Staying true to its promise, Apple has released the iOS 11.2.6 to fix a strange bug that is causing the iPhone devices to crash, while making important messaging apps such as Messages, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to freeze. Apple has yet to reveal the reason behind the glitch that brought inconvenience to several iOS users, but the important news for now is that the issue has been successfully fixed by the latest minor update.

As reported by MacRumors, the iOS 11.2.6 is the eleventh official minor update to the iOS 11, which was first launched in September last year. The latest update came in a month after the release of iOS 11.2.5, which was aimed to introduce HomePod support, Siri news and Control Center improvements, as well as a number of bug fixes. Unfortunately, the iOS 11.2.5 also includes a glitch wherein an Indian language or Telegu character is able to crash an iPhone and make several apps inaccessible. 

The Telegu character bug was discovered last week, and the worst part of the problem is that random pranksters were able to crash iPhones and prevent access to messaging apps by sending the particular character. For the benefit of the public, Apple did not specify the exact character that is causing the problem. For an instance, a person can send this Telegu character to an iPhone user, in which the Messages app will freeze up as it tries to load the character. The app will remain inaccessible until the conversation that has the Telugu character is deleted.

It also appears that the messaging bug also affects Safari and the Messages app on Apple Watch and macOS. According to The Verge, Apple has also released an update for watchOS, macOS and tvOS along with the iOS 11.2.6 to address the issue on all platforms. The Cupertino-based tech firm promised to release the fix for this bug before the iOS 11.3 launch this Spring, and the iOS 11.2.6 arrived right on schedule.

Users can now download the iOS 11.2.6 update for free by going to the Settings tabs, General, and then choose the Software Update option.