping links, spanning multiple iOS versions (not just 9.3) and devices. In a statement, Apple has now confirmed that they are working on a fix for the problem, coming in a software update (presumably iOS 9.3.1).

“We are aware of this issue, and we will release a fix in a software update soon.”
A temporary workaround is still unknown, although community investigations have revealed why the bug has arisen. It is based on what apps the user has installed and how those apps handle universal links.

Previously, we pinpointed Bookings.com as a cause of the bug, although noting it affects other apps as well. On Twitter, it was found that their website association file, used by the system for the universal links feature introduced with iOS 9, was many megabytes, grossly oversized. This would essentially overload the daemon that had to parse these files, causing the crashing. The Booking.com app has since corrected its payload file to be a far more reasonable 4 kilobytes. Users of Booking.com should delete and reinstall the app, to refresh the system caches for the URL association file.

However, Booking.com is not the only case of a developer misusing the API, so people who continue to experience bugs will also find that they have other apps installed on the system which are also registering thousands of URLs. Unfortunately, it is practically impossible to find out which apps are the misdemeanours. In terms of high-profile cases, we have heard that Wikipedia and Eat 24 are among the apps registering too many domains in their universal link directory. Sources tell us that Apple is working with high-profile developers to help them understand and better use the universal links APIs. The forthcoming software update will presumably let iOS better handle huge payloads files, rather than just crashing on the spot.

Even if you do eradicate all the apps which have bad manifests, there is still an iOS system cache to overcome (this cache means that even if you uninstall the offending app, the ‘bad’ code sticks around for a while). There is a potential how-to-fix posted on the Infinite Diaries blog, which involves a lot of hoop jumping to force the iPhone and iPad to reset its cache. Users who are really frustrated can follow the method through, if the believe they have removed all the apps that caused the problem in the first place.

Apple did not say when it expects to release the software update, other than ‘soon’. As it is an issue affecting so many people (and disrupting a rather major activity people do on iPhones and iPads, tap links) however, it would not be a surprise to expect a bug fix within a few days.

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Comments

  1. tPetaccia - 8 years ago

    My only question is .. iOS 9.3 had an relatively long beta period … and no one reported this prior to release?

    • Because the bug did NOT occur in any of the beta version of 9.3. In all betas the link worked.

      • tPetaccia - 8 years ago

        Strange

      • Rosyna Keller (@rosyna) - 8 years ago

        The bug has existed in every version of iOS 9, from the very beginning. Booking.com just happened to update their association file last week to a version that triggered the bug. It has nothing whatsoever to do with iOS 9.3.

    • trifster - 8 years ago

      I tested every beta 3-7 of iOS 9.3 and never experienced this bug nor am i affected now. I also never have had booking.com or other apps that trigger bug.

      • tPetaccia - 8 years ago

        Wow .. that is weird …

    • just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

      No one saw this issue, not even Apple. It started the moment Booking.com added several MBs worth of URLs to their file last week, something that should be small in the first place. That’s why this has nothing to do with betas or catching it prior to today, and it affected users going back to iOS 9.0.2.

      • tPetaccia - 8 years ago

        The Booking.com app is not on my phone .. and I still got the issue with the iOS 9.3 update

    • Stirling Robert Campbell - 8 years ago

      Yeah not sure if anyone else noticing phone crashing bugs in snapchat (fine after deletion) but it didn’t have any issues during any betas. I was testing some of my not so pro apps and also remember using my Test phone to ‘cheat” a SC trophy (get the sub zero one by Xcode faking that you’re in Moscow)

      I’m sure the major developers were doing the same, pretty much the whole point of iOS betas!

      • Rob Gage - 8 years ago

        I’ve never had booking.com app and my phone started crashing immediately after updating to 9.3 – ridiculous to maintain the fault isn’t with OS 9 !

  2. Povilas Griškevičius - 8 years ago

    Stupid developers.

    • Rosyna Keller (@rosyna) - 8 years ago

      There’s no need to harbor any ill will towards booking.com for this. The documentation on Universal Links is extremely sparse. It never talks about the limits or best practices. It never even discusses how apple-app-site-association files are updated on iOS devices.

      The file itself is completely valid JSON and passes all correctness tests. It’s just that iOS’ swcd daemon doesn’t like it and chokes hard. It’s nigh impossible for developers to test updates to their apple-app-site-association files from anywhere except the iOS simulator, which doesn’t have all the resource limitations a real iOS device has when shared with multiple other iOS apps.

    • Stirling Robert Campbell - 8 years ago

      Nope. Some made minor mistakes sure but this was not anticipated or did not show up during beta testing. What sort of accomplishments have you made? Pretty mean to call them “stupid” unless it was obviously happening from b1-7-GM.

      • Povilas Griškevičius - 8 years ago

        Keeping a 4 MB file, if not bigger in other cases, would trigger common sense. Should at least. And writing code is not an excuse. Do you think it’s an excuse for a house builder when a house collapses that he had hundreds of thousands of parts to fit?

        You don’t have to be a genius to write some inefficient and not thought through code. “oh but i’m a developer i know better” is a morning joke of 21st century.

  3. bukston - 8 years ago

    “Soon” … and only 4 comments on this development? Do you know how many people experience his problem? Because I spoke to every person I know and they all have the same problems. It is not just hundreds…it is millions I think ….I am so angry…Give me a break,….”soon …”

    • just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

      And everyone I know doesn’t suffer from this bug, including myself. Just because you know some people, doesn’t mean everyone is affected.

      It only affects a large number of users that is using the affected apps, not all iOS 9 users.

      Apple will fix it soon, they cannot simply release a fix. It has to be validated and tested for regressions.

      • Tim Robson - 8 years ago

        I’m having a hard time imagining a “regression” much more severe than the complete inability to use hyperlinks. I suppose they could brick a bunch of phones. Not as though they haven’t done that before.

        When you charge $1,200 for a phone, you have an obligation to avoid this kind of crap. I’m sorry, but “soon” doesn’t cut it.

      • Doug Aalseth - 8 years ago

        OK but “Instantly” isn’t an option. Developing software is done by people and takes time. For a bug like this they have to accumulate enough data to figure out what is causing it, which they appear to have done now. Now they will figure out a fix that will prevent the problem, and then they have tom test it to make sure the fix doesn’t cause any other problems. This was a bug not in iOS Safari, but in how other apps interact with iOS Safari. Kinda hard to predict this one unless someone stumbled across it in testing. Looks like nobody did.

    • Rosyna Keller (@rosyna) - 8 years ago

      While the problem first showed up early last week, the app that triggered this issue was only narrowed down this weekend, more into Sunday, really. So I’d say they’ve been very quick at responding.

    • carlapatch - 8 years ago

      Yes, I can’t use my ipad air2 to look for anything, because it freezes….

  4. John Smith - 8 years ago

    Every time Apple release a major update of IOS or OSX we have these ridiculous foul-ups.

    Personally I would never install Apple software when it is first released – wait until they produce a version that works.

    Perhaps more time and effort getting basic competent software right and less time and effort obstructing law enforcement ?

    • Rosyna Keller (@rosyna) - 8 years ago

      This problem is not new. The bug has existed in iOS since at least iOS 9.0.2 because people still running that version were hit with the bug when Booking.com updated their site association file last week.

      • John Smith - 8 years ago

        Hi Rosyna –

        Hadn’t heard that. But if it’s an error that has been there a prolonged time – to be honest – that just makes it even more incompetent.

      • Helen Crichton Dumaresq - 8 years ago

        yes that’s true. I hadn’t updated my software- my phone just crashed. so deleting the booking dot com app wont fix the issue? we just have to wait then for the new software to come out?

    • just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

      Read what Rosyna said, since Booking.com updated their site LAST WEEK. As in, the problem was became visible last week, no one was suffering from it since iOS 9.0.2 for that long. What she said was that the bug is not new to iOS 9.3, it affects people with iOS 9.0.2 too.

      Apple’s working on fixing this as fast as they can, they cannot simply fix thing and release it, they have to validate the test and test for regressions.

    • Tim Robson - 8 years ago

      They need time to plan their next keynote. The one where they announce that their $1,200 smartphone finally has a functioning internet browser. I can hardly wait. I finally gave up waiting for them to fix Home Sharing – no profit for them in that, so why bother?

      • eswinson - 8 years ago

        When did they release a $1200 smartphone?

    • Stirling Robert Campbell - 8 years ago

      Lol you are so ignorant it’s shocking.

  5. Carrick Patterson - 8 years ago

    What about the thing where on older devices it tells you you can’t do the installation because you are not connected to the internet?

    • just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

      Are you talking about the activation bug? That was already shipped yesterday.

    • Rosyna Keller (@rosyna) - 8 years ago

      If you’re still having this unrelated problem, go to Settings -> General -> Storage & iCloud Usage -> Storage and delete the system update that’s there. It seems your iOS device downloaded the old iOS 9.3 update and you tried to install it after it was pulled. You need the new one. Alternatively, you can use iTunes on a computer box to update the software.

      • Carrick Patterson - 8 years ago

        I read that elsewhere and tried it, but the update is not there.

  6. Andre Pereira - 8 years ago

    It happened to me out of the blue 4 days ago and I had iOS 9.2 (iPhone 6).
    Then I update to iOS 9.3 expecting the issue will be solved and of course it wouldn’t….then I research and found everyone was having the same issues.
    So, I don’t know what happened but iOS 9.2 had the same problem and suddenly this issue appeared from nowhere without installing any app or so…!!

  7. Rosyna Keller (@rosyna) - 8 years ago

    No, Eat24 and Wikipedia are *not* related to this issue. The wikipedia site association file registers 5 paths. The Eat24 site association file registers only 1 (and it’s 156 bytes total). There’s no need to mention apps that are totally unrelated to this issue. All it does is worry people.

    • Morac - 8 years ago

      I concur. I have both those apps installed and am not seeing any problems.

  8. Ron Adam - 8 years ago

    According to the Apple Support Communities topic; [Using iPad] – URLs not working in Safari or Mail after iOS 9.2.1 there were many users with this problem in 9.2.1, back in January, and some users advise they first noticed the issue in 9.02. In effect, IT writers and Apple blog sites didn’t pick up that there was a fast growing problem affecting more and more users. Initially, the complaints were about iPads, then the same complaints about iPhones started. In all this time there was NO confirmation or notice from Apple (at least as far as I’m aware), nor was there any really useful suggestions. Further, some users reported Apple service centers replaced iPad, and shortly thereafter those users reported the issue resumed shortly after downloading. My point is that many, many users are very upset with the lack of effective communication with those who experienced this issue. Even now, feedback from Apple has been second-hand, reported by upset users as “Apple told them a fix is coming, maybe this weekend”. I don’t think this lack of information, acknowledgement or announcement of a correction plan is acceptable by a leading technology manufacturer that charges a premium for their products. This is not Ebola getting started before many recognized there was an epidemic underway in West Africa. This is Apple, one of the premier companies in the World! Apple needs to do a thorough review of their software product development and release roll-out; how the track fast developing product or release issues, and, maybe most importantly, how they need to respect the investment of their customers with timely information on issues. Finally, the IT press and blog sites need to figure out how they failed to serve their readers with more timely information on this huge problem. I mean how much value is an iPad or iPad if you can’t easily access the web or open URLs in emails? Paying hundreds of dollars for a devices the “freezes” all the time is disgusting!

    • Tim Robson - 8 years ago

      Exactly. Note the crickets from the fanboys.

      • Stirling Robert Campbell - 8 years ago

        “Fanboy” chiming in, we are mad too. Apple needs to sort this, 1.0 should be the final not another beta.. Appletv v1, watchOS 1.. Even iPad Pro I heard wasn’t quite right til .1 update.

        Beautiful hardware, but if you’re an early adopter /”fan” you end up being like a beta tester, I think release dates are locked in and the software department gets it stable but not 100% until the first update.

        watchOS was not great until v2. Stable, but like a different device.

    • just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

      > Apple needs to do a thorough review of their software product development and release roll-out; how the track fast developing product or release issues, and, maybe most importantly, how they need to respect the investment of their customers with timely information on issues

      I totally agree. Their QA has been slipping worse every year now.

      > Finally, the IT press and blog sites need to figure out how they failed to serve their readers with more timely information on this huge problem.

      Are you joking? It is not the job of the IT press/blogs to report every single issue to its users, therefore it is not a failure on their part. It is the failure of Apple in this case, not the press.

      You’re also assuming the bug reported in that topic is the same one reported here, they may not be the same bug but it could be fixed with the same bug fix.

      Think about how this issue can be reproduced, it was only by chance that a bad update by Booking.com on their website’s file that caused this issue and that only happened last week while narrowed down this specific weekend. That alone makes it virtually impossible for Apple to catch what that problem is back in Jan, this isn’t the same cause but most likely the same crasher/symptoms.

      A lot of blogs will lost its revenue if all the posts are about issues that majority of users will not experience and could care less about.

    • Suzanne Fox Mullins - 8 years ago

      Exactly. I sent two tweets to @applesupport, detailing what was happening, how I had worked around it, and they responded thus — “DM us with any files or workarounds you have.” Isn’t that just what I did? I have always felt safe from malware when I download from the App Store, but this is the second time this problem has bit me. The first time was when Ancestry.com was over-writing into a common storage area. Ancestry.com is pretty big, wouldn’t you think they would have communicated with the gatekeepers in the App Store?

  9. Ross Clamp - 8 years ago

    I wish Apple admitted the problem sooner. Their Support team told me to completely reset my phone yesterday and reinstall from backup. Unfortunately I couldn’t get the phone to reinstall from my iCloud backups (I suspect there is an issue there too) so I had no choice but to install from my last iTunes backup from 4 months ago… I would have just waited if they said it was a known issue… Which looking at the forums it looks like it should have been.

    I’m ditching Apple with my next upgrade

    • Tim Robson - 8 years ago

      Your problem isn’t Apple. Your problem is all yourself. Apple is without flaw. You should be grateful that they took time out of their busy day to show you how to properly screw up your phone. Go ahead – ditch Apple – they only want cool people as customers anyway. Cool people with skinny jeans and untucked shirts who say “awesome” and “cool” and realize how privileged they are to hang out with all other cool people who understand that Apple is the best, no matter what. People who stand and offer frenzied standing ovations every time Eddie Cook and Tim Jobs and that bald Limey industrial design guy break wind. People who don’t need a functioning browser because they can connect to the internet telepathically. I’m just loving tapping on the screen of my iPhone 6 and knowing that Safari’s built-in coolness means it doesn’t care what I want. I love Apple.

  10. Elijah A. Hansen - 8 years ago

    Well, if you want safari to work just use Bing.com as your search engine :)

  11. Cathie Legault - 8 years ago

    I have the iPhone 6 and since the update I have the issues mentioned above AND my audio books no longer have sound.

  12. Andre Figueiredo - 8 years ago

    I was able to reach your site in iPad Mini using Puffin. It presents the same tap problem as in Safari, but if you hold the finger on top of a link it opens a window of options, like a right click. One of the options is Open the Link… voila!

  13. Jemma Schoonenberg - 8 years ago

    Any body else having issues with their I phone not being picked up by I tunes when plugged in after new update?

  14. Penelope McKenzie - 8 years ago

    Time to call on Mr Robot!

  15. David Munter - 8 years ago

    This is freaking joke. In every update these crashes continue to happen. Get your stuff together Apple, as a stock holder I’m getting sick and tired of it!

  16. Scott (@zthreescotty) - 8 years ago

    I’m still in 9.2.1, never attempted to download the 9.3 update and I still lost my links and have freezing ever since they started sending out the notifications. Obviously not just a 9.3 issue but something else on Apple’s side that several devices use regardless of iOS version. So frustrating not being able to open anything from an email.

  17. carlapatch - 8 years ago

    I had this in my ipad air 2…

  18. airmanchairman - 8 years ago

    For what it’s worth, I have a curious mix of devices on iOS 9.3 and mileage varies between them:

    My iPhones 5 and 5S are completely unaffected by the hyperlink freezing issue;

    My iPhone 4S and iPad 3 are definitely affected. Using the Airplane mode and app delete and reinstall iTunes hack did NOT work on the 4S; I have tried it only once on the 4S and not attempted the fix on the iPad. Updates to come…

  19. Hamza Sheikh - 8 years ago

    It works fine for me. I tried mocking the bug on few different IOS running devices, and all of them are working fine.

  20. padmanabhanrr - 8 years ago

    Day by day IOS new features are becoming drawback and issues rather than advantage. android is super smooth comparing IOS 9x. I should go back to my Android phone rather trusting iPhone’s stability in OS.

  21. Linda Cronin - 8 years ago

    Installed update on iPad air and since can’t open any websites from safari and won’t let me open links from emails to websites. Anyone else have this problem.

  22. Dave Sledge Wright - 8 years ago

    Didn’t Apple used to have COMMERCIALS on TV ripping MS for the same thing? They should come up with a new one that says “Windows users, come on over, we are now JUST as bad as MS!”

  23. Rob Gage - 8 years ago

    Been on the phone with apple care – they could only effect a temporary fix by restoring the phone – but even in that state ( with none of my old app installed) the touch screen become unresponsive. Infuriating!!!!

  24. Shorty Warne Siadik - 8 years ago

    This update has caused my phone to crash in every app, it locks up in messenger, screen goes black, tapping on keyboard or icons will freeze up. I have to restart my phone several times per day to unfreeze everything. In general, very frustrated with the update.

Author

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.