I cannot delete iPhone keyboard shortcuts. They keep restoring.

You might hold off until after iOS 9 is released. 9is supposed to fix a lot of issues and add stability to the OS, rather than a bunch of new features like in 7 and 8. Maybe the shortcuts issue will also be fixed. But for now, at least leave feedback on this problem. I have! Go here and leave feedback:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Apple does need to "get with the program". But as I have stated before, there's just not enough users complaining to Apple about this issue. My guess is that this shortcuts problem is fairly widespread. But most users have no clue it exists, because they have not tried to delete any shortcuts. Face it, that's not an action most do routinely. Most set up some shortcuts and rarely go back to that. So there's few complaints and not much feedback on this issue. I do suspect Apple is aware of the problem, but simply don't see it as important enough to deal with. They've been too busy adding diversity to the emoji keyboard, and the shortcuts problem has been pushed to the back of the bus. The new emoji are great, but we need shortcuts to work. Since I restored my phone as new and started with all new shortcuts, I have not tried to delete any. I need to try that and see if the problem persists even after a restore as new. But for now, a restore is the only thing that works. Restoring as new is a pain. In my case, I'm glad I did it. It fixed several issues I had and gave my old iP 5 new life. It runs better. I even gained some storage space as some of "Other" was removed. I can see it's a tough call to make just for shortcuts. You might try using the 3rd party keyboard SwiftKey. No shortcuts issue there and it works great. It's all I use now, except for entering passwords. I love the dark keyboard. And it has great features and options. It's smarter than the stock keyboard. SwiftKey works great on iOS 8.3. Just saying!

Feedback:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Live Chat

Now chatting with Josh, case # 795749234

Me:Hi Josh. We keep getting old, previously-deleted shortcuts returning to OS X and iOS. Good description of the problem: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6656922

Josh Oh dear, Peter! I can definitely understand how frustrating that can be. I use Keyboard Short cuts to be more efficient with my typing every day! I would be lost without being able to properly manage them. I'll be more than happy to help get this issue resolved for you today.

Josh Before I guide you through troubleshooting this, are there any steps that you've taken prior to chatting with me? I don't want to ask you to try anything twice!

Me:Previously (not today) I deleted both the wanted and unwanted shortcuts from all our devices and Macs, but they always come back. We have 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, 4 Macs.

JoshThank you for the information! From the Diagnostic Report you submitted before our chat I am seeing that your iOS Software is out of date. With the latest iOS Software, it does include many enhancements to not only Safari but the Overall iOS System!

JoshOur first step in resolving this issue is to update not only this iPhone, but all of your iOS Devices, and your Macs! This will ensure, that we have the latest Safari, iCloud, Settings Preferences, and Syncing Protocols across all the devices!

Me:Okay. But the problem still exists for other users on the latest update. This issue has been around for ages.

JoshNow, to check if your other devices need an update you can go to Settings > General > About > if updated to the latest software, the Version number should read 8.3. Here is a Step-by-Step Article on how to update your iOS Device! I will also email you this! Update the iOS software on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Me:Was there a change to the syncing protocol with 8.3?

JoshYes, I do see from the Discussion Forums that it has not resolved some of the customers issues. However every case is Unique as we do not know, what Settings they have, if their devices have damage, as well as if their iCloud Accounts are provisioned properly.

JoshYes, with every update, we increase the Security as well as the Speed and Efficiency of iCloud Syncing between devices.

Me:I appreciate your help. I am unable to update all devices now as some are at work and some are at home. This recurring problem is impacting on our professional letters.

JoshAh! I understand! Well once you have all your devices up to date, please go ahead and delete the Shortcuts again! If they come back, please don’t hesitate to chat us back, so we can then further trouble shoot the issue! Not to worry, I have left detailed notes about the issue for the next Advisor; just in case it does occur again! Does that sound okay?

Me:It's reasonable, but frustrating. I predict that I will update everything, delete old shortcuts, then in a few days or a couple of weeks, the old shortcuts will re-appear.

JoshI completely understand! However, I am very confident that updating all your devices will resolve this issue, because I have seen it resolve this as well as many other odd ball occurrences before!

Me:… and then Apple engineers will continue to add new features instead of fixing old bugs.

JoshIf they do re-appear, please don’t hesitate to chat us back so we can further intestate it! You can submit product feedback about this at http://www.apple.com/feedback We have an entire team here at Apple whose job is dedicated to reviewing this feedback, and escalating it to the proper outlets (such as the engineers for iTunes, iPhone, iPad, etc.), so you can rest assured that your voice will be heard, about this bug!

Me:Because we use Apple products at work and at home, it is very difficult to get all products updated to the latest software at the same time. I'm sorry, but I have already sent feedback, but because Apple does not reply, and nothing changes, there is no way for users to know what Apple does with the information. Do you have a list of bugs that I can look at? Josh, are you able to pass this issue up the line to your manager? Or do you have to wait until I update all products?

JoshNo, we do not have a Public data base of known issues. This is due to the quick turn around time that we have to resolve any issue we encounter. However, if a system of ours is down you can see it at http://www.apple.com/support/systemstatus/

JoshWe need to first update all of your iOS Devices to the latest iOS Software. This is always our first step, because it resolves most issues.

Me:There has definitely NOT been a quick turn around on this issue. The original post on that forum dates from Nov 2014. I had this problem before that.

JoshAll posts remain on the Forum no matter the time of Posting. They remain there in case someone does encounter the issue again. Additionally, that information is a year old, so the steps taken by those customers applied to the software and products that were in use at the time. So, our first step to resolve this issue, is update it to the latest software we have available to resolve this.

Me:Sorry. What I meant was that this issue on the forum has not been resolved - the problem still exists, and has existed since at least Nov 2014, 6 months ago.

Me:I would really appreciate it if you could pass feedback up the line. I undertake to update all my devices when I am able to.

JoshAbsolutely! Thanks so much for your time today, Peter, it was great chatting with you! If you have no further questions, I’ll go ahead and end our chat session now. Feel free to chat us back anytime, if you have any other questions or concerns! Thanks again, and I hope you have a great rest of your day!

Your chat session has ended.

Now chatting with Sherwin, case # 810342579

SherwinThanks for contacting AppleCare chat support. My name is Sherwin. Please give me a moment to look over your information.

SherwinTop of the Day to you Peter Please tell me how I can make your day today?

Me:I was speaking on the phone and got cut off.

Me:These notes are from the engineers: The problem has been reported, and engineering is investigating; resolution may come in an update or a knowledge base in the future. Engineering doesn’t need any more information from me as the customer, as they are investigating the issue. While Apple explores the issue, it may be possible for Apple to remove all keyboard shortcuts from the iCloud account as a workaround; this might improve the syncing behaviour of the shortcuts.

Me:I want Apple to remove all keyboard shortcuts from iCloud so I can start with a clean slate.

SherwinThanks for all the Information that you have given to me and yes I ca see that It has been pass to our engineers

SherwinI can give you a website that you can leave a feedback about this , they do look at each feedback for the updates and the next IOS

Me:The advisor I was speaking to today was called Robert (Australian). He tried to connect me to a senior advisor. Is it possible for a senior advisor to call me back?

Me:Sherwin, I appreciate that you're trying to help, but suggesting I send feedback via the web for a problem that the engineers are already aware of is insulting.

SherwinI can setup a call back for you as this Is chat support I can’t directly transfer you to the phones or I can give you the number to call them

SherwinThis Is the number that you call 1-300-321-456

SherwinIf you give me your number I can setup a call back for you

Me:I would like someone to call me. I'm feeling like Apple isn't treating this seriously.

Me:04## ### ###

SherwinThank you

SherwinOk I sent the request they should call you with In 15 minutes or less

Me:Please don't just suggest sending feedback for a complex issue.

SherwinOk Peter Thank you please let me know when you get the call

Me:I just missed a call from them somehow.

SherwinThey will call back

Me:Sherwin, would you mind looking at this discussion please? https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6656922 It will show you that merely sending feedback to Apple feels like it does nothing because Apple does not have a publicly available log of bugs, and Apple do not participate in discussions online. There is no way for us to know what, if anything, you are doing to try to resolve a problem. It's incredibly frustrating.

SherwinSure No problem!

Me:This problem has existed at least since Nov 2014, and Apple have apparently done nothing. If they have done anything, they certainly aren't telling their loyal customers about it.

Sherwin Peter I am really sorry about this I can get a senior advisor for you or I can setup another call back for you If you like, I understand that this Is an Issue for you Peter

Me:Jade has just called me. Thanks for your help.

SherwinOk great all the best

Your chat session has ended. Thanks for using Apple's chat support.

Thanks pagemakers4. I'm just playing their game. I'm not exhausted (yet), and want to keep going with this Apple guy until he/they realise what the problem is.

My latest email:

Hi Julius.

Have the engineers been able to manually delete the shortcuts yet? I'm very keen to move onto the next step. When I posted our current attempted solution to the forum, one user said that the answer is on page 7 of the discussion. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6656922?start=90&tstart=0

I didn't try this because it involves a third-party application, but perhaps the information in that post might give the engineers a hint about what is causing the problem.

If the shortcuts stay deleted (which I doubt), do the Apple engineers think that the underlying problem will be gone? That is, what happens next time we change a shortcut and want to delete it? Are the Apple engineers actually looking for a solution (making sure that deleted shortcuts stay deleted), or are they only looking for a work-around (e.g. manually deleting the shortcuts in the vain hope that they won't reappear)?
One more thing: what is the most effective way of providing feedback to Apple about its communication with users - the sort of feedback that is not anonymous and that someone at Apple will respond to?

Thanks,

Peter

Sent from my iPhone

Peter

Yes, pagemakers4: I have been avoiding the use of a third-party application, partly because of trust issues, but mostly because I think that it is Apple's role to fix this. So I followed Apple's instructions (get out of iCloud while the Engineers do a clean-up), and it worked for almost 2 months. However, I'm at the point now where I'm not sure I can wait for a fix from Apple.

And everyone, please remember to provide feedback. Apple listens.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/icloud.html

I loaded iCloud for Windows but couldn't find the directory or file you mentioned. Have now uninstalled iCloud for Windows as it caused other problems :-/

I sincerely hope Apple fix this bug they have with iCloud. It not only affects shortcuts, I also get zombie photographs and calendar entries.

I have sent feedback to Apple on these issues and humbly suggest this is the way to go as nobody from Apple seems to be taking any notice of these Forum discussions.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/

HansWorldTravels wrote:

Sigh... now armed with a Macbook Pro... nothing has changed.

Final iOS (8.4.1 12H321) backup/syncs done to my PC... no luck

First iOS backup/syncs done to my MCP... still nothing

I keep adding "tests" to all 3 of them, hoping something, anything will kick in... nothing.

Keyboard Shortcut sync has vanished all together. 😠

According to Apple advisor ( I don't think Apple engineers get paid to speak on the phone, but what do I know ) and according to crmac and in some posts according to you, but most importantly according to that info here that lists everything that icloud syncs - shortcuts are not synced between devices.

http://www.apple.com/icloud/

I may be wrong, but the way I understood her that shortcuts are device settings that are included in backup and since backup is only associated with one device the shortcuts do not sync to others. If what we dealing with is some glitch (unexpected behavior) then once apple removed your shortcuts container as you reported in your own thread, the sync is out of question, no more glitch.

On one and only device I updated after initial zombies come back - edited still stay edited and no more sync. While update seems to fix initial problem for me my advice not to update - update created some bug for about 1 percent of users so Apple had to create new article.

If the Slide to Upgrade screen won't go away after you update to iOS 9 - Apple Support

Pickinic,

I got your Page 36 Steps to work for me. I discovered two things that I'd missed:

1. in the iBackupBot's left-hand Backup List, I hadn't seen that by scrolling down, there were other backup devices listed on my Mac. Some were from past devices (still showing up), and others were the iPad and second iPhone I own. I'd completely missed deleting those System Files:KeyboardDomain folders.

2. I manually deleted all 220 of my iPhone's Text Replacement items. A pain, since they have to manually be deleted one at a time (with multiple finger strokes), before syncing with iTunes one last time. I'm not positive that this was necessary. But after dealing with this for 2 years, I decided to add that to your steps before trying again.

3. I logged out of my iCloud account on all devices, for fear of them repopulating the Zombies. I have a feeling this was completely unnecessary, as the issue seems to be solely in those backup files on the Mac.

Any way, it worked. I'm zombie free on all devices: the Mac, the iPad, the iPhone, and the 11" MBAir. First time in over 2 years. Thanks to everyone on this thread.

That's not going to work for the long term. You'll eventually end up like I used to, and have five or six of the same shortcut. And sometimes iOS will use your original even though you'll have like ten shortcuts.

So I had like

h1 = h1

h1 = H1

For the highway here in Hawaii. But iOS would choose to use the original h1, and not autocorrect to H1.

One thing I've noticed is that on iOS 9.xx my keyboard is locking up. I think it's related. See here:

iOS 9 Keyboard/messages locking/lagging...only hard reboot as option

I'm zombie free a month out since page 17, yet syncing has not returned.... I started another thread for ***** and giggles on how all other things sync, just not shortcuts...Re: Keyboard Shortcuts/Text Replacement Not Syncing

I've found that my bad shortcuts were resolved through a combination of (1) past troubleshooting similar to as described by iceycake above on each device signed into iCloud, (2) recent iOS and OS X updates.

For me this problem is closed.

Hey guys after updating to iOS 9, then no issue during 9.1, 9.2, etc. then again during iOS 10, I have now had the opposite problem:

ALL of my shortcuts disappear.

Relevant thread here: Text replacement / keyboard shortcuts gone after iOS 10

Could this work:

Signing out of iCloud and Drive and rebooting the phone resulted in the "omw" shortcut coming back and the deleting of five "essential" shortcuts I had made in the interim. It eventually restored my five "new" shortcuts that I had created after this problem began, but not the other 995 or so shortcuts I had made prior to upgrading to iOS 10.

So that says to me that somehow upgrading just wiped them off of iCloud for some reason. It's also VERY clear that the issue is iCloud-based, not locally backed up or anything based as initially suggested.

Sure would love a way to get back my 1,000 or so shortcuts so I don't have to manually enter them again, but if it restored five new ones, that's probably a good indication that the old ones are gone.

This happened to me when I moved to iOS 9 as well. But not on incremental updates like 9.1, 9.2, etc. And then again on 10.

I'm hesitant to redo all my shortcuts only to have them disappear when I get my new iPhone 7 next week though...so I'd love it if someone could solve this problem.

I wonder if I could trigger the transfer from iCloud to the phone using an old backup. There is a file called CloudUserDictionary.sqlite located under iPhone/System Files/Keyboard Domain/CoreData/Mobile/User Dictionary/D5555ds;aljkfd;lfj/store