Curious iPhone bug: Never connect to this WLAN!
There is a bug in the iPhone that will completely disable the smartphone's Wi-Fi settings. The unpleasant thing about this is, once you have connected to a WLAN with a very specific SSID, even rebooting the iPhone will not help salvage the situation. Instead, your WLAN option can never be turned on ever again.
- iPhone bug causes massive problems with the Wi-Fi function.
- A specific SSID, i.e. a network name, triggers the error.
- In order to fix the bug, you will have to delete the network settings completely.
Over on Twitter, user Carl Schou showed what happens when you name the WLAN "%p%s%s%s%n" as its SSID, followed by connecting to that very Wi-Fi network with your iPhone. His Wi-Fi option automatically turned itself off after that and refused to turn on. In his Twitter thread, others have confirmed this strange behavior - which would assume they have tried it as well.
Even going through a reboot or renaming of the network failed to remedy the situation as the Wi-Fi option remained disabled.
After joining my personal WiFi with the SSID “%p%s%s%s%s%n”, my iPhone permanently disabled it’s WiFi functionality. Neither rebooting nor changing SSID fixes it :~) pic.twitter.com/2eue90JFu3
— Carl Schou (@vm_call) June 18, 2021
All in all, you shouldn't connect to public Wi-Fi networks that carry strange-sounding names. There is often a risk of danger that should not be underestimated. More often than not, Wi-Fi networks in cafés or bars, in particular, tend to be points where login data for social media accounts or online banking are obtained by unscrupulous people. Always use your own connection whenever possible, unless you are in a really tight spot.
If you want to try it out, take note of the following. Deleting the network settings completely after the entire experience will allow the iPhone to function as usual.
If anyone here is brave enough to rename their network accordingly and test this strange bug out, let us know what your experience was like in the comments.
