It’s 2025, and your voice message can describe dinner plans, deep secrets, or last night’s karaoke performance—but throw in an ampersand and suddenly, it might never arrive.
Users of Apple’s Messages app are bumping into a strange, almost laughable bug: saying “Dave & Buster’s” in a voice message may stop it dead in its tracks. No error, no delivery. Just gone. Why? Because of that pesky little “&” character.
The issue came to light on the Search Engine podcast, hosted by PJ Vogt, and quickly caught the attention of iOS developer Guilherme Rambo. Since then, Apple enthusiasts, engineers, and the simply curious have been poking at it like a sore tooth. And yes—it’s as real as it is bizarre.
One Symbol, One Silent Crash
This isn’t your average voice message fail. It’s not about poor signal, background noise, or talking too fast. It’s about code.
Apple’s Messages app doesn’t just send your audio—it transcribes it, too. If you send a voice memo that says “Let’s meet at H&M,” the app turns that into text beneath the message. A neat feature—until the ampersand gets involved.
Two sentences in, and the bug has already kicked in. If your voice message includes the name of a store or brand with an ampersand, it simply won’t go through. It fails quietly. The person you’re talking to will just never hear it.
That’s a problem. Especially if you’re trying to ask someone to meet you at “Tiffany & Co.” or “Barnes & Noble.”
Not a Typo—A Parsing Nightmare
Dig a little deeper, and things get even weirder.
This isn’t just a visual glitch or a mispronunciation. According to Rambo, the underlying issue sits squarely in how Apple’s transcription engine handles symbols—specifically XHTML encoding. The ampersand, which is written as & in code, isn’t being processed correctly.
So what happens when the ampersand breaks the transcription?
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The transcript fails to load properly.
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The app experiences a parsing error.
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That triggers a protective feature inside Messages called BlastDoor.
BlastDoor isn’t a bug; it’s a safety measure. Apple built it to stop malicious code sent via text. It basically filters out anything weird, suspicious, or potentially dangerous. And, well, a mangled ampersand apparently checks one of those boxes.
So instead of receiving your innocent “Want to go to Dave & Buster’s?” message, your friend gets… nothing.
BlastDoor: The Overprotective Bouncer
Apple introduced BlastDoor back in 2021 as a sandboxed system to inspect incoming messages. Think of it like a club bouncer with a clipboard and sunglasses. If your message looks even slightly suspicious, BlastDoor keeps it from getting in.
Usually, that’s a good thing. It’s meant to stop spyware, phishing attempts, or any kind of shady exploit. But right now, it’s bouncing out audio messages for simply including a valid company name. That’s like getting thrown out of a concert for humming a forbidden tune.
And the worst part? You won’t even know it happened.
Brands Affected: It’s Not Just Dave & Buster’s
The problem seems to show up when brand names use the ampersand in a traditional, proper way. Not slang, not weird characters—just the classic ampersand that’s in everyone’s keyboard.
Here’s a quick look at real-world names that might break your audio message:
| Brand or Location | Possible Fail Trigger |
|---|---|
| Dave & Buster’s | Yes |
| H&M | Yes |
| Tiffany & Co. | Yes |
| Barnes & Noble | Yes |
| Bed Bath & Beyond | Yes |
| Johnson & Johnson | Yes |
It’s a surprisingly long list, given how common ampersands are in branding.
Podcast Spotlight Blew the Lid Off
The original bug report didn’t come from a tech blog or an angry Reddit thread—it came from a podcast episode.
On Search Engine, PJ Vogt described trying to send a voice message that simply included the name “Dave & Buster’s.” It didn’t go through. That led to the now-viral investigation by developer Guilherme Rambo, who confirmed the glitch with technical testing.
Suddenly, what seemed like a one-off fail turned out to be a reproducible, system-wide issue. And yes, people started testing it with all sorts of brands. The results were oddly consistent: ampersand = silent fail.
Apple’s Silence Isn’t Golden
As of now, Apple hasn’t publicly acknowledged the issue. No patch, no beta fix, no workaround.
That silence is frustrating for users. People rely on Messages for daily communication. Voice messages, in particular, are popular with busy parents, people on the go, and anyone who just doesn’t want to type.
While the bug might seem like a niche issue at first glance, it cuts to the core of Apple’s user experience promise: “It just works.”
Except… it doesn’t. Not when you throw in a simple “&.”
Temporary Workarounds? Sort Of
There’s no easy fix just yet, but some users have found a few awkward hacks that help them get their point across—without breaking their voice message.
A few tricks floating around:
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Say “and” instead of “&”: This seems to avoid the transcription bug, even if it feels unnatural when referencing a proper name.
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Disable transcription manually: This is tricky and not really supported, but disabling Siri & Dictation in Settings may stop transcriptions from triggering.
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Switch to another app: Apps like WhatsApp or Signal don’t suffer from the same issue (yet).
Of course, none of these feel great. You shouldn’t have to work around your messaging app just to mention a restaurant.
