"Allow to share data with (null)" with xfinity stream app on iPad iOS 15

I have the same issue:

• With Siri / Smartlife app.
• Only when I run a shortcut with Apple Watch (shortcut runs normally when ran with iPad or iPhone).
• Since upgrading to WatchOS 8.
• When I use Voice Command (Siri) to trigger the shortcut.
• When I use manual input to trigger the shortcut on AppleWatch (click on shortcut in Shortcut app on Apple Watch).

jermicidal wrote:

It would be really nice if someone from Apple actually replied to these things.

Apple isn’t here, and does not glean feedback from these fora.

If you want to give Apple feedback, you are always welcome to use their Feedback mechanism: Product Feedback - Apple.

Apologies for the frustrated reply.

I reported to Apple Feedback that the issue was still occurring. All that still experience it should do the same. Hopefully, if will get solved soon.

Here is the link for providing feedback relating to the Apple Watch: https://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html

Please note that as of Monday, December 13th, 10:34pm CET, it is not yet possible to report issues relating to WatchOS 8.3 -only 8.1 at the moment (I believe there will be a delay before Apple updates its Feedback form). I submitted Feedback nevertheless under WatchOS 8.1, and will resubmit it under 8.3 once it appears in the Feedback drop down list.

Identical experience.

Updated to iOS 15.1 and WatchOS 8.1 and issue still occurs. With two variations from some users:

• Issue only happens on Apple Watch (SE). And the related app in my case is Smart Life.
• "Allowing" the shortcut does make the shortcut run successfully, but only if I reply "Allow" to Siri or click on "Allow", whether shortcut is voice-activated or touch-activated.

It is starting to be irritating. But I will pursue attempts at escalating with both Smart Life and Apple.

Let's hope some good soul on an Apple-related news outlet notices the issue and writes and article about it to prompt reaction from either side. People may be underreporting it, and the issue never gets enough traction anywhere to get considered a priority.

I FOUND A WORKAROUND!

If you are still having issues with the Apple Watch asking to "Allow to share data with (XXX)", here is how to work around it:

You need to create a New Shortcun that runs the Original Shortcut. How?

1. On your iPhone (maybe iPad too, but I only tested iPhone): Make sure you change the Siri Prompt of the Original shortcut to something that cannot be read, i.e. cannot be understood by Siri (e.g.: Soft Light becomes “sftlt". So the Prompt would be"Hey Siri, sftlt") .
2. Also rename the Original Shortcut the same (e.g.: sftlt).
3. Create a New Shortcut that runs the now-renamed Original Shortcut (as per the above example, set New Shortcut to run “sftlt").
4. Make sure you name the New ShortCut after the action that was initially intended by the Original Shortcut (e.g., if your Original Shortcut was initially named "Soft Light", call the New Shortcut "Soft Light").
5. Make sure the Siri Prompt for the New Shortcut is the same as its name (e.g., here again, the NewShortcut Siri Prompt should read “Hey Siri, Soft Light".
6. Wait a second until your Watch synchronizes its Shortcuts with your iPhone.
7. And Voilà.

I will give it to you, this is pretty circumvoluted. But it works for me!

Hope it does for you too.

[Edit: please note that this Workaround worked with the SmartLife app. I did not test for other apps activated through Shortcuts. I am currently using the latest official software on both iPhone and Apple Watch.]

I have same issue for my garage door shortcuts, but only on my watch (since upgrading to WatchOS 8). Haven't tried running the shortcut from MacOS, but I would assume it's the same issue. Did your issue manifest after an upgrade as well? Hopefully I'm adding helpful info for experts to take into account. Sorry, if I'm muddying the waters.

I know it doesn’t help, but this certainly makes me feel better to see that I’m not the only one. Just to add more info in case it will help someone investigate further, I created my shortcuts about a year ago with iOS 13 or 14 and immediately started using them via my Apple Watch without issues on either device. Upon upgrading to iOS 15 and WatchOS 8, the shortcuts still work properly from my iPhone. On my watch, I now have to elect to allow it to share data with “(null)” every time. Very frustrating.

I also have the exact same symptoms and it all happened after the update to WatchOS 8 / iOS 15. Has made using Siri from my watch useless and very frustrating.

i tried resetting the watch, both restoring from backup and starting fresh, neither fixed the issue. I have also tried deleting the shortcut and creating it again from scratch, again did not fix it.

I have had the issue since updating to IOS 15. I do not have the watch. For me, it is shortcuts I created to a Chrome webpage. There is no option to “always allow. “

It asks to share data with “null” every time I start the shortcut, or bookmark.

I contacted Apple support and they said others were having the same issue. They were supposed to get back with me last Thursday. Do you think they did?

Nope. They got my money for my 12 Pro and now they don’t care.

Same problem with me. Had a lot of shortcuts, most of them related to Smart Life. After iOS upgrade to 15 and watchOS to 8, when I address Siri on the watch, I always get the “allow shortcut to access <null>”. Super annoying to the point of making the watch nigh useless.

On the iPhone, the respective shortcuts have in their setting/privacy tab the “allow shortcut to access this app=Smart Life” enabled; that was done by running on the iPhone the shortcut once and saying/tapping “allow”.

I hope this is resolved asap; monitoring this thread.

On my iPhone, the privacy setting in the shortcut allowing the shortcut to access the particular app is enabled. The "null message still comes up every time.

I can understand the privacy notification, but there needs to be an "always allow" option so the message only comes up the first time a new shortcut is run, not every time it is run.

It makes the Shortcuts useless. The idea of a shortcut is a single tap to run something. Now, it requires 2 taps.

And Apple support was supposed to get back to me by last Thursday. This is now Wednesday, almost a week later and still no word from Apple. The Company only cares about money anymore, they don't give a crap about us.

Same issue here with my app Shortcuts.

The message is shown only on Apple Watch, while on iPhone is working as expected.

The strange thing is that not all shortcuts has the same issue.

Everything started after iOS and WatchOS update.

So, I reached out to apple since I had this issue, and we found a solution for chrome shortcuts. So if you set the default browser to Chrome, and use the Safari “Open URL” command rather than the Chrome “Open URL” command, it opens the link IN Chrome without displaying the message. For some of the other apps, I don’t have an answer, but I told the Senior Advisor about the issue so maybe they’ll look into the issue, but otherwise I guess we’ll just have to wait.

Updated to iOS 15.1 and WatchOS 8.1 today. Issue still manifests. I’m going to see if there is any escalation path with Smart Life, since Apple does not appear to want to help out. Between iPhones, Apple watches, Apple TVs, and Macs, I’ve spent a lot of money. Would be nice to see some effort from Apple on these forums, but I generally do not see any responses. It’s basically a place for users to help users. And it sounds like those of us who have had time to work directly with Apple support on this issue have not had a decent response either. Frankly, it is pathetic.

Same issue here! Apple Watch 6 running wOS 8.1 and iPhone 12 running IOS15.1, even after the update the issue persists. This making Siri on the Apple Watch for shortcuts pretty useless. The issue has been know since the release of IOS 15 en WatchOS 8. When is a fix coming?