iOS- Tap the Switch to Expensify Classic on Coming soon modal is redirected to browser

[jponikarchuk]

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Version Number: 9.3.10-3
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #79908
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): N/A
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Pull Request QA execution
Device used: iOS 15.8.3 / iPhone 7 Plus
App Component: Other

Action Performed:

Precondition (can be done in Web):

1. Create new account and create a workspace
2. Go to OldDot and run this script to disable policy expense chat:
   p = Policy.getCurrent();
   p.policy.isPolicyExpenseChatEnabled = false;
   p.save();

Steps:

1. Launch the hybrid app and login using a new account from the precondition
2. Go Reports > Expense
3. Tap the Create expense
   Verify that the Coming soon modal appears
4. Tap the "Switch to Expensify Classic" button

Expected Result:

Tap the "Switch to Expensify Classic" button on the Coming soon modal should redirect to OD inside the hybrid app

Actual Result:

Tap the "Switch to Expensify Classic" button on the Coming soon modal is redirected to OD in the browser
Note:

• This issue is only reproducible on iOS, and not reproducible on Android

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screenshots/Videos

1.mp4

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[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @johncschuster (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[MelvinBot]

🔍 Issue Analysis

Summary: The "Switch to Expensify Classic" button on the "Coming soon" modal in the HybridApp opens OldDot in an external browser (Safari) instead of navigating within the hybrid app. This is caused by missing CONFIG.IS_HYBRID_APP checks in several components that call openOldDotLink() directly.

Root Cause: EmptySearchView.tsx (and several other components) call openOldDotLink() when the user confirms the "Coming soon" modal, without first checking CONFIG.IS_HYBRID_APP. On native iOS, openOldDotLink() ultimately calls Linking.openURL(), which opens in Safari. The correct behavior for the hybrid app is to call closeReactNativeApp(), which uses the native HybridAppModule to transition within the app. Other components (e.g., FloatingActionButtonAndPopover, BaseConfirmNavigateExpensifyClassicModal) already handle this correctly.

iOS-only because: On Android, Linking.openURL() with an expensify.com URL may be intercepted by the Android app's intent filters, redirecting back into the hybrid app. iOS has no such interception — URLs go directly to Safari.

Recommended Fix: Add CONFIG.IS_HYBRID_APP check before calling openOldDotLink() in the affected components. The pattern already exists in FloatingActionButtonAndPopover.tsx:340-344:

if (CONFIG.IS_HYBRID_APP) {
    closeReactNativeApp({shouldSetNVP: true, isTrackingGPS});
    return;
}
openOldDotLink(CONST.OLDDOT_URLS.INBOX);

Files to fix:

• src/pages/Search/EmptySearchView.tsx:253 — the primary path matching the issue reproduction steps
• src/pages/Search/SearchPage.tsx:444 — DEW/custom approval modal
• src/components/Search/index.tsx:310 — DEW modal in Search component
• src/components/MoneyReportHeader.tsx:651 — DEW modal in report header

Detailed Investigation

Root Cause Analysis

The codebase has two mechanisms for navigating from NewDot to OldDot:

1. closeReactNativeApp() (src/libs/actions/HybridApp/index.ts:27-40) — calls HybridAppModule.closeReactNativeApp() via the native module, transitioning within the hybrid app. This is the correct mechanism for HybridApp.

2. openOldDotLink() (src/libs/actions/Link.ts:99-115) — builds an OldDot URL with an auth token and opens it via asyncOpenURL() → Linking.openURL(). On native iOS, this opens in Safari. This is for web/standalone contexts only.

Several components correctly branch on CONFIG.IS_HYBRID_APP:

• BaseConfirmNavigateExpensifyClassicModal.tsx:18-25
• FloatingActionButtonAndPopover.tsx:330-345
• InitialSettingsPage.tsx:296-323
• TroubleshootPage.tsx:101-130

But the following components always call openOldDotLink() without checking:

• EmptySearchView.tsx:243-255 — shows the "Coming soon" modal (using sidebarScreen.redirectToExpensifyClassicModal.title/description), then calls openOldDotLink(CONST.OLDDOT_URLS.INBOX) on confirm
• SearchPage.tsx:434-445 — DEW modal, calls openOldDotLink() on confirm
• Search/index.tsx:297-313 — DEW modal, calls openOldDotLink() on confirm
• MoneyReportHeader.tsx:642-653 — DEW modal, calls openOldDotLink() on confirm

Evidence Chain

1. User is in the hybrid app on iOS with isPolicyExpenseChatEnabled = false
2. User goes to Reports > Expense, which shows EmptySearchView
3. User taps "Create expense" → shouldRedirectToExpensifyClassic is true → handleRedirectToExpensifyClassic() is called
4. "Coming soon" modal is shown with "Switch to Expensify Classic" button
5. User taps the button → openOldDotLink(CONST.OLDDOT_URLS.INBOX) is called (line 253)
6. openOldDotLink → asyncOpenURL → Linking.openURL(https://expensify.com/inbox?authToken=...) → Safari opens

Relevant Code

• src/pages/Search/EmptySearchView.tsx:243-255 — Primary buggy path matching issue reproduction
• src/libs/actions/HybridApp/index.ts:27-40 — closeReactNativeApp() — the correct mechanism
• src/libs/actions/Link.ts:99-115 — openOldDotLink() — the mechanism that opens external browser
• src/libs/asyncOpenURL/index.ts:5-17 — native implementation calling Linking.openURL()
• src/pages/inbox/sidebar/FloatingActionButtonAndPopover.tsx:330-345 — reference for the correct pattern

Implementation Notes

• The fix is straightforward: add CONFIG.IS_HYBRID_APP branching in the affected files
• isTrackingGPS may need to be obtained from context/Onyx in some components (check how FloatingActionButtonAndPopover obtains it)
• Consider creating a shared utility function (e.g., navigateToOldDot()) that encapsulates the IS_HYBRID_APP check to prevent this class of bugs in the future

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Next Steps: Reply with @MelvinBot implement this to create a draft PR, or @MelvinBot <your feedback> to refine this analysis.

[melvin-bot]

This issue has not been updated in over 14 days. @johncschuster eroding to Weekly issue.