Apple’s Safari Browser Crashes While Searching For Specific Terms

The mobile version of Apple’s Safari browser apparently has a problem with certain character strings. According to a number of iPhone users , when you start typing words with special letter sequences, Safari can crash on their smartphones.

As reported by the AppleInsider portal , various Apple iPhone users report that their browser can crash if they try to enter character strings such as “wal”, “bes” or “tar” in the address bar. The location of the input and the nature of the crashes suggest that an error when starting the search via Apple partner Google could be behind it.

Retailer names could cause crashes

If you look closely at the syllables, you may see a pattern. In all cases, these are sequences of letters that are also found in the names of a number of large US retail chains. More specifically, it means electronics retailer Best Buy, big-box retailer Walmart, and department store chain Target.

Apparently, the problem cannot really be reproduced by all users, which is why some of those affected assume that the cause is not directly to be found in Apple’s browser, but in dealing with the access to Google’s search engine that takes place when entering the character strings.

The Safari crashes allegedly occur without any further input after the character strings mentioned, but in other cases also if you enter a space bar after each of the three letters mentioned. Apparently, the problem is even regionally limited, because the previous reports from affected iPhone users come primarily from the US states of California and Florida.

Based on reports from AppleInsider and other media, Apple Support has already contacted some affected users and started investigating the causes of the error. One or the other may well have a déjà vu in connection with the recent browser crashes of Safari on the iPhone. There was a similar problem once before.