I cannot delete iPhone keyboard shortcuts. They keep restoring.

The solution is on page 17 but the mods on here have edited it so it's now as good as a chocolate fireguard.

PIty, wish there was somewhere else you could post this for our reference.

I really hope iOS 9 does bring relief from this recurring nightmare!

Unfortunately iCoco's solution will not be a permanent fix. Been there and tried that. Hopefully Apple will in fact fix this in iOS 9, but I wouldn't hold my breath regardless what they have told you. We are all unhappy with how Apple has handled this and just trying to help each other. I'm not a poet like crmac, but share the same feelings. I wish I could write like that!

So another stupid question and please with all respect to lyrics, no answers unless you are the one, but anyone here have that problem with one apple device (iphone/ipad)? Not when multiple collections of shortcuts merge, but only one source for those files exists.

And to lucky one if found - are you using icloud ?(free service - not itunes match or some sort of other fun stuff)

Thank you, Pickinic, for the kind comment about my writing. It is ostensibly what I do for a living, so it's nice to see that it's sometimes effective. But for now I am a writer in search of work, and perhaps that's why I am spending (too much) time trying to fix Apple's problems.

And no, there's been no word yet from anyone about a fix, though I was excited to see an article in today's New York Times about all the exciting Apple stuff that's supposed to be happening in September. Woohoo. Here's hoping they also fix at least this one, small problem...

This fix seems to have worked, for the most part. I have 6 iPhone/ipad devices I use and had to do this to every single device. It was not a fun chore. However, it seems to be working on all devices. I have rebooted every device several times to see if zombie shortcuts made their way back to me. None to speak of throughout the entire weekend as I started this project last Thursday. Before I started though, I did call Apple to see what solutions they had. The only thing they can do about it, to date, is wipe all your shortcuts off your iCloud account. And that takes them days and days to complete. It's still not done and will not have any effect on the issue, anyway. That is why I chose to continue on with this solution you proposed. So, nice work and thanks for posting a solution that seems to get the job done. Good work!

Pickinic - thanks for posting! Well, here's a problem for me. I don't have a PC or a MAC to do this on - all I have are three iPads and two iPhones. Where exactly am I going to launch this application if I don't have a computer to do this 'HACK'? 😟

It's like Apple is telling us to hop on one foot, blink quickly with your left eye then hop backwards two steps while rubbing your tummy at the same time... 🙂

It's abhorrent that Apple hasn't fixed this... been going on for a year. I can't even edit my shortcuts because they just return back to the previous versions. 😠

So for me, no fix yet and I'm not hacking my backups to fix it. Apple needs to FIX IT, plain and simple. 😟

Pagemakers is right, you need a Mac or PC, but you can download it to any computer (at work?) use iTunes there and then delete. But you do need to get your hands on a real computer. It's really not a "hack" you're just removing some corrupted files like you do on any computer from time to time.

Had this problem too. Drove me crazy!!!!! Deleted all my old & defunct short cuts, they come back in hours some times days later. Even the Apple Store couldn't stop them from coming back. Tried everything. Until it hit me, if iCloud is the problem then just delete the iCloud back ups & start over. Genius.

Settings>iCloud>Storage>Manage Storage. Click on your backed up devices and delete the back ups.

Set the shortcuts and everything else how you want. Plug up your phone/iPad whatever, connect to wifi and back up. It's like you just got a new phone & never backed it up. Problem solved. Somebody give me an award ☺️

If that worked/works for you, then you're not suffering from the same problem as the rest of us here, or there is something inherently different about your digital circumstances.

Among the various fixes tried by those users here (and there are many, both fixes and users), the "it's simple -- just turn off iCloud" approach has been tried, tried, and tired again, always with the greatest of hopes, but it has always failed in the end -- though just exactly when "the end" comes and the zombies return is not consistent. Hours, days, even weeks for some, but they come back, dragging their bloody, bandaged feet right into the next text or email you write. (Noodle around here in the thread for the parent whose smarty-pants kids replaced common words with profanities, and you'll get a sense of how the problem can go from annoying to truly damaging.)

The solution? We know what it is not: It is not iCloud (the storage facility), or iCloud (the proactive backup function), but rather is the a part of the linkage/syncage (my term) "cloud" through which all mobile devices (and some non-mobile device) connect, and this connectivity is necessary for their functionality. This "unintentional backing-up," which is entirely out of the control of the end user, results in "libraries" and files that are stored in places not readily accessible to the end user. Perhaps in some odd-sock drawer in Cupertino. You can't get there by just changing settings on a mobile device, because that's not where the files -- and their nasty little zombies shortcuts -- live.

Some people have had some success using a third-party program to dig into these deeply stored files, and they appear to have annihilated the zombies. Some of us, myself included, are bullheadedly waiting for a native Apple fix. That fix has been recently promised to more than one user. Promised more than once. Over and over. For months. Apple says. Again.

Best of luck to you, but I think you will eventually find that you are not free of the digital walking dead.

Picknic,

Looking for your Page 18 solution. Not on 18 (maybe I have to go back some).

This problem is a *****... tired of it, as I've done everything imaginable fight with it a long time (years it feels like!), only starting to make success.

I have an iPhone 5 iOS 8.4.1 (12H321) and an iPad Air2 iOS 8.4.1 (12H321)... and I've updated/backup out the waazoo today. I have no Macs only iOS devices & PCs.

I've followed links, done this, done that, seen shortcuts deleted on iPhone sync over and delete on the iPad. Cycled both devices, cycled the "dictation" button, switched to different keyboards, everything! I have not factory reset either device

Now I'm to this,

1) iPad does not push existing or new Keyboard Hhortcuts to iPhone (I have about 50 there; emails, urls, SM accounts, etc) that I need on my iPhone as iPad is only Wi-Fi, not cellular)

2) iPhone - I have deleted all old shortcuts [I don't want], cycled phone, shortcut list is empty, cycle "dictation" and my list of 3 shortcuts I want & 1 I created new on iPhone will reappear. Zombie shortcuts are gone! Yaaahooooo!

"Push" syncs are not happening from either device now. Isn't this exactly what was supposed to happen in the first place???

I just backed-up via iTunes (no iCloud backup for me only data sync) both devices, cycled... iPad good (its list of 50 shortcuts) & iPhone "good" (blank list --> "dictation" cycle --> 3+1 shortcuts return, no zombies)

New tests of new Keyboard Shortcuts, no "Push" syncs from either device. "dictation" cycle on iPad no longer "importing" iPhone Zombie Keyboard Shortcuts.

So new questions;

1) Where has the original Keyboard Shortcut Sync capability gone to????

2) If the issue is in the iPhone5 as that is the Zombie Keyboard Shortcut Pusher, this must be the device controlling the misplaced file/folder on iCloud [as mentioned throughout many threads ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/ ~/Desktop/Real\ iCloud\ Drive ] How does a non-techie like me get to it???

I can't go and create 50 "repeated" new Keyboard Shortcuts in my iPhone only for them to vanish and reappear whenever they like. Who knows how long it will be before the original zombies reappear (but I hope they've somehow been cleared from the Library/Mobile "cache" given the repeated testing has wiped them so far.

Thanks!

Any ideas would help

great, found it!

Now how do I do it myself! And, as I just replied before seeing this... I hope you are right that syncing returns again, as that's the only thing missing now that I've gotten the "Zombie Shortcut House" cleaned so to speak. It seems it has been overwritten, the cache cleaned.

I did Pickinic!

Unfortunately PageMakers4 made some giant leaps in assuming all forum readers are masters of working with MacOS & iOS with backup files and restoring. Reading through pages of "it's so simple just don't question" teaching-style at Apple is always fun. So backups always are a certain way to burn yourself, i.e., the "Restore" button on iTunes that instantly backs up your device first?!?!?!!?!!?

Gonna have to find someone to walk me through this process, even though the solution seems solid.

Since I only just did this process, I cannot do any cartwheels yet, but since I did find that rogue file from 2013, I am hopeful. I did another backup to iTunes after all of the above, then went to look at the new backup in iBackUpBot, and no rogue "CloudUserDictionary.sqlite" to be found. I don't have a ton of shortcuts, but the ones I have I use often, and to have old addresses and such pop up from old shortcuts I had previously edited or deleted was just plain irritating.

One suggestion I have to your above instructions would be to state (as it was in Chris' original instructions) in #3 that you need to open the latest backup in iBackUpBot, because that is where the file deleting will occur. I still had my phone connected to my computer, so I saw those files in my actual phone and almost deleted the files there instead of the backup, which I had to scroll down to see. I'm not sure what would've happened had I deleted them directly from my phone and not from the backup file.

I found out that I could get my shortcuts to sync to my MacBook within a few moments by tapping on each shortcut in my phone and selecting "save." Interestingly, a couple of my shortcuts showed the "phrase" but the actual "shortcut" line was blank, so I fixed these as I went through the list. As I did this "save" method on each shortcut, they began to appear in the shortcuts on the MacBook. This would be time consuming for those with a lot of shortcuts, but I had never found my shortcuts to be synced exactly between my iPhone 6 and my MacBook, so it was worth it to me. If this feature now begins to work properly again, maybe I won't hesitate to add more.....I haven't bothered adding shortcuts for quite some time now!

So, fingers crossed that this fix works for me as well. If so, I will be ever so grateful! 🙂

One day later, and I'm happy to report that none of the Zombie shortcuts have returned! I have rebooted my phone at least twice and backed up twice to iCloud without any issues. The only thing I have noticed is that new shortcuts are not syncing between my phone and MacBook, so if I want them in both places, I have to add them to both. But, I can deal with that versus the Zombies returning!

Mine have - and all I did was turn back on iCloud. I had iCloud off - no zombies. iCloud on - zombies. WTFH.

I don't have access to iTunes - but if this fixes it...I'll rent a computer or borrow one. Can I send Apple the bill for the rental?