How to Fix (and Avoid) Cryptic Wi-Fi Error on IPhone
An unusual bug is currently disrupting the iPhone’s Wi-Fi connection. Fortunately, this is easy enough to avoid – and fix if your phone crashes – but heck it’s weird. In short, for some reason, if your iPhone connects to a Wi-Fi network named “% p% s% s% s% s% n”, the device’s Wi-Fi stops working. So don’t do it.
Security researcher Karl Shaw was the first to spot the bug and posted it on Twitter. Several other users have performed their own tests to confirm the problem. In each case, the network name alone disrupted their iPhone’s Wi-Fi functionality and prevented them from connecting to other networks. Worse, the testers found the error persisted even after the affected iPhone was restarted.
Oddly enough, this bug does not affect other network features such as Bluetooth or mobile data. Connecting to the so-called Wi-Fi network on Android also has no effect; the error appears to be related to either the iOS operating system or the iPhone hardware, but no one has yet figured out why this particular SSID is disrupting the iPhone’s Wi-Fi functionality.
Fortunately, the problem can be easily fixed if your iPhone encounters it: just go to Settings> General> Reset and select Reset Network Settings . This deletes all saved Wi-Fi connection information, so you will have to set up a new connection the next time you reconnect to a secure network, but it will also undo the error immediately.
Fixing the Wi-Fi error is easy, but preventing it is more difficult.
Obviously, avoid connecting to networks, or name your home Wi-Fi “% p% s% s% s% s% n” and alert others if you notice public Wi-Fi hotspots using that particular SSID. However, as our friends at Gizmodo point out, it is possible that other seemingly harmless online IDs can cause the same problem. This leaves iPhone owners open to trolls, intruders, or even unsuspecting users who accidentally misnamed their public Wi-Fi connection. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, avoid networks with many “%” characters in the name and notify the network administrator if you encounter an error after connecting to a public network. If the bug is widespread enough, it is likely that Apple will release a patch to fix it. Of course, it is also possible that this problem cannot be solved – and even if it is possible, each user is responsible for keeping their devices safe at the same time.
[ 9to5Mac ]