Q: I cannot delete iPhone keyboard shortcuts.  They keep restoring.

This worked for me. Thank you. I also deleted the device's iCloud backup. Incidentally I had been jailbroken, and was ready to undo that, so the nuclear decision was an easy one

Worm, it has nothing to do with iCloud Backup being on. I have never used iCloud Backup and my shortcuts including zombies sync between iOS and OS X devices.

I do have iCloud Drive on.

This is why I am dubious with all these Apple engineers talking about turning on and off iCloud Backup.

Reply in general, not just to worm:

We all need to stop chasing our tails. Let me re-add this to the discussion -- My problem with shortcuts/replacements is affecting/infecting my iPhone, iPad and my Macbook Air. It's not just the iOS.

Here's what we know, collectively (and of my own experience):

1. It's not just the iOS;

2. It's not independent of the iOS;

3. It predates Yosemite and 10.8;

4. This is only happening to those who run an Apple ID on their device(s) (it would be nearly impossible to run without one);

5. It's only affecting people who have diddled with their SHORTCUTS;

6. It is related to your Apple ID;

7. It's native to Apple; and

8. Apple should be able to fix this -- and only they can, because it's all back-office.

How do I know all of the above? Been there, done that. I've started clean on every device. They come back. I've tinkered with iCloud connectivity. They come back. I've deleted the zombies individually, collectively, and across devices. They come back. I've dinked around with keyboards selections. They come back.

Here's something simple (but incredibly inconvenient) that we can each try as a litmus test:

- Use the same phone or iPad or Macbook that you've been using all along.

- BE SURE YOU ARE SIGNED IN UNDER YOUR ORIGINAL APPLE ID -- AND BACKUP FIRST (either to cloud or to iTunes on your computer).

- Backup now safely in the sky or wherever? OK, then sign out of your Apple ID (in SETTINGS - iCLOUD, at the bottom; on a Macbook sign out and back in as your GUEST user) on the device.

- Do not change anything about settings, or jailbreak anything, or hack anything.

- When (in iOS) it asks about removing all data from the device, allow it to do so, because you've saved all that crap somewhere anyway.

- Now, you're no one on that device. Persona non grata. The device will still work, but you will no longer have access to iTunes accounts (because they connect to the Apple ID) and other such.

- If your email is through Mac, that will also go away from the device (part of the inconvenience), but it too is still in the cloud. (Unless you save emails locally to your Macbook, in which case you have other problems.)

- If you were running with an alternative native keyboard selection through the iOS (not 3rd party), that selection is native to the device, so it won't have changed when you signed out of the ID; that selection will remain.

- BUT now check your keyboard SHORTCUTS.

- Ah-ha! Zombies annihilated.

- Now, play the tape through to the end by signing back IN on the device with your usual Apple ID.

- Data and settings will reload from the cloud or from your local iTunes backup.

- Go check your SHORTCUTS -- and they'll still be clean. No zombies. No shortcuts at all, in fact, not even Apple's natives.

- Huh?

- Yes, eventually however, the zombies will come back -- again -- if you stay logged in under that Apple ID.

- Why?...

Yes, I've done this, and guess what? The zombies do eventually reappear as long as you are back to your original Apple ID. But, signing in and out supports the theory that it's the Apple ID hosting the zombies.

I'm a PC-to-Mac shifter, first breaking clean of Bill Gates back in 2000, but even now I navigate between, as required. Part of what was great to leave behind was all the nonsense that seems to be going on in background ALL THE TIME on Windows devices. Cluttered and tiring, maybe even sneaky. And we Apple folk get lulled into thinking that all the speed and flexibility and agility that we experience results from none of that Windows-esque background crap going on at all. But is that true? Of course not. That's what makes these devices run. Apple just does it better, more seamlessly, more quietly. As with many things Apple.

You know how when you get a new phone, do an erase and reinstall, or restore from backup, how it seems to take quite a bit of time for things to return to normal? Apps will be reloading for days, it seems. And that's only what you can "see." Lots going on in background. It's as if basic functionality is prioritized, and everything else lines up behind to be pulled down and rebuilt, which makes sense in a way. Well, this, too, suggests that there are all manner of back-office reloads going on in/from some repository in the South Pole, or whatever, happening continually, constantly, restoring and replacing different levels of data, shallower and deeper. That's why it sometimes take days or weeks for all the zombies to come back. All of that old data is being pulled from lots of levels, lots of places, over time. We might think it's all happening instantaneously, but it's not, and the fact that we get core functionality back so "quickly" is both good and bad.

Now, end users can't get into these cloud (or cellular) backups. These are out of our control and we have no access. There's a set we can access, but not these. That's the only explanation, because many of us have tried hard erasing iCloud backups, and that doesn't stick. These backups must be archived somewhere else. But why Apple can't or won't clean these out for a given user, or for all users collectively, I have no idea.

I do know, however, that Apple tech knows about this connection to the Apple ID, because my own personal senior tech (yeah, right) went down that road when my case was escalated to engineering. The engineers (who are these people anyway? the Eloi?) placed my Apple ID into what they called "test mode," which required my approval and release of password to Apple. It remained in that status for weeks. What they work looking for, I have no idea, but they didn't find it and didn't fix it, and I was eventually released from "test mode" with no solution offered.

I'm running on and about to start sounding like a conspiracy theorist (I am not), but it makes sense. Have you ever had to work with Apple to reclaim an email that you really really really trashed? I did. That mail is out of your IN box, out of the ARCHIVE, out of the TRASH. Toast. Well, from a user standpoint, that email is gone gone gone -- but Apple can reclaim it from the server somewhere. Naturally. Perhaps as a matter of legal compliance or whatever, Apple is certainly keeping histories on every Apple ID as well. Regarding this keyboard shortcuts harangue, the question then is: Why can't won't Apple really really really clear out that old data, or at least delink it? And why won't Apple 'fess up about the source of the problem?

How in **** this can be related to the Apple ID in such a way that obliterating user-accessible backups doesn't solve the problem, I have no idea, but I would be willing to bet that everyone here, everyone experiencing this problem, can run this experiment and will have a similar result.

Report back, even if it's to tell me I'm wrong, which will just mean we've found yet another new wrinkle in this issue.

crmac - best reply so far.  You absolutely hit the nail on the head.

Apple and only Apple can fix this.

If you are willing, could you share your Apple case number? I have created a complaint with Apple's Consumer Relations about the way that Apple communicates with its users, and I am bombarding them with my own examples and examples from here.

These points were the basis of my complaint:

1. no bug list

2. no response to online feedback

3. simplistic solutions from advisors, eg restarting

4. no co-ordinated response (apparently) to long-standing issues

I have agitated for a reply, even though they don't normally do that! I said that I expect no change re. points 1 & 2; but I hope Apple will take notice of my feedback about its communication. I said that Apple discussions are a wealth of great information, but when there is a bug/problem that Apple fails to address, the discussions become a mix of hopeful workarounds and venom toward Apple, emphasising that that is not unique to this particular bug.

If it's useful, here's the case number for my latest foray with "The Engineers" (hey, great name for a band...)

Case# 738713979

Keep us posted.

Peter any news? Apple have taken almost a week to perform your promised 30 minute fix.

I guess like me you must be losing faith!

Email exchanges:

29 May 2015

Julius: Sorry for the delay in responding Peter. I’ve been trying to get an approximate time frame on the removal of the keyboard shortcuts but have not received a reply yet. As soon as I have information I’ll contact you through email or by phone.

Peter:

The delay is not your fault. There are only two assumptions I can make: either the engineers are unable to estimate the time involved (which means the bug is more complex than the patronising Apple advisors implied), or the engineers are unwilling to provide me with an estimate (which means that my problem is unimportant to Apple).

Doing without iCloud Drive is inconvenient. If the engineers don't know how to delete the zombie shortcuts, perhaps I could turn iCloud Drive back on until they know what they are doing? I understand that the engineers don't/won't communicate directly with users, but if they don't/won't communicate with you as an advisor, then the Apple system of help is broken.

30 May 2015

Julius: Hello Peter. I understand you must be very frustrated and inconvenienced by the inability to use iCloud Drive. If there was a way for me to speed up this process I most definitely would. The engineering department assure me that they will have a solution as soon as humanly possible. I am also working on a prorated refund for your iCloud storage to help compensate for your inconvenience.

Peter (to Sameer at Consumer Relations, who does not work on weekends so no reply yet, CCed to Julius):

This is not good enough.

1. Will the delay be days, weeks, months, years? (Julius originally estimated 30 minutes.)

2. Why are the engineers unable or unwilling to give Julius an estimate of the delay?

3. Do they care so little about users?

4. Are they busy working on more important issues, such as more emojis?

5. Or is the bug so complex and pervasive that they are unable to find the source of the bug? (If so, I would like an apology from the patronising advisors who merely told me to submit online feedback or asked me to again reboot my iPhone.)

Peter, to Julius and to Consumer Relations: Please pass on this case number [from crmac's post] to the engineers so that they can see what else has been tried. I believe it's time that Apple tried a co-ordinated response.

Julius: Thanks for the extra information Peter. I will take a look at this case number and see what steps have been taken and they will help in removing the shortcuts from your Apple ID/ device. I have also received a copy of your communication with Sameer from Consumer Relations. I do not feel the engineers are unwilling to give me an update on how long it will take to resolve the problem with removing the shortcuts from your apple ID as well as all the others who are experiencing this problem. I do think that the delays may be due to the volume of users that are having the same issue. I do not know the exact number of customers that have reported this issue, but I’m positive that the engineers are doing everything they can to fix the problem.

Peter:

Okay. When I'm angry, I get legalistic and pedantic. I actually think it's reasonable for me to ask for an estimated timeframe, and I can't understand why the engineers won't give you an estimate. But as you are my conduit to the engineers, I have to trust your opinion that they are doing their best. (This is difficult for me.)

I believe that Apple is taking two approaches to this bug simultaneously, and that's what's fueling my anger: (a) it's a trivial glitch that can be fixed by rebooting or by turning iCloud settings off and on (see my awful chat with Josh); and (b) it's a complex bug that engineers need a lot of time to work on, even though Apple was informed of the bug in, at least, November 2014.

I will try to leave you alone and let you get on with your work; I guess I don't like asking questions that don't get answered or acknowledged. I do appreciate your help, but I also genuinely feel that Apple is treating its users with disdain.

Julius:

I completely understand your frustration with this problem. It has taken quite a long time and there is still not a solution. I apologize for the time it has taken and I feel bad for not being able to resolve the problem myself.  As I am working on your refund for iCloud storage fees, I have also made a request to offer you a gift from the online store to help compensate for the time you’ve spent dealing with this issue as well as the inconvenience you’ve been through... I know it doesn’t fully make up for the frustration and stress you’ve been under but its something that I would like to do for you.

pagemakers4, just to be accurate, I let Apple know that I had turned iCloud Drive off at 4:41 pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time) Tuesday 26 May. That's 5 and a half calendar days ago, including a weekend.

I am trying to walk a fine line between not giving up, and not over-reacting!

Chris, you are a superstar if this works!  Both my kids share my Apple ID and they made cute/silly shortcuts for my name and my partners name.  Meaning that when I type my name, "Mummy" comes up and a whole bunch of other ones.  I have also made some myself on my iphone and ipad.  SO, we have 2 kids ipad, my ipad and my iphone all with shortcuts.  Do i have to do this process you have posted on each device?  The **** shortcuts even come up on my Macbook too!  Please advise and thanks in advance.....Carol-Lynn

CHRIS is amazing!  I am a Primary School Teacher in New Zealand and for the past year have been looking for a solution from Apple, for this issue!  To those who might be skeptial and worried something might go wrong - If I managed it.....then you must.  I had never restored my iphone from a backed up copy and I must admit I was a little nervous BUT - it is exactly as it was!  It appears that the shortcuts have been deleted... so ..... Thanks Chris!  This has been a real problem for me!

Cheers

Peter thanks for keeping us updated with your ongoing communications with Apple. Like me you must be getting sick of their smily, happy excuses. It's drives me insane. I really do hope something positive happens soon.

As for Chris's solution. I'm glad it's worked for some. I've tried his solution half a dozen times now and after a week every single shortcut returns.

I sent another email to the Apple Consumer Relations guy I'm dealing with, then spoke with him later when he phoned me. Here are my questions from the email, with responses that I typed while speaking with Consumer Relations. Once again, I read back my responses for the Consumer Relations guy to confirm that I was paraphrasing accurately, which he did. I emphasised to this guy that Apple's system of dealing with users is clearly broken, and that it is unbelievable to me that Apple non-engineering staff are unable to easily communicate with the engineers.

I am repeating two of my questions (the most urgent) since I heard nothing from you or any other Apple staff yesterday.

 

 

1. Will the delay be measured in days, weeks, months, years? (Julius originally estimated 30 minutes.)

 

The advisor does not know and cannot currently find out. The advisor, who works in Adelaide in South Australia, told me that he and his colleagues have no way to telephone the engineers, who work somewhere in North America. He can only contact them through an internal electronic system. It is normal for someone in Consumer Relations to not be able to contact the engineers directly. The problem of the shortcuts is in Apple’s issue tracker, which only happens when multiple users have a problem.

2. Why are the engineers unable or unwilling to give Julius an estimate of the delay?

 

(See previous email for questions 3-5.)

The advisor does not know and cannot currently find out.

I am having a lot of trouble dealing with Apple staff's inability/refusal to answer my questions. When Apple staff repeatedly ignore my question is, I assume that Apple does not care about my issues. For example, I had to ask Julius four times about how to escalate this problem before he told me about Consumer Relations; and I received no response at all from you yesterday to my 5 questions.

 

7. Have you made your supervisor/manager aware of the two issues I'm having: the shortcut problem AND the problem with Apple staff treating me disdainfully?

His supervisor is undertaking staff training until Wednesday.

Peter. A couple more days have passed. Any news?

I love the way the "friendly" advisor is buying you off with the "I'm working on a refund" routine. Surely that's just a single button press away, or is it another 7 day, 30 minute process?

Update.

I tried again on 05/26.  I deleted all the keyboard shortcuts on each of my Macs and leaving all the computers awake with keyboard shortcut preference dialog box on the screen.  I also deleted all the keyboard shortcuts on all my iOS devices and leaving the keyboard shortcut screen overnight.

Today is the 8th day and crossing my fingers nothing coming back yet.