iOS 9 and iOS 10: -canOpenURL: failed for URL

[ohh2ahh]

AppAvailability Bug
appAvailability.check returns alway error callback.

Xcode error
-canOpenURL: failed for URL: "<scheme>://" - error: "This app is not allowed to query for scheme <scheme>"

Explanation
Apple changed the canOpenURL method on iOS 9. Apps which are checking for URL Schemes on iOS 9 and iOS 10 have to declare these Schemes as it is submitted to Apple. The article Quick Take on iOS 9 URL Scheme Changes expains the changes in detail.

Solution: Add URL Schemes to the Whitelist
Simply open your app's .plist (usually platforms/ios/<appname>/<appname>-Info.plist) with an editor and add the following code with your needed Schemes.

<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
<array>
    <string>twitter</string>
    <string>whatsapp</string>
</array>

[jason-engage]

thanks for the heads up

[ohh2ahh]

Did you edit your Info.plist?

[jason-engage]

Yeah I added the code you provided to my plist (and read that link thx). Haven't tested it yet on ios9 tho.

[ohh2ahh]

Ah, sorry. I tought that you had trouble implementing it :)

[J-Hong]

Thank your help!

[seasun]

how i do if urlschemes are from server .

[ohh2ahh]

@seasun
I suppose you still have to include the schemes in your Info.plist when you're adding new schemes serve-side (at least if you've built your app with the iOS 9 SDK on Xcode 7).

As an alternative you could use the new Universal Links for iOS 9. Or you could build the app with the old SDK using Xcode 6 until Apple forces you to use Xcode 7. There's no need for scheme registration using Xcode 6.

[nilmeme]

Thank your help! But I used paypal , which sschemes should I add to LSApplicationQueriesSchemes.

[ohh2ahh]

@babydance
Paypal's URL scheme is paypal://, simply add this string without ://.

<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
<array>
    <string>paypal</string>
</array>

[nilmeme]

@ohh2ahh
I had add paypal scheme just like you said ,but also doesn't work

[ohh2ahh]

@babydance

• What is not working?
• What versions are you using (iOS, Xcode, AppAvailability)?
• Is there an error in Xcode or in the console?

[seasun]

@ohh2ahh
thanks ohh2ahh! Because of this , so I can not upgrade. Server's urlschemes are third-party support.

[nilmeme]

@ohh2ahh
thanks ohh2ahh! I upgrade the apypal sdk,and then everything is ok!

[ohh2ahh]

@babydance
I agree that Apple's privacy measures make an upgrade complicated. Hopefully third-party apps adopt the new universal links quickly.

[rjhilgefort]

For anyone working with an app where you can't know what might be linked to, I created a plugin to work around the issue. It's a simple plugin that injects a whitelist that covers commonly linked apps. Send me a PR if I forgot any.

https://github.com/rjhilgefort/cordova-plugin-queries-schemes

[electrobabe]

I had the same problem (ionic app running on iOS 9.2.1 built with XCode 7.2.1) and needed to add:

<allow-navigation href="twitter://*/*" />
<allow-navigation href="whatsapp://*/*" />

in config.xml additionally to

<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
<array>
  <string>twitter</string>
  <string>whatsapp</string> 
</array>

in platforms/ios/<appname>/<appname>-Info.plist

[ramogundogdu]

where can i get the scheme of following ios app?: google hangouts, skype, ios mail app, my files, photo gallery and the scheme of on ios device installed apps?

[ohh2ahh]

@ramogundogdu Unfortunately there isn't a complete register with url schemes. You can find known schemes of popular apps via a search engine.

[rolinger]

AppAvailability is working for me in Android - it opens right into the app. But on iOS its failing and thus gong to the company website. I have a hunch its the way I am calling the deeplink for iOS but can't find a better example to show me what I am doing wrong:

Example app:

if (dev==='iOS') { 
  scheme = "lyft://";
} else { 
  scheme = "me.lyft.android" ; //"lyft://" ;
}

var deepLink = "lyft:// ;
var url = "https://m.lyft.com/" ;

  appAvailability.check(
    scheme,
    function() {      // app is available
      window.open(deepLink,'_system','location=no') ;
    }, function () {  // app is not available, open website link
      window.open(url,'_system','location=no') ;
    }
  );

[ohh2ahh]

@rolinger

Are you testing your app on an actual iOS device with Lyft installed? Which iOS version are you running? And did you add

<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
<array>
  <string>lyft</string>
</array>

in platforms/ios/<appname>/<appname>-Info.plist?

[rolinger]

No....I did not have that in the -Info.plist file. My app is in beta test right now and all my iOS users are experiencing the same issue on their devices. All my testers are 9.2 or 9.3 (I think).

the LSApplicationQueriesSchemes already existed so all I need to do is just add the <string> correct? Does the string name have to match what is going to be defined as the scheme

i.e.: var scheme = 'fb://' = <string>fb</string> ....or does it actually need to say Facebook

<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
<array>
  <string>instagram</string>
  <string>lyft</string>
  <string>facebook</string>
</array>
<key>LSRequiresIPhoneOS</key>

[ohh2ahh]

@rolinger
Yes, since iOS 9.0 you have to add a string manually to the plist for each URL scheme you're using (see the explanation in my first comment). The string is the URL scheme without ://. This should work:

<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
<array>
  <string>instagram</string>
  <string>lyft</string>
  <string>fb</string>
</array>

[rolinger]

Oh, I did read that previously but misunderstood it for something else. Getting it all added now, thanks