It's without a doubt a terrible rule. I do recall it being mentioned in errata, but if anything has been decided I can't say for sure. Matrix Perception is a very poorly done mechanic, being split into different sections of the book (probably written by different people) all explaining it slightly differently. As written it takes at least 2 Complex Actions to find anything silent. The first to confirm there's a silent icon, the second to make the opposed roll against it.
Personally, when I play, I focus on the line on page 235 that says "If you know at least one feature of an icon running silent, you can spot the icon."
Along with the line just above yours that says "If you’re trying to find an icon that’s running silent (or if you’re running silent and someone’s looking for you), the first thing you need to do is have some idea that a hidden icon is out there."
I GM that as "if you can tell me what you're trying to find, clearly you know a feature of it". If you say "I try to find that ganger's pistol" then you know you're looking for a pistol's ARO, and that's a feature. "That samurai's cybereyes" is the same kind of thing. As long as they have a clear idea of what they're looking for, they can roll to find it. Of course, they can still be wrong (it could just not be wireless rather than silent) but that's a risk they have to take.