mor1s

Q: iOS 9.3 - Safari/Mail freezes after clicking links on iPhone 6S

Hi,


Never had any problems with my iPhone 6S. Just upgraded to iOS 9.3 without any issues. After the upgrade, I can't click links when searching something on Google in Safari or clicking a link in the Mail, the apps just freeze.


I tried clearing Safari history data/cache, closing all apps and restarting the phone (both regular and holding both home/power key), disabling all sorts of settings form Safari settings, but no luck.. Anyone with an idea how to sort it out?

iPhone 6s, iOS 9.3

Posted on Mar 24, 2016 12:47 PM

Close

Q: iOS 9.3 - Safari/Mail freezes after clicking links on iPhone 6S

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

first Previous Page 54 of 66 last Next
  • by PAperson,

    PAperson PAperson Apr 3, 2016 2:18 AM in response to Micke-49
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 3, 2016 2:18 AM in response to Micke-49

    About build 237

    First, I goofed in reading your screenshot - your download is not ending 27, but 237. And that's the build number, not the version (I am not a developer, and I am tired.) Per an article in Forbes, your build number ending in 237 of version 9.3 was put out by Apple to fix a bricking issue (not the inert Safari/email issue we are discussing here). The link here explains, but that doesn't clear up the basic how-to-read-the-version question:

     

    At this article in Forbes, dated 29 March (quoting at length because people seem not to follow links (or can't ;-)  ):

    ===

    "Last week, it was revealed that an Apple AAPL +2.11% iOS 9.3 glitch was causing older iPhones and iPads to become bricked. That is why Apple released an updated build of iOS 9.3 for users that were affected by the “activation bug.” The new version is still called iOS 9.3, but it has an updated build number called 13E5237. The “activation bug” essentially prevented older iPhones and iPads from upgrading to iOS 9.3.

    Prior to releasing the new version of iOS 9.3, Applepublished a support page and confirmed the activation bug in a statement to iMore on March 24th:

    “Updating some iOS devices (iPhone 5s and earlier and iPad Air and earlier) to iOS 9.3 can require entering the Apple ID and password used to set up the device in order to complete the software update. In some cases, if customers do not recall their password, their device will remain in an inactivated state until they can recover or reset their password. For these older devices, we have temporarily pulled back the update and will release an updated version of iOS 9.3 in the next few days that does not require this step.”

    Once the problem was discovered, Apple temporarily stopped issuing iOS 9.3 to older devices. If your older Apple device was bricked by iOS 9.3, then you may be able to restore it using the Device Firmware Update (DFU) mode and opening iTunes while your device is plugged into your computer. DFU mode ensures that your iOS device can still communicate with iTunes without actually activating the boot loader or iOS. Here is a tutorial video that explains how to set your device to DFU mode:

    [and there's a video on how to do it...and I think I recall one post here than mentioned using DFU.]

    Older iPhones and iPads that were not bricked can access the updated version of iOS 9.3 by going to Settings and Software Update."

    ===

     

    I haven't definitively answered the basic question about version numbering, but the info in Forbes about a 24 March update and the Wikipedia info below implies that your 237 build is more recent.

    Here is Wikipedia's summary (condensed - the feature lists make the original table miles long) from

    FWIW:

    Capture9-0to9-2.JPGCapture9-2-1to9-3.JPG

     

    <Link Edited by Host>

  • by Micke-49,

    Micke-49 Micke-49 Mar 30, 2016 9:30 AM in response to PAperson
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPad
    Mar 30, 2016 9:30 AM in response to PAperson

    Thank  you PAperson for the huge effort you have put into this! I just hope that Apple acknowledges this and awards you with a golden apple (or something).

     

    So I am on the latest version build and have tested that it did not contain the fix for our linking problem.

    All is done and now I only can sit back and wait for the next version of IOS to appear.

    Meanwhile I shall not upgrade my iPhone 6 to 9.3 nor shall I re-install Booking.com on it and will continue to forward my incoming mail to gmail and use either Chrome or Puffin to visit the web.

     

    Maybe - just maybe - I even take time to go out and enjoy the nice weather and forget about constantly being hooked-up to this virtual world of ours?

  • by PAperson,

    PAperson PAperson Mar 30, 2016 10:03 AM in response to Micke-49
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 30, 2016 10:03 AM in response to Micke-49

    Shift out of the e-world and enjoy the lovely weather - yes, good plan. I have steps to finish coating, laundry and other e-work. :-)

  • by IL mac,

    IL mac IL mac Mar 30, 2016 10:06 AM in response to jfiggy77
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 30, 2016 10:06 AM in response to jfiggy77

    It is quite apparent that this was a bug uncovered during beta. They either chose to ignore it or they didn't see it due to the enormous number of various feedbacks they got and couldn't investigate every single one. We'll never know. I was in software development. When a huge deadline is looming and you know a bug couldn't be fixed, you rely on management's "good" judgment  to do the right thing. We had to release software to production knowing there was a bug. We assessed the impact and weighed the options of releasing or not. Sometimes we told users to avoid the affected function until it could be fixed in the next release but sometimes we just hoped for the best when it came to some obscure features. No software is perfect and in the case of something as complex as iOS, I'm sure their bug fix list is long. I don't envy those who are tasked to test the almost infinite number of test cases and user scenarios. I hope they don't just rely on automated test scripts. We can speculate what happened within Apple in this particular case but given their style, they will never tell the public how such major bug slipped through (or let through). I am just hoping that forum like this makes them take notice and improve their own process. And of course they won't tell us if they do. Hope the fix is coming soon and good luck to all.

  • by janels1,

    janels1 janels1 Mar 30, 2016 10:17 AM in response to PAperson
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 30, 2016 10:17 AM in response to PAperson

    First, your in-depth posts have provided me with invaluable information about my phone and its development; thank you!

    This may be a totally uninformed question, but I have been trying to follow your posts and wonder if  1. the version does matter, and 2. does the method of update matter? My version of 9.3 is 9.3 (13E234). I updated the day the update came out via the phone (6s plus) through General, Software Update.  The link issue did not occur immediately, but only on Monday, just after someone sent me a text with a Flipboard link about the problem. I was able to follow the link and read about this issue, but ironically, when I went back to the text to sent the link to someone else, it froze.  Then my native iPhone mail app crashed with any links. I have tried the JavaScript and all the other early "work-arounds" to no avail. My only saving grace is that I also have a Gmail app, where I get most of my emails, and those links go to Chrome, which works fine. Prior to this issue, I have had intermittent problems sending and receiving mail outside of the home wifi, particularly Gmail, which is why I have the app, as I can't trust the native mail app to get my email. Those mail issues got considerably worse after the 9.3 update. My husband has the identical phone, but he updated through iTunes, and has no such link issues.  His version number is also 9.3 (13E234), and he did log into iCloud during his installation. I also updated his very old iPad to 9.3, but DID NOT log into iCloud during the install, and it has no issues.  So, I am just providing this information for your impressive research, in case  you think there is any bearing on the particular version number, or the method of install.

  • by Chris Lappas,

    Chris Lappas Chris Lappas Mar 30, 2016 10:29 AM in response to mor1s
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mar 30, 2016 10:29 AM in response to mor1s

    Same problem as everyone else. iPhone 6 Plus no longer responds to safari or mail links. I tried the method described here, but to no avail.

     

    At the moment, the iPhone is unusable as a web accessing device. This has to be the biggest screw-up ever from the company.

  • by Walt_from_Michigan,

    Walt_from_Michigan Walt_from_Michigan Mar 30, 2016 10:37 AM in response to mor1s
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 30, 2016 10:37 AM in response to mor1s

    Repeating a suggestion buried deep in this huge thread:

     

    Forward mail to Gmail, use the "Inbox" app to read it. Add Chrome app -- links will open in Chrome instead of Safari. So far that's worked fine for my 6-Plus. And, for some reason, my wife's 5C works fine despite installing IOS 9.3.

  • by Zwartsteen,

    Zwartsteen Zwartsteen Mar 30, 2016 11:07 AM in response to Walt_from_Michigan
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 30, 2016 11:07 AM in response to Walt_from_Michigan

    Happy to chime in! I have an iPad Air 2 (Safari freezes etc.) and an iPhone 5s (working smoothly), both updated to iOS 9.3 a couple of days ago. Yet today I was invited to update both to ... iOS 9.3. What to think of it?

  • by marinabay116,

    marinabay116 marinabay116 Mar 30, 2016 11:32 AM in response to mor1s
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 30, 2016 11:32 AM in response to mor1s

    At the risk of boring the socks off previous posters, let me say again, this problem NOT unique to the update 9.3........I have had this difficulty for the past 2 weeks and I did not update. As a long term and faithful customer of Apple I am quickly losing faith with the company due in no small part to their 'deafening silence' regarding this 'bug'. Shame on you Apple!

  • by EliTersse,

    EliTersse EliTersse Mar 30, 2016 11:56 AM in response to mor1s
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 30, 2016 11:56 AM in response to mor1s

    It´s amazing... 5 days and no "official" answer...

    Apple is just a blurred shadow of what it used to be...

  • by ondaalta,

    ondaalta ondaalta Mar 30, 2016 12:10 PM in response to marinabay116
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 30, 2016 12:10 PM in response to marinabay116

    Well said, marinabay116!

    The bug it's not exclusive to 9.3 iOS and iphones 6. It happened in erarlier version of the iOS and in ipads. And the lack of an official statement, before a satisfactory solution form Apple, is not compatible with the most valuable company of the world (and with all that was announced at the last keynote).

  • by tartar_sauce,

    tartar_sauce tartar_sauce Mar 30, 2016 12:17 PM in response to mor1s
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 30, 2016 12:17 PM in response to mor1s

    This is just as bad as the worldwide BIS outage

  • by Siben67,

    Siben67 Siben67 Mar 30, 2016 12:37 PM in response to mor1s
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 30, 2016 12:37 PM in response to mor1s

    Mine stopped working before upgrade. I upgraded hoping it would sort the issue. Apple Please help! Chat is unavailable - 2 days now!

  • by rschoenthaler,

    rschoenthaler rschoenthaler Mar 30, 2016 12:43 PM in response to Siben67
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 30, 2016 12:43 PM in response to Siben67

    I was able to get through on chat.  They were clearly aware of the issue.

    I told them that the forums are on fire with folks discussing this issues, and that they better get someone official to get on and at least acknowledge it.

    They said:

    1) Engineering is working on a fix - no timeline given though

    2) There is a separate group in support that handles the forums, and that they would pass on my recommendation to them

  • by Alincik,

    Alincik Alincik Mar 30, 2016 12:57 PM in response to mor1s
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 30, 2016 12:57 PM in response to mor1s

    I have the same issue with my phone, and it stopped working before the latest update, the same as some other users. it's crazy that we have to figure this out by ourselves through a forum, they should just let people know that they're working on it! i thought I'll need to get my phone replaced. seriously Apple, why not just explain what's going on?! lets hope the issue gets sorted out soon...

first Previous Page 54 of 66 last Next