I'm having an issue of not being able to run the Xamarin template from VS on my iPhone (XS - iOS 14.4) The hot restart preview feature is enabled, and build and provisioning/signing works fine without any errors, but as soon as the app is started manually to commence debugging - it crashes as soon as it shows the Xamarin splash screen. (Android app via emulator works fine) I was wondering: Is anyone else in the same boat? I'm trying to figure out if its something about my VS/phone setup in specific How do I debug the crash since I don't have a Mac, and the app crashes before the debugger is able to attach? I've browsed through the iTunes synced logs, but I cant really find anything important (but I could as well be missing it) Do you have any tips in how to proceed? I've reported the issue on GitHub but have not yet seen a reply, plus there is someone in the Discussions section with the similar problem, so I am wondering if this is widespread or can we narrow down the scope of the issue.

Xamarin template app crashing on my iPhone via Hot Restart - How to debug without Mac?

Edin Brodlic 1

I'm having an issue of not being able to run the Xamarin template from VS on my iPhone (XS - iOS 14.4)
The hot restart preview feature is enabled, and build and provisioning/signing works fine without any errors, but as soon as the app is started manually to commence debugging - it crashes as soon as it shows the Xamarin splash screen. (Android app via emulator works fine)

I was wondering:

Is anyone else in the same boat? I'm trying to figure out if its something about my VS/phone setup in specific
How do I debug the crash since I don't have a Mac, and the app crashes before the debugger is able to attach? I've browsed through the iTunes synced logs, but I cant really find anything important (but I could as well be missing it)
Do you have any tips in how to proceed?

I've reported the issue on GitHub but have not yet seen a reply, plus there is someone in the Discussions section with the similar problem, so I am wondering if this is widespread or can we narrow down the scope of the issue.

RedShanks 11 Reputation points

2021-02-22T14:49:12.863+00:00

Do you mean debugging the project on iOS without a Mac? That is not possible. No matter build on a Mac or on a Windows machine, both requires to set up on the mac.
Edin Brodlic 1 Reputation point

2021-02-22T15:37:53.58+00:00

I meant Debug the crash, maybe I should have clarified.
iTunes install on Windows syncs all kinds of crash and device logs from the connected device, but I have not yet found anything useful. Did you mean, its not possible to find useful info there?

Also, debugging aside - Id like to know if others can normally just run the debug build and run the app via Hot Restart directly on the phone. At least it would help narrow down if the issue is iOS version, phone type, or something local to my device.
Cole Xia (Shanghai Wicresoft Co,.Ltd.) 6,751 Reputation points

2021-02-23T08:16:19.15+00:00

If you want to debug the app you have to disable device-specific builds enabled under Properties > iOS Build , check the docs : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/xamarin/xamarin-forms/deploy-test/hot-restart#troubleshoot .
Edin Brodlic 1 Reputation point

2021-02-23T11:10:33.463+00:00

Thanks for the note.

Unfortunately that's not related to the crash and debug.
The enable device-specific builds is unchecked by default for new projects.
Cole Xia (Shanghai Wicresoft Co,.Ltd.) 6,751 Reputation points

2021-02-24T09:43:28.063+00:00

Do you have paid Apple Developer Program enrollment in your Apple Developer account ?
Check https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/xamarin/xamarin-forms/deploy-test/hot-restart#requirements.
Edin Brodlic 1 Reputation point

2021-02-24T10:46:15.687+00:00

Yes, ofcourse. I see the "Visual Studio VS Wildcard" App Id Configuration as well.
That's the weird thing, because the entire build and provisioning works great - no errors. The only problem is the crash when starting the application on the Phone.
Cole Xia (Shanghai Wicresoft Co,.Ltd.) 6,751 Reputation points

2021-02-25T08:15:40.517+00:00

I test with Xamarin.Forms v5.0.0.2012 and iPhoneX ,it works with no problem .

Are you sure you're running a template project without any extra code ?

Check the limitation : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/xamarin/xamarin-forms/deploy-test/hot-restart#limitations .
Edin Brodlic 1 Reputation point

2021-02-25T12:25:42.477+00:00
Thanks for testing it and replying.
test simply by making new Visual Studio Xamarin projects (absolutely no extra code or libraries). I don't see any conflicting limitations either.

Now the way I see what could be different over here:

VS project settings: Does the project require setting any custom properties for iOS in VS? Don't think it's this one since defaults should be fine.

Apple stuff: Do you need to set up anything manually in addition to what I did? VS account settings seem good, and VS correctly performs the provisioning. Do I need to do anything extra in the apple developer site? Theres all kinds of identifiers and profiles to set up (I do see the Visual Studio auto-generated one though).

Phone difference: Lastly, Maybe its something local to my phone, and im considering doing a full reset to get back to stock settings.

Not sure what else to look at really.
Cole Xia (Shanghai Wicresoft Co,.Ltd.) 6,751 Reputation points

2021-02-26T09:01:37.923+00:00

I've voted up the issue you raised on github ,look forward to getting response from Xamarin Teams.
Edin Brodlic 1 Reputation point

2021-02-26T11:00:36.187+00:00

Thanks, Ill try testing on a different iPhone to compare results.