Handler of addUIInterruptionMonitor is not called for Alert related to Photos

Question

private func acceptPermissionAlert() {
    
    _ = addUIInterruptionMonitor(withDescription: "") { alert -> Bool in
        
        if alert.buttons["Don’t Allow"].exists { //doesnt get here second time
            
            alert.buttons.element(boundBy: 1).tapWhenExists()
            
            return true
        }
        
        return false
    }
}

and this doesn't work for:

In the beginning of the app, it works perfect while accepting permission for notifications, but here, it doesn't work. Why is this?

Marnimarnia

Answer 1

I'vs found that addUIInterruptionMonitor sometimes doesn't handle an alert in time, or until tests have finished. If it isn't working, try using Springboard, which manages the iOS home screen. You can access alerts, buttons, and more from there, and this is particularly useful for tests where you know exactly when an alert will show.

So, something like this:

let springboard = XCUIApplication(bundleIdentifier: "com.apple.springboard") 

let alertAllowButton = springboard.buttons.element(boundBy: 1)
if alertAllowButton.waitForExistence(timeout: 5) {
   alertAllowButton.tap()
}

The buttons.element(boundBy:1) will ensure you tap the button on the right, change 1 to 0 to tap the left, (because sometimes the ' in "Don't Allow" causes a problem).

Monumentalize

The addUIInterruptionMonitor worked locally but on CI failed to trigger for access to camera. This was the only approach that seems to work. – Sauterne

@Sauterne THAT is true, addUIInterruptionMonitor just failed our tests on CI. I have replaced it with springboard too, and it fixes the failure on CI. – Obligee

great to hear :) @Bartłomiej Semańczyk I hope this fixed your issue? – Monumentalize

Not working anymore on iOS 15.2 or 15.4. – Aberration

Still works for me in 15.5, but is unreliable as well. – Jaenicke

Answer 2

Add:

app.tap()

at the end of the method.

This is because you need to interact with the app for the handler to fire.

Marnimarnia

or app.swipeUp() if tapping would cause something to actually happen in your app (and you don't want it to) – Blackness

It works for me. This is kind of weird... "you need to interact with the app for the handler to fire." is that somewhere documented? – Jerold

is there a radar for this bug? – Memento

app.tap() taps to the middle of the screen, which might result in unwanted actions, as @Blackness pointed out. If you cannot use swipeUp() either, maybe you can tap to a specific point on the screen, see here – Ringent

Related : github.com/onmyway133/blog/issues/82#issue-262034541 – Pizzeria

Add this, but handler is still not triggered on Alert action sheet. – Obligee

Any interaction performed could trigger the handler, not just app. The key is: the handler would not be automatically triggered on the alert popping up. The handler will run only when the alert pops up AND after you fail to interact with some element. – Toritorie

Answer 3

After adding the interruption monitor, you should continue to interact with the app as if it has not appeared.

Also note that you have a 'smart quote' in your button identifier, instead of a regular apostrophe.

let photosAlertHandler = addUIInterruptionMonitor(withDescription: "Photo Permissions") { alert -> Bool in
    if alert.buttons["Don't Allow"].exists {
        alert.buttons.element(boundBy: 1).tapWhenExists()
        return true
    }
    return false
}

// Do whatever you want to do after dismissing the alert
let someButton = app.buttons["someButton"]
someButton.tap() // The interruption monitor's handler will be invoked if the alert is present

When the next interaction happens after the alert appears, the interruption monitor's handler will be invoked and the alert will be handled.

You should also remove the interruption monitor when you think you're done with it, otherwise it will be invoked for any other alerts that appear.

removeUIInterruptionMonitor(photosAlertHandler)

Disquiet

The actual button has the 'smart quote' character ’ not '. Also your code produces the compiler error Value of type 'XCUIElement' has no member 'tapWhenExists'. – Default

@AaronBrager the tapWhenExists() method is one from the question's code, not a standard library function. I suggest you use tap() instead, wrapped in a check for exists. – Disquiet

"When the next interaction happens", upvote from me for that one – Sadiras

"When the next interaction happens" is indeed the key takeaway for me. – Subtlety

Answer 4

In case the suggested solutions don't work on iOS 17+, I found a workaround. In this snippet I have 4 different permissions, one of them is location, which has a different button name.

let springboard = XCUIApplication(bundleIdentifier: "com.apple.springboard")
for i in 0..<4 {
    let allowLocationButton = springboard.buttons["Allow While Using App"]
    let allowButton = springboard.buttons["Allow"]
            
    if allowLocationButton.isHittable {
        allowLocationButton.tap()
    } else if allowButton.isHittable {
        allowButton.tap()
    } else {
        break
    } 
}

Filipe