Update – iPhone bug: do not join this Wi-Fi network

Update of July 24, 2021: iOS 14.7 corrects the bug, it is made official by Apple. Under this version of iOS, you no longer risk blocking the Wi-Fi functionality of your iPhone by joining a network with a very specific SSID.

Update July 10, 2021: iOS 14.7 should fix the bug described below and any risk of malfunction related to a particular Wi-Fi SSID. In any case, this is what the beta testers who got their hands on noticediOS 14.7 beta. The final version of iOS 14.7 should arrive by the end of July or even the beginning of August.

A few days ago, we learned that certain Wi-Fi network names could make the Wi-Fi function of an iPhone or iPad inoperable. Carl Shou, security researcher, explained that when a Wi-Fi network contains the “%” character in its SSID (its name), this potentially has the effect of crashing the iOS device trying to connect to it.

We then describedin our articlea way to recover Wi-Fi functionality via the network settings reset function, in case of a “%” related bug.

But at the start of a new summer week, Carl Schou returned to the charge. He found that with some particular SSIDs, a Wi-Fi network could block the iPhone or iPad's Wi-Fi without the iOS device even attempting to connect to it.

You can permanently disable any iOS device's WiFI by hosting a public WiFi named %secretclub%power
Resetting network settings is not guaranteed to restore functionality.#infosec #0day

— Carl Schou (@vm_call)July 4, 2021

The iPhone or iPad only needs to be within range of the problematic Wi-Fi network for the Wi-Fi feature to become disabled. Worse still, according to the researcher,impossible to recover an iPhone or iPad in good working order after resetting network settings.

Here is an example of a Wi-Fi name that could initiate the bug:secretclub%power.

There may be others. Still, the “%” sign must be there to cause a problem. While waiting for a fix from Apple, we can only advise you to avoid naming your Wi-Fi network with characters other than letters and numbers. Likewise, do not join a Wi-Fi network with a “%” sign in the name, or in any case avoid any Wi-Fi network with a name containing too many special characters.

Editor-in-chief for iPhon.fr. Pierre is like Indiana Jones, looking for the lost iOS trick. Also a long-time Mac user, Apple devices hold no secrets for him. Contact: pierre[a]iphon.fr.