iPhone users in the last few weeks are reporting a disruptive bug in iOS 17 that is causing the app switcher to suddenly appear while typing on their device’s virtual keyboard.
Several iPhone users have taken to online communities such as Reddit and Apple Community forums, which was first spotted by MacRumors, to express their frustration about being abruptly thrown out from Messages, Notes, and other applications to find themselves on another new app due to the sudden appearance of the app switcher.
Affected users note that the bug tends to activate when are typing at a swift pace on the virtual keyboard for a while. This weird bug is affecting all iOS 17 versions, i.e., from iOS 17.0 to the most recent iOS 17.1.2 update.
“Whether it’s iMessage or website, doesn’t matter, whenever I’m typing on anything, periodically it will activate the app switcher as if I’ve swiped the bottom of my screen. I’m not swiping anything, just normal texting or onscreen keyboard clicks,” wrote a Reddit user on the iOS Reddit forum a month ago.
It is not clear if Apple is aware of the issue yet, as there is no official fix announced by the Cupertino giant, but we can expect it to be included in a future update.
Meanwhile, there is a temporary workaround that can fix the issue, which is by turning off “Reachability” until Apple releases a fix. Reportedly turning off Reachability in the Settings menu has prevented the problem from happening again.
Here’s How You Can Disable Reachability:
Reachability is an accessibility feature, which you can use to lower the top of your screen down to the middle so that it is within easy reach of your thumb. Here’s how you can do it:
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Tap on Accessibility
- Choose Touch under the “Physical and Motor” section
- Toggle off the switch next to Reachability
