iPad - Appium Inspector unable to inspect child elements under DockFolderViewService on iOS Simulator -iPAD

Support
1

Hello Appium Team,

I’d like to report an issue observed while inspecting Dock folders on an iPad Simulator created from Xcode, using Appium Inspector with XCUITest.

Environment

  • Platform: iPadOS Simulator (created via Xcode)

  • Device: iPad Simulator

  • iOS/iPadOS Version: 26.1

  • Automation: XCUITest

  • Appium & Appium Inspector: Latest versions

Issue Summary

When opening a Dock folder on the iPad Simulator Home Screen, Appium Inspector identifies the root container as:

  • XCUIElementTypeApplication

  • name = DockFolderViewService

However, the UI hierarchy under this node does not expose any actionable or semantic child elements, despite app icons being clearly visible in the UI.

Inspector Observation (from attached screenshot)

The hierarchy expands only as follows:

XCUIElementTypeApplication (DockFolderViewService)
 └─ XCUIElementTypeWindow
     └─ XCUIElementTypeOther
         └─ XCUIElementTypeOther
             └─ XCUIElementTypeOther
                 └─ XCUIElementTypeOther

All child nodes:

  • Are XCUIElementTypeOther

  • Have accessible = false

  • Do not contain name, label, or any identifying attributes

  • Do not expose app icons as XCUIElementTypeIcon or similar elements

As a result:

  • Appium Inspector cannot show or interact with individual app icons inside the Dock folder

  • XPath and iOS predicate locators only match anonymous container nodes

  • Standard automation is blocked without coordinate- or image-based workarounds

    image
    image1897×901 244 KB

Questions

  1. Is this a known limitation of WebDriverAgent / XCUITest on iPadOS, specifically for DockFolderViewService?

  2. Is this behavior by design in SpringBoard accessibility on iPad, or a potential WDA gap?

  3. Are there any recommended capabilities or approaches to surface Dock folder icons on iPad simulators?

Any guidance or confirmation would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
Himanshu Pal

2

Hi @mykola-mokhnach @wreed , can you please help me on this issue?

3

Pls add

  • your driver capabilities when you start session.
  • appium + xcuitest driver versions

This can help identify issue.

4

Hi @Aleksei Here is the required information -
Below driver capabilities are set during starting the session.
Appium version - 3.1.1
XCuitest version - 10.5.1

image
image1101×706 205 KB

5

how about change “defaultActiveApplication” setting in driver to “com.apple.springboard” ?

or check what active app Appium sees as active with command below →

[`mobile: activeAppInfo`](../reference/execute-methods.md#mobile-activateappinfo) helps to understand what application (bundleId) is considered as active for the XCUITest driver.
6

Hey @Aleksei ,
I got the below response after running the command “ mobile: activeAppInfo”

image
image1907×965 167 KB

I am not sure how it can be helpful in this scenario !
Could you please share more insight on it ?

7

So can you add into settings after driver open set active app bundleID to above on screen and try again?

Or in driver capability →

Try add

"appium:settings[defaultActiveApplication]": "com.apple.DocumentManager.DockFolderService"

check mine typos! :slight_smile:

8

Hi @Aleksei , on what basis this setting will be applied as, if I go to other screens this setting must be rolled back to the normal to continue working for other applications?
Also, I can’t hardcode app bundleID as the test case will not be specific to any one application. Please suggest.

Moreover, I have tried below -
appiumOptions.AddAdditionalAppiumOption(“appium:settings[defaultActiveApplication]”, “com.apple.DocumentManager.DockFolderService”);
but this doesn’t help.

9

Try also check context and switch to some you may have. No more ideas ….