iOS 14.5 and Call Protection not showing as active

[treed]

Update (May 25, 2021): The bug described below has been fixed in iOS 14.6. If you are experiencing the issue, simply install the latest iOS update from Apple.

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There is an issue with iOS 14.5 and 14.5.1 that causes call blocking extensions - such as the one used for Malwarebytes' Call Protection feature - to be reported incorrectly as not active under certain circumstances. This affects all apps, including the Settings app.

Fortunately, this is merely a cosmetic issue. Call Protection is actually working and fully functional, but iOS will temporarily report the wrong state.

This issue occurs if the app in question - either the Malwarebytes app or the iOS Settings app - is not currently running, either because of a recent system restart, the app being killed by the system, or the user force-quitting the app. In such a case, the status of Call Protection is not identified correctly. If you open the Malwarebytes Security app, you will see that Call Protection says "Activate." In the case of the Settings app, navigating to Phone -> Call Blocking & Identification, the Malwarebytes item will be completely missing.

In both of these cases, waiting for about 30 seconds will cause the status to update to show the actual status. In the Malwarebytes Security app, it will change from "Activate" to a switch that is turned on. (See the video below, being sure to watch all the way to the end!) In the Settings app, the missing setting will appear.

If you are using iOS 14.5 or later, and see the setting change to accurately reflect the state after 30 seconds, you can ignore this issue. It's cosmetic only, and is supposed to be fixed in iOS 14.6.

If you are not using iOS 14.5 or later, or if waiting 30 seconds doesn't fix the issue, you may have another problem. In that case, please start a new topic for that.

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by treed