Safari on iPad hangs when using external keyboard (iOS 17.3)

hey braeburn8 and others

I had posted the log results in an other reply, at this point and based on the results of the logs we will have to wait on an update as it is a coding issue, someone here already posted that he got the new version that seemed to resolve the issue however is not accessible for download yet. It is frustrating on so many levels but at this point it appears we have to wait and till then when ever they decide to let us update we have to deal with really expensive hardware that is more or less paperweight.

my problem is so bad that it even accumulates that the entire iPad reboots on his own …… anyway let us hope that they see some urgency behind fixing this issue

Updated to 17.4 and able to use Safari once again, at least for now. This also happened with the last update 17.3.1 but the “fix” only lasted 3 weeks. Still can’t comment in Instagram as the comment field simply disappears but no problem when smart keyboard is detached.

The next release public b3ta solved it for me. Apologies for the code but for some reason Apple won’t let you talk about that on here.

It’s not just Logitech. As I just posted, my native Apple Magic Keyboard seems to cause the same issues. For instance, I could type this reply, but in order to post it I had to disconnect from the Keyboard first.

I have one thing for people to try if they are being significantly hindered. I can't say why it worked, and it is not a complete fix, but it made my problem more tolerable. Disconnect your current keyboard and connect to a different keyboard. Play with it a bit and see if you still have freezes (I did). Then hook up your existing keyboard at the same time and use them both while both are connected a few times, then disconnect the second keyboard.

On my system, I went from having consistent, regular freezes to having only occasional problems. Safari is back to being usable, and I can do app updates without disconnecting my keyboard.

I don't know anything about the iPad architecture, but it seems like this problem is caused by some sort of resource conflict between the keyboard and network service, and my completely unsubstantiated guess is that plugging in two keyboards at the same time causes some resources to be re-allocated.

I use an iPad and Apply magic Keyboard. When in the previous iPadOS version, I still used it normally when connecting the iPad to an external keyboard.
But from iPadOS version 17.3, every time I connect the iPad to an external keyboard, Apple Note, Safari, gmail, Microsoft office, and many other applications freeze when using the external keyboard.
I'm really angry about this, my work depends entirely on the iPad, to write this line of text I had to disconnect the iPad from the Apple magickeyboard and use the iPad's virtual keyboard.

IGNORE it just started again with the adapters disabled :-(

I did some digging and found most likely the issue, the solution till it gets fixed can only work if you a) have a SIM card or b) an RJ45 adapter and can hardwire it

go and disable the wireless and bluetooth and you leaf it like that. I have now used it for a day without any freezing. And disabling it I don’t mean under control center I mean go into the properties of Bluetooth and WiFi and disable it! 17.3.1 didn’t fix the issue and that is the only way as of right now that I’m back in business with my IPad

Made contact with Apple Support in desperation today and went through the usual diagnostics including uploading hardware analysis data to the technician and unsurprisingly nothing wrong with the hardware. Only remedy suggested was (1) wait for the next update in the ‘hope’ it’s solved (2) or wipe and restore the device which is a major hassle.

[Edited by Moderator]

The log indicates an uncaught exception led to the abort() call, signaling that the application encountered an error condition it didn’t handle gracefully. This often happens when there’s a logic error in the code, such as accessing an array index out of bounds, failing to handle null or invalid data correctly, or similar issues that weren’t anticipated or tested for thoroughly.

In the context of external accessory management by the accessoryd daemon, such an uncaught exception could arise from unexpected states or data from accessories, or perhaps a mishandling of sessions (opening, closing, data transfer, etc.). It underscores the importance of robust error handling and testing, especially for system processes that interact with a wide range of external devices and data formats.

For a process as critical as accessoryd, which handles communication between the iOS device and connected hardware accessories, ensuring comprehensive error handling and testing for edge cases is crucial to maintain system stability and prevent crashes that could impact user experience or device functionality.

- Bug Type: The crash is classified as a `bug_type` "309", typically indicating an uncaught exception.

- Exception Type: The crash was due to an `EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT)`, meaning the process terminated itself because of an uncaught exception.

- Crash Reason: The crash was triggered by an `abort()` call, which is often caused by an unhandled exception or assertion failure within the application.

I’m on 17.3.1. and have this problem so far only in Safari, when I type a search or URL in the search/url bar.

• Safari hangs,
• the spinner wheel next to WIFI still spins,
• I need to force quite Safari and relaunch Safari

I cannot fully reproduce it, it happens only occasionally but often enough to be disruptive in my work flow.

iPad pro

Apple Magic Keyboard with Touchpad

Same issue here but with the expensive Apple Smart Keyboard and iPad Pro 11”. Definitely an iPad OS 17.3 issue.

I too am having issues since upgrading to 17.3. In addition to Safari freezing, I am getting multiple other apps freezing as well - Outlook, some Microsoft Office apps, ESPN app, several game apps. It is happening fairly consistently and there is no way to ‘unfreeze’ other than closing the app (slide up from bottom) and then removing the app from open app list. For Safari… you can even stop the loading process… it is just completely frozen. I am on an iPad Pro 11” (2023), and it has essentially made the iPad unusable. I upgraded my iPhone (13P) and so far no issues with it.