If you downloaded the latest iOS software update for your iPhone, hoping for interesting new features—well, you got one.
But you probably won’t like it.
A software glitch in the latest Apple operating system software automatically replaces every lower-case “i” with a capital “A’ and a question mark.
This is a hilarious iOS 11 bug pic.twitter.com/TXFXbvgaqO
— Mike Murphy (@mcwm) November 6, 2017
If you have iOS 11.1, you might not be able to type “iOS.”
“I have a $1,150 [£877] telephone that can’t read the letter ‘i’,” wrote Mike Murphy, a technology reporter for news website Quartz, on Twitter.
I have a $1,150 telephone that can't read the letter i https://t.co/HF9Qqzysh2
— Mike Murphy (@mcwm) November 6, 2017
So, iPhone users cannot even type “iPhone” to complain to Apple about their iPhones.
Anyone know how to fix an iPhone that sends symbols instead of the letter “i” when typing? It’s not a keyboard shortcut, I️ checked. See images below. #AskTwitter pic.twitter.com/UkTKG50P8H
— Bijan Peters (@AhBijBijBij) October 31, 2017
The same faulty software apparently delivers its auto-correcting annoyance to any iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices that have updated.
⚠️ An iOS bug is causing the letter “I” to show as the letter “A” and a question mark box (it’s not a missing emoji) https://t.co/NqDd8bUdV0 pic.twitter.com/G8lfpOTD6k
— Emojipedia ? (@Emojipedia) November 5, 2017
Not every iPhone use has been afflicted. Some users have had no issues, but judging from the response on Twitter, plenty of iPhone users do.
There’s a bug in iOS 11.1 on iPhone 7s that converts capital I into ! and the ? In the square. ?
— Rev. Dr. Ruth Shaver (@thefunrevucc) November 5, 2017
Apple is working on a solution for the problem. In the meantime, it has offered iPhone users a work-around.
Here’s what you can do to work around the issue until it’s fixed in a future software update: https://t.co/xXaXeeSRt9
— Apple Support (@AppleSupport) November 5, 2017
Users are advised to edit their keyboard settings in iOS so that the correct character, either an upper or lower case “i”, is used.
“For Phrase, type an upper-case ‘I,'” Apple explains. “For Shortcut, type a lower-case ‘i.'”
Not surprisingly, iOS users are more than mildly annoyed.
