Facebook’s latest Messenger update for iOS is making the app crash constantly

You can probably expect a fix very soon

By Naveed Bashir @iaminsiderr  Jun 15, 2018, 11:20pm IST

You should probably avoid installing the update that Facebook pushed out yesterday for Messenger on iOS. Many people have noticed that the app is crashing frequently after updating. For me, Messenger opens fine initially. But if I switch to another app and come back, it fades to black and crashes to the iPhone home screen. Tapping on notifications is also leading to the immediate crash for some. The problem has been reproduced by many People.

Facebook is aware of the issue and working on an update for the bad update, according to a spokesperson. Version 170.0 is the buggy release, and the company has already submitted a fix (170.1) to Apple. You can identify the version by tapping “more” in the updates tab of the App Store. (Update: the new version is now available in the App Store.)

The app isn’t completely broken, mind you; you’re still able to chat with folks when it successfully opens after a crash. But this is still a pretty nasty bug. One wonders how this wasn’t picked up by Facebook’s developer team. I know tech companies are trying to be more mindful about the amount of time we’re all spending on our phones, but come on, people. This isn’t the answer.

We could really use that sleek, simplified redesign of Messenger right about now, anyway.