Life

15 Memes That You'll Only Appreciate If You've Been Personally Affected By The Apple "I" Bug

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When iOS 11.1 was released last week, we were blessed with dozens of new emojis and security updates. We were also cursed with an inability to use first-person pronouns, thanks to a weird glitch involving the letter "I." Even if you aren't personally affected by the iPhone iOS 11.1 bug, you've likely heard people complaining about it this week. When typing the letter I, users see A[?] or ![?] instead, which makes it near impossible to send or receive coherent messages. We've all pretty much accepted that this is life now, and these amazing memes and tweets about not being able to type "I" are the only way to cope.

Apple is working on a permanent fix to the problem, according to their support page. In the meantime, the company says the fix is to open Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. Tap the plus sign to add a shortcut. For Phrase, type an upper-case "I." For Shortcut, type a lower-case "i." The last time I wrote about this bug, I hadn't been affected, but my phone has since given in. I've tried the official Apple shortcut, and it works, but all of my sentences are in lowercase now, which is hard when I'm a grammar freak. All I can do is laugh and commiserate with friends who've also been hit by the bug.

Election Day Glitching

I vote because it's my civic duty, but the sticker is an undeniable perk. I would almost certainly frame this one.

Why Not?

You could also take the iPhone glitch as a chance to unplug and connect with your inner Henry David Thoreau.

Just Own It

The iPhone glitch is still showing up on my phone and computer, and I feel like I've adjusted to it and now automatically read A[?] as "I." Why not just go for it and use it all the time?

The iPhone vs. Android Debate Rages On

I'm guilty of making fun of friends without iPhones, mainly because group texts with green text bubbles are painful for me. But they're able to type "I" without any workarounds, and that's a pretty big perk.

iPhone X Problems

I haven't purchased the iPhone X, but I've heard it's pretty incredible. I'd be pretty bummed if my shiny new phone could only type 25 of the 26 letters in the alphabet, but maybe that's just me.

Just Switch To Third Person

At this point, everything feels futile, so why not switch to third person and just eliminate "I" completely? Ayana approves of this idea.

I Thought I Was Smart Until I Read This Tweet

I feel slightly better about my intelligence after finding out this Twitter user is an English professor, but still. This is a fancy way to say what we're all thinking, and I'm here for it.

No One Will Judge You If You Destroy Your Phone

It is really frustrating to send an email or message and forget about your "I" problem, mainly because it looks like you're using the Wingdings font to communicate your point.

The Old "I" Can't Come To The Phone Right Now

This is an admirable approach. The English language is always evolving, so why not just erase "I" from your vocabulary completely? A[?] approve this message.

A[?] Will Always Love You

The only good thing about this is the memes, folks, and this take on Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" is a good one.

Take Some Time To Reflect

You don't realize how often you talk about yourself until you're forced to manually fix every "I" in a text or email.

Brand Loyalty

It's a running joke that Apple fans are ridiculously loyal to the brand, so I have to give this user props for committing fully.

A Genius Idea

A foolproof way to make everyone think you have the iPhone X. (You could also just update your old iPhone to iOS 11.1, and you'll get the same glitch without spending any money!)

An Opportunity For Philanthropy

A running theme on Twitter is to just stop using first-person pronouns altogether. Just talk about the people around you all the time and you'll never run into any issues. It's brilliant.

TBH, I Can't Blame You

You can use the eyes emoji to replace "I" if you don't want to make any shortcuts, or you can just use "me" for every first-person pronoun because what is life anymore. Even though people aren't happy with Apple because of the glitch, most of us still finding levity. Until this is fixed, A[?]'ll console myself with memes.