Other than for a good laugh, I don't know why you would to turn off someone else's iPhone. But for a limited time, now you can.

Apple announced yesterday they are working to fix an issue with their iOS software that allows users to shut off any iPhone with a simple text. The message also affects other devices like the Apple Watch, iPad and any other iOS mobile device.

“We are aware of an iMessage issue caused by a specific series of unicode characters and we will make a fix available in a software update,” Apple said in a statement.

The bug, first discovered by Reddit user cbhunt14, instantly crashes the iPhone after receiving the unicode message and causes the system to reboot.

As you can imagine, there are a good chunk of people using the bug to prank their friends. Then others are reporting more serious problems with their mobile devices.

If you are worried about receiving the defect you can protect your phone by disabling notification banners.

 

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