For the past week I was getting the above message and crash. Then today, I happened to be in 'About My Mac/Storage'. I selected Photos and to the right was the option to 'Optimize Photos', which I selected. After the Photos were optimized, the button changed to 'Open Photos'. This worked for me. But if i scroll down the iChat's message feed, or scroll down to different conversation, it will crash. And the name bar now includes 'Maybe'. I.e.: 'Profile Pic/Avatar' Maybe: Jim Conner 12:00 PM. Other messages have Profile Pic/Avatar and no name but the phone number, i.e.: 'Profile Pic/Avatar'.
Every so often, a bizarre link or piece of text surfaces that, when sent via iOS or macOS, will cause noticeable issues to the recipient’s device. Today, the latest form of this has emerged in what’s being referred to as “chaiOS.” It’s a basic GitHub link on the surface, but it crashes Messages on both macOS and iOS…
The issue was first discovered by Twitter user Abraham Masri, who says the link has a host of effects on macOS and iOS, including freezing, resprings, battery issues, and more.
We tested the chaiOS bug and had mixed results. In some instances, sending the link would cause both the sender and recipient’s device to respiring or cause the Messages app to instantly freeze and crash. Furthermore, reentering the thread would cause the Messages app to crash again and again, making the only viable solution to regain access to that thread to delete it and start a new one.
In other cases, Safari would crash or display the spinning beach ball on macOS. We never experienced a full device respiring, but that’s not to say it’s not possible. Additionally, it sometimes caused dramatic lag in the Messages app and throughout iOS and macOS.
It’s unclear what exactly is causing this problem, but it harks back to the “effective power” bug that plagued iOS devices a few years ago. Since then, we’ve seen a few other similar issues.
Issues like this generally are harmless and are mainly used for pranks on social media and in Messages. The ‘hack’ has been seen to work on the latest public versions of macOS and iOS, as well as select beta users. Apple generally doesn’t rush to fix these types of issues as they pose no immediate risk to users other than a brief annoyance.
The link itself is available in the tweet embed below. In general, this “bug” is just a pain all around in Messages. It’ll cause your device to completely freeze, prevent Messages from opening at all, and much more. This is definitely an instance where you should proceed at your own risk.
Try it if you want and let us know what results you see down in the comments
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We all love iMessage, especially it’s cool features like Bubble effects and Screen effects. So it’s pretty sad and inconvenient when the Messages app crashes on iPhone repeatedly. But don’t worry, you can fix it with a few different solutions. Try all of these on iOS 14 or other versions and see which one works for you. Let’s have a look.
1. Force Quit Messages App on iPhone
- On iPhone with no Home Button: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold
- On iPhone with Home Button: Double press the Home Button
Now, drag the Messages app card up and dismiss it to force quit it. After a few seconds, reopen the app. The Messages app will no longer crash or freeze. If it does, please keep reading.
2. Restart Your iPhone
You can use the buttons as you normally do to turn off your iPhone. You may also open the Settings app, tap General, and then tap Shut Down.
After a minute, switch on your iPhone. The Messages app problem will be successfully solved.
3. Delete Messages Automatically on iPhone
If there are dozens or hundreds of conversations in your Messages app, then deleting some of them might help. You can open the app and manually choose and delete old conversations you no longer need.
Another way is to enable auto-deleting of messages after 30 days or 1 year. For this, Open the Settings app on your iPhone → Tap on Messages.
Next, tap Keep Messages and choose an option other than Forever.
4. Remove Unnecessary iMessage Apps
If you have too many iMessage apps, then deleting the ones that are not essential might help. Here is a step by step guide on how to delete the iMessage app.
5. Disable and Re-enable iMessage
Step #1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Step #2. Tap Messages.
Step #3. Tap the toggle for iMessage to turn it off.
Step #4. After a minute, tap it again to enable it.
6. Update iOS on iPhone
It is an excellent measure to have the latest iOS version on your iPhone. If you are facing frequent freezing or crashing of the Messages app, then a software update might help.
For this open the Settings app → Tap on General → Software Update, and if you have a pending update, tap on Download and Install.
7. Reset All iPhone Settings
This will reset all iPhone settings like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, VPN configurations, home screen layout, keyboard settings, and more. It won’t delete any personal data like apps, music, or photos. But still, take a backup before proceeding.
Step #1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Step #2. Tap on General → Reset.
Step #3. Tap on Reset All Settings.
Step #4. Enter your iPhone’s password and confirm.
Once the process completes, you may need to sign in with your Apple ID. After that, open the Messages app, and most likely, the crashing and freezing problem will no longer be there.
Summing Up
That’s all, folks! Hopefully, this will solve the issue of the Messages app crashing on your iPhone. At last, if nothing helps, you may contact Apple Support for further assistance.
Why Is My Message App Crashing
Meanwhile, you can also long-press the Messages app icon and tap New Message to send a text. For the time being, you can also use Siri to reply to incoming text messages. And you may share photos and videos directly from the Photos app until your problem is solved.
Messages App Crashing Mac
Have any further issues? Let us know in the comments section below.
Messages App Crashing Mac Os
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