Shortcuts app in iOS 17 crashes when attempting to open shortcuts scripts which start with an IF action

I have no clue if this will work for you or not but if I go to the “Automations” tab first, then go back to “Shortcuts”, I can edit the shortcut(s) in question without issue.

Oddly enough, this doesn’t hold true for the “Gallery” tab. If I go to that tab then back and try to edit the shortcut, it causes my app to crash.

It may be worth noting that my shortcut doesn’t begin with an IF. I’ve attached a screenshot.

As mentioned by other users, the shortcut runs flawlessly I just can’t edit it without doing the aforementioned actions.

After installing 17.2 update

Today 12/11/23

Shortcut

Remember this - Action stopped working and said couldn't connect to helper application.

Has anyone else had a similar issue and does anyone have a fix?

Thanks

Unfortunately, it looks like resetting the network settings was a short-lived fix. It's crashing again now, so there's a larger issue. Hoping the app is sending crash reports to Apple and they'll fix whatever is causing this. It does seem the shortcuts are running faster, though, after resetting the network settings. I don't need to edit them for now, so I suppose I can wait for a fix.

Hey there Anesthesia Dan,

Thanks for reaching out to the Apple Support Communities.

To get started, have you had an opportunity to update to iOS 17.0.2 that was released recently? If not, since updating can often bring latest features, security updates, and bug fixes, we would recommend updating the iOS and test the issue once more.

If you need any help with updating, check out this link here: Update your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Update your iPhone or iPad wirelessly

1. Back up your device using iCloud or your computer.

2. Plug your device into power and connect to the internet with Wi-Fi.

3. Go to Settings > General, then tap Software Update.

4. If you see more than one software update option available, choose the one that you want to install.

5. Tap Install Now. If you see Download and Install instead, tap it to download the update, enter your passcode, then tap Install Now. If you don't know your passcode, learn what to do.

If the issue persists after updating, or if you're already updated to the latest iOS version, try removing and reinstalling the Shortcut app next: Delete built-in Apple apps from your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch - Apple Support

Keep us updated on the results, and we'll continue from there.

Take care!

Same issue here. I was trying to figure out what's going on and you are absolutely right. I can edit all my shortcuts, except those that start with an IF.

They do run, but they seem to run slow as well. It seems to take an unusually long time to get past the IF.

Looks like I just resolved the issue. The shortcuts that I couldn't edit were actually controlling home accessories. I discovered that I couldn't even create new shortcuts to control home accessories. The page to select accessories/scenes was just blank. In hindsight this issue may be related to upgrading to the new HomeKit architecture that was introduced with iOS 16.

After finding some related troubleshooting tips I ended up resetting the network settings on the phone and that cleared the issue. I can now edit my shortcuts that start with an IF action and contain home accessory actions, and I can create new shortcuts with home accessory actions.

Hope that helps. I usually always reset the network settings when upgrading iOS to the next major version as I had issues in the past that were cleared by this, but I didn't do it this time right away.

Yeah, pretty much the same here. Most of my home accessory scripts are structured like that. They check the state of a particular accessory and then do something depending on the state. I'm wondering if it has something to do with the Wi-Fi connectivity issues that are supposed to be fixed in 17.2. With home accessory scripts it does have to go out and enumerate the devices on the network and such.

It's weird, sometimes it crashes other times it doesn't even with 17.2. Long pressing the ellipses and then selecting Edit from the menu seems to work for me, but just tapping the ellipses crashes it. It seems that at times something hasn't initialized yet. I'm hoping the app sends crash reports to Apple, so eventually they'll figure out what's going on. I've been able to do my edits I wanted to do the other day and I seem to be able to edit them again now after updating to 17.2, even though initially the app crashed.

That explains why editing sometimes worked for me and sometimes not and confirms what I thought all along that it is a sort of race condition. The shortcuts app isn't loading something it needs until you visit the automation tab. I've already determined that it is not the IF action, but any shortcut that uses HomeKit actions. The automation tab seems to correctly initialize what is needed to edit HomeKit actions, but the main Shortcuts tab doesn't. Amazing that this hasn't been fixed yet.

I’m not sure if you saw it or not but I posted a workaround to use for the time being. Go to the “Automations” tab at the bottom first, then go back to the “Shortcuts” tab. That should allow you access. Stupid, I know. And I think you have to do it each time after killing the app.

Thanks for the work around (tap automations tab first), works for me also :)

I found another work around, but it has more steps: even when the shortcut is crashing in iOS, you can still edit it in macOS. In macOS, then change the if statement from using a contact sensor to something else (e.g. a light turning on). You can then open it in iOS (and change it back and do your edits)

Another work around is to get the state of the home device first, and then reference this using the if statement (rather that building the reference into the if statement). This avoids the issue altogether, but is clunky