[iOS 13] TextInput with autoFocus often make cursor not movable

React Native version:

System:
    OS: macOS Mojave 10.14.6
    CPU: (16) x64 Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-9900K CPU @ 3.60GHz
    Memory: 1.42 GB / 40.00 GB
    Shell: 5.3 - /bin/zsh
  Binaries:
    Node: 12.11.1 - /usr/local/bin/node
    Yarn: 1.19.0 - /usr/local/bin/yarn
    npm: 6.11.3 - /usr/local/bin/npm
    Watchman: 4.9.0 - /usr/local/bin/watchman
  SDKs:
    iOS SDK:
      Platforms: iOS 13.1, DriverKit 19.0, macOS 10.15, tvOS 13.0, watchOS 6.0
    Android SDK:
      Android NDK: 20.0.5594570
  IDEs:
    Android Studio: 3.5 AI-191.8026.42.35.5900203
    Xcode: 11.1/11A1027 - /usr/bin/xcodebuild
  npmPackages:
    react: 16.9.0 => 16.9.0
    react-native: 0.61.2 => 0.61.2
  npmGlobalPackages:
    react-native-cli: 2.0.1

Steps To Reproduce

<TextInput
  ref={c => (this.acTextInput = c)}
  style={{ flex: 1, paddingVertical: 6, paddingLeft: 0, fontSize: 18 }}
  returnKeyType="search"
  enablesReturnKeyAutomatically
  autoCapitalize="none"
  autoCorrect={false}
  autoFocus // can't move cursor bug on iOS 13?
  placeholder={`Search`}
  placeholderTextColor="#646464"
  value="Some long string to reproduce tapping somewhere in this line"
/>

1. Tap on text box, in middle or beginning. Often the cursor will then get “stuck” at beginning of TextInput’s. Tapping at end or moving cursor by dragging it (new gesture in iOS 13) would not move it anywhere, cursor snaps back to beginning of TextInput
2. Defocus from TextInput then focus on it again, by user tap or this.acTextInput.focus() after render, would fix it. Tapping anywhere in TextInput would consistently place cursor where wanted.

Describe what you expected to happen:

Step 2 above

My workaround is don’t use autoFocus, and have this on TextInput shown (inside a normally hidden modal):

    setTimeout(() => {
      this.acTextInput?.focus()
    }, 100)

[barrylachapelle]

This was a breaking change in iOS 13 that Apple made - it hit me hard in a Swift/Xcode project. It has to do with moving the focus/becomeFirstResponder from viewWillAppear to viewDidLoad in the appropriate view controller. I imagine this is something deep in React Native that will have to be fixed.

The above timeout hack worked for me…nice idea!

[jamesxabregas]

I’ve come across this issue too. I notice that it is no longer an issue in iOS 14, but remains in iOS 13 even when running the latest React Native version (0.63.3).