So the iPhone iOS 11.1 update is pretty boss, except for one thing: iPhone users may have noticed that when they type the letter "I" — only in capital form — it's being replaced with the letter "A" and a question mark. But don't worry — all hope isn't lost. Here's how to fix the "I" bug on your iPhone with one simple hack that will definitely hold you over for now. Apple hasn't yet announced a permanent fix for the problem, but some users have found a work around to hold you over in the meantime so your texts, emails, and social media posts don't make it look like you're questioning everything. And, the iPhone bug fix is even posted in the Apple Support Community so it seems like the best path forward for now.
If the "I" to "A ?" is driving you bananas, you understand how I feel. I posted on Facebook this morning asking for a fix for this iPhone iOS 11 bug because it's making me crazy too, and I was sent the same fix posted in the Apple Support Community. The bug seems to be rolling out at different times across different devices. I have an iPhone 6, and it just started happening to me this morning. My roommate has an iPhone 8 and it started happening to her yesterday.
At first I thought it was just her phone until I took to Instagram and saw that it was happening to Lady Gaga too.
However, on Instagram it only shows up incorrect on the app, not on my computer — but seriously, who's looking at Instagram on their computer? I only checked Instagram on my laptop so I could see how the bug was manifesting on different devices. On Facebook it shows up as "A ?" if you're on the app, but it's showing up as a box with an X through it on my MacBook Air.
If you're one of the iPhone users who would like to stop feeling like you should be questioning everything every time you type the letter "I," here's a quick fix until Apple solves the problem. I tested this out this morning along with a Bustle editor. We both had to enter the fix twice, but after that the problem appears to have gone away. Here's how to create the temporary fix.
Go to Settings, General, Keyboard, and finally Text Replacement. Next, select the + in the upper right-hand corner, then type a lowercase "i" into the "phrase" line and an uppercase "I" into the "shortcut" line and tap "save." You might have to do this twice for it to work.
Apple Insider also suggested that turning off the predictive text feature solved the problem for some users as did a phone restore. Many people were suffering in silent frustration until others began to ask on Twitter is anyone else's phone had been taken over by some alien force that clearly wants us to question everything.
Or, perhaps Apple is trying to start a new secret language that we don't yet understand. Twenty years from now maybe we'll look back on 2017 and ponder the good old days before everyone started putting a box around a question mark.
Turning off autocorrect is another option that some Twitter users said worked. However, if you use autocorrect on the regular, turning it off could mean that it takes you much longer to tap out emails, messages, and social media posts. And, seriously, who wants to go back to life in the slow lane?
This is definitely a first world problem that's more annoying than anything else, but it could also make you look silly and unprofessional if you're tapping out an email to your boss. And, there's a possibility that the "A ?" could be read as spam by some email programs, which means your email might not get to the intended inbox at all. So, for now, the text replacement fix seems to be the best way to get your iPhone to stop questioning all of your decisions. I mean, who's in charge here anyway? Let that phone know who's boss.
