Tag: Bug

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Mobile Syrup

Apple’s iOS/iPadOS 15.2.1 update fixes HomeKit flaw that crashed devices

Apple rolled out iOS and iPadOS 15.2.1 on Wednesday. The minor update brings several bug fixes, including a patch for a denial-of-service vulnerability found in HomeKit.

Trevor Spiniolas discovered the vulnerability and published details about it on January 1st. At the time, Spiniolas accused Apple of being slow to respond to his initial disclosure, which he made in August 2021. The bug affects iOS and iPadOS versions as far back as 14.7 and possibly earlier versions too — iPhone and iPad owners should update their devices to avoid the bug.

The vulnerability, if exploited, would lead to HomeKit devices with really long names crashing iPhones and iPads. HomeKit is an API used for connecting smart home gadgets to iOS devices, and it backs up device names to iCloud. That means users hit with the problem would experience it again if they re-connected that same iCloud account.

Apple published a security notice for the iOS 15.2.1 update — it only lists the HomeKit issue and notes the following fix: “A resource exhaustion issue was addressed with improved input validation.”

However, there are other items in the 15.2.1 update. According to The Verge, the patch also fixes a bug that impacted the performance of third-party CarPlay apps and a bug that stopped the Messages app from loading certain photos sent through iCloud.

To download the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad > Tap ‘General’ > Tap ‘Software Update.’

Source: Apple Via: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Apple Messages bug is sending read receipts even if you turn them off

Apple’s popular Messages app has a new bug that will show read receipts even when users have them turned off.

Initially spotted by MacWorld (via 9to5Mac), several users have reported the issue with iOS 15. However, it’s been seen before on older versions of iOS. It’s not clear how widespread the issue is, but at the moment there doesn’t seem to be anything users can do to fully resolve the problem. Some impacted users were able to temporarily fix the problem by restarting their iPhones.

For those unfamiliar with read receipts, they’re a popular feature on many messaging and chat platforms. In short, if you send a message to someone, the app will show when it delivered the message and will show when the recipient has read the message. For some, it’s a helpful way to monitor the status of a message. For others, it’s an annoyance — some people might read a message and not be able to respond right away, which could cause offence if the sender sees the read receipt but doesn’t receive a response.

Because of that, some people like to turn off read receipts (you can do that with iMessage by heading to the Settings app, then Messages and scrolling to ‘Send Read Receipts’ on your Apple device).

Of course with the current bug, turning off rear receipts might not stop your phone from sending them. Hopefully, Apple fixes the problem soon — likely in a future iOS update. For the time being, you might want to not open any messages you receive unless you want the sender to see you’ve read them.

Source: MacWorld Via: 9to5Mac

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Mobile Syrup

Google disabling ‘Call Screen,’ ‘Hold for Me’ on Pixel 6 due to bug

Google recently rolled out its big December security update for Pixels, which included a significant number of bug fixes for Pixel 6 and 6 Pro phones. However, that update appears to have shipped with a few issues of its own, including one that’s caused Google to temporarily disable the ‘Call Screen’ and ‘Hold for Me’ features.

In a post on Google’s support site, a company product manager noted that it’s disabling the two features for Pixel 6 phones running Android version SQ1D.211205.016.A4. If you’re unsure what version your Pixel 6 is on, there are a few ways to check. You can open the Quick Settings panel by swiping down to open the notification panel, then swiping down a second time.

Look at the bottom of the Quick Settings bubbles on the left side of the screen, above the ‘Pencil’ icon — you should see the current Android version number scrolling by. Alternatively, you can go to Settings > About phone > scroll to ‘Build number’ at the very bottom.

Google said in the post that it would disable the features because of a “bug in the December Android update” until it fixes the underlying problem. However, the search giant didn’t elaborate on what the issue was. Additionally, Google said it would provide updates on the post and invited users to click the ‘Subscribe’ button to receive email notifications about status updates.

Neither 9to5Google nor Droid Life, who both reported on the issue, had any additional detail about what was going on.

On my Pixel 6 running the December patch, I still had Call Screen listed in the Phone app’s settings menu and when I tested the feature, it worked fine. However, Droid Life reports that Call Screen and Hold for Me are both missing from its Pixel 6. For Canadians, Hold for Me has only shown up for some Pixel users in preview so far and hasn’t yet officially rolled out. That said, I’ve never seen the feature on my Pixel 6.

Source: Google Via: 9to5Google, Droid Life

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Mobile Syrup

Pixel 6 bug crashes apps, plays screeching sound when using external DAC

Google’s Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are pretty great phones but have their fair share of issues too. Unfortunately for audiophiles who like to get the best quality sound out of their phone with an external digital-to-analog converter (DAC), the Pixel 6 line’s issues are a major problem.

According to Android Police, several Pixel 6 and 6 Pro owners report that a bug with the phones prevents using external Hi-Fi DACs over the USB-C port. The bug causes several music apps to play no sound and crash — those that don’t crash play a screeching sound instead.

Reports about the problem first emerged shortly after the Pixel 6 launched. Some hopeful users waited for Google to fix the problem with the December security patch — unfortunately, Google didn’t. Worse, the search giant has yet to acknowledge the problem posted to the Google Issue Tracker.

For those unfamiliar with DACs and Android audio processing, most modern Android phones have a built-in DAC for processing audio. However, that DAC isn’t powerful enough for high-res audio files, plus Android’s audio stack limits audio to 28 or 48kHz sampling rates. Android Police notes that high-res audio files have sampling rates of 192kHz.

A few DACs do seem to work on the Pixel 6 series, but they don’t bypass Android’s sound processing, which means users miss out on the benefits of high-res audio.

The DAC issue is one of several significant issues still plaguing the Pixel 6 series, even with the December security patch delivering numerous bug fixes. Hopefully, Google can remedy these issues soon.

Source: Google Issue Tracker Via: Android Police

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Mobile Syrup

Teams update partially fixes Android emergency calling bug, OS patch to come

Earlier this week, Google confirmed it was aware of a nasty Android bug that, when mixed with Microsoft’s Teams app, could break emergency calls.

Since then, a partial fix has been rolled out via an update to Microsoft Teams. However, a larger Android update is still expected in January to resolve OS-side of this particular puzzle.

In case you missed it, the explanation shared by Google said that an “unintended interaction” between Teams and Android was behind the bug. Specifically, trying to place an emergency call would freeze the smartphone if the Microsoft Teams app was installed but the user hadn’t logged in.

Google didn’t provide much more information about the cause, beyond noting that it believed the issue was “only present on a small number of devices” with Teams installed. However, Mishaal Rahman, former editor-in-chief at XDA Developers, wrote a detailed blog post analyzing the bug and what caused it.

Rahman’s post is well worth the read if you care about these types of things, although it’s pretty technical. Still, it’s fascinating to learn more about how complex something as seemingly basic as a phone call is.

Two small bugs, one big problem

In short, Rahman’s analysis identified two main issues, one with Teams and the other with Android. The Teams app creates a ‘PhoneAccount’ instance whenever it’s cold-launched when the user isn’t signed in. Apps with calling capabilities create PhoneAccount instances so that Android has a list of apps that can handle phone calls. An important part of these instances is that they list other details about what the app can handle — for example, whether it’s capable of emergency calls.

The second part of the issue revolves around what Android does when it checks the PhoneAccounts ahead of placing an emergency call. A very simplified explanation of this is that the check can create an error if there are too many PhoneAccount instances (such as all the instances Team creates with its bug).

Microsoft’s new Teams update resolves the PhoneAccount creation part of the problem. According to Rahman, Teams will now clear PhoneAccounts it created at first launch, which should prevent it from amassing multiple PhoneAccount instances over time. However, that still leaves the Android bug open — it requires very specific circumstances to trigger, so most users probably won’t need to worry about it. Regardless, it’s a problem that needs to be addressed, and Rahman spotted at least two potential fixes submitted to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). A patch sporting one of the fixes should ship in January as part of the monthly Android security update.

For now, if you have Teams installed on your Android phone, you should make sure to update it to the latest version (1416/1.0.0.2021194504) right away — you can download the update for free from the Play Store.

Source: 9to5Google, Mishaal Rahman

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Mobile Syrup

Fix coming for Android bug that broke 9-1-1 calls with Microsoft Teams installed

Google is aware of a strange issue with Android and Microsoft Teams that can prevent emergency service calls, such as dialling 9-1-1.

The company posted a detailed response following an investigation into a report about a Pixel device preventing someone from calling 9-1-1. A Reddit user detailed what happened with their Pixel 3 running Android 11 on U.S. carrier Verizon:

“I got off a phone call with my mom, and proceeded to dial 911 just by typing and calling on my pixel. My phone got stuck immediately after one ring and I was unable to do anything other than click through apps with an emergency phone call running in the background. This is all while the phone informed me that it had sent my location to emergency services.”

In its response, Google said it was able to “reproduce the issue under a limited set of circumstances,” and shared the following:

“We believe the issue is only present on a small number of devices with the Microsoft Teams app installed when the user is not logged in, and we are currently only aware of one user report related to the occurrence of this bug. We determined that the issue was being caused by unintended interaction between the Microsoft Teams app and the underlying Android operating system.”

The key here is that the issue only seems to impact people who have Microsoft Teams installed on their phone but haven’t signed into the app. Google also notes that the issue only impacts Android 10 and up. If you fall into that group, Google advises that you uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Teams — that should fix the problem in the interim.

Moreover, Google said that it and Microsoft had prioritized the issue due to the impact on emergency calling and it expects an update to Microsoft Teams to roll out soon. Additionally, Google will push an Android platform update to the Android ecosystem in January.

Finally, Google thanked Reddit user ‘KitchenPicture5849’ for bringing the problem to the company’s attention. Although the issue is quite concerning, it’s good to see Google and Microsoft taking fast action to resolve the problem.

You can check out the Reddit post for yourself here.

Source: Reddit Via: 9to5Google

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Mobile Syrup

Twitter looking into iOS app bug that logs users out multiple times a day

Twitter is looking into a weird bug with its iOS app that repeatedly logs users out.

In a tweet, the company confirmed it was looking into the issue and apologized for the inconvenience. Twitter says the bug impacts users on iOS 15, but that’s the extent of what Twitter shared in its post.

9to5Mac elaborates, noting the bug seems to have hit several users, many of which claim the app logged them out multiple times. Moreover, affected users with multiple Twitter accounts report that the bug logs out all their accounts. The bug can strike several times a day.

While not a huge deal as far as issues go, Twitter’s log-out bug is incredibly annoying. So far, there doesn’t seem to be any recourse besides waiting for Twitter to push out a fix. Hopefully, that happens soon.

Source: Twitter Via: 9to5Mac

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Mobile Syrup

Apple says it fixed an issue with the T2 security chip that bricked some Macs

Apple’s macOS Monterey update brought a few frustrating bugs with it. However, the company says it’s fixed one of the more frustrating flaws that bricked some older Mac devices after installing the update.

Apple says it identified a problem with the T2 security chip and rolled out an update that fixed the problem. You can read the full statement below (as shared by Rene Ritchie on Twitter):

“We have identified and fixed an issue with the firmware on the Apple T2 security chip that prevented a very small number of users from booting up their Mac after updating macOS. The updated firmware is now included with the existing macOS updates. Any users impacted by this issue can contact Apple Support for assistance.”

9to5Mac elaborates, noting that Apple deployed an updated version of the ‘bridgeOS’ firmware that runs on the T2 chip, which should prevent the problem from happening to other people. However, it, unfortunately, seems like the update won’t fix machines already impacted by the bug. Instead, Apple says affected users should contact Apple Support for assistance.

Below is a list of Mac computers that feature the Apple T2 security chip:

  • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
  • iMac Pro
  • Mac Pro (2019)
  • Mac Pro (Rack, 2019)
  • Mac mini (2018)
  • MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020)
  • MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)
  • MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)

Source: Rene Ritchie (Twitter) Via: 9to5Mac