iOS 14 will forget that a third-party app is the default, if the app is updated

Posted:
in General Discussion edited October 2020
If a third-party email app is updated, iOS 14 no longer will keep it as a user-set default, and instead reverts to using Apple's own Mail.

Credit: Google
Credit: Google


One of the most long-awaited features of iOS 14 was the ability to replace certain default apps such as Apple Mail, with third-party alternatives. Now, following initial problems, a new issue has emerged where iOS will automatically reset the choice of mail app if that third-party one is updated.

It seems that every time an email or browser app is updated on iOS 14, it resets the default settings.

-- David Clarke (@DCOneFourSeven)


Twitter user David Clarke has demonstrated how accepting an update to the Gmail app meant that iOS reverts to using Apple Mail instead.

Since the iPhone was first released, there have been set default apps by Apple, which have always taken precedence over any third-party alternatives. Regardless of which app users choose, if they get a web link in an email, for example, tapping that always started Safari.

From iOS 14 onwards, users have been able to specify that such a link opens in an alternative browser. The same feature allows users to replace, say, Apple Mail with Gmail, too.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    This is not a problem if you uninstall Apple’s own mail app. I use Microsoft Outlook and it remains the default email app even after the recent update. This is because iOS 14 has no other email apps to revert back too. 😏
    AMcKinlay21ctt_zhfahlmanmuthuk_vanalingambala1234forgot usernameAlex1N
  • Reply 2 of 13
    Is there a chance this fixed under iOS 14.1? I went so far as to uninstall my third-party default mail app this morning, then reinstalled it — and when I checked in Settings it was still the default.
    edited October 2020 forgot usernamewatto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 3 of 13
    Still waiting on:

    - Default Maps 
    - Default Music App
    - Default Cloud Storage Solution 

    But I guess Apple rather waits to be sued for their behavior first, instead of serving customers.

    Oh, and it’s 2020 and Spotify isn’t still working natively on my HomePod.
  • Reply 4 of 13
    Still waiting on:

    - Default Maps 
    - Default Music App
    - Default Cloud Storage Solution 

    But I guess Apple rather waits to be sued for their behavior first, instead of serving customers.

    Oh, and it’s 2020 and Spotify isn’t still working natively on my HomePod.
    I'm the furthest you can get from being an Apple apologist but maybe, just maybe they're updating the feature piecemeal so they can more adequately deal with inevitable hiccups.  It's a helluva lot less disruptive if the company and customers are dealing with a couple of issues with a couple of apps as opposed to a multitude of issues with multiple apps at the same time.  Lessons learned dealing with default email and browser issues can be applied proactively to any future default apps. 
    beowulfschmidt
  • Reply 5 of 13

    Oh, and it’s 2020 and Spotify isn’t still working natively on my HomePod.

    That's on Spotify...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 13
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Anyone else getting the impression that third party default apps aren't a priority for Apple?

    What a half-baked implementation.
    Alex1N
  • Reply 7 of 13
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,305member
    Still waiting on:

    - Default Cloud Storage Solution 

    The Files app will natively include most of the popular third-party cloud storage solutions, but I think that's about as far as they are willing to go. I'm not sure why you think Apple should move away from that when Google/ChromeOS and Microsoft/Windows don't let you change "default cloud storage solutions" or offer a universal app that lets you access most of the different competitors within itself ...

    As for your choice of Spotify, you might have missed the article -- you might want to reconsider that choice NOT because the service isn't perfectly fine (it is), but because it pays artists ONE THIRD as much as Apple Music does, and yet still can't manage to turn a profit.
    mobirdforgot usernamewatto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 8 of 13
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    chasm said:
    Still waiting on:

    - Default Cloud Storage Solution 

    The Files app will natively include most of the popular third-party cloud storage solutions, but I think that's about as far as they are willing to go. I'm not sure why you think Apple should move away from that when Google/ChromeOS and Microsoft/Windows don't let you change "default cloud storage solutions" or offer a universal app that lets you access most of the different competitors within itself ...

    As for your choice of Spotify, you might have missed the article -- you might want to reconsider that choice NOT because the service isn't perfectly fine (it is), but because it pays artists ONE THIRD as much as Apple Music does, and yet still can't manage to turn a profit.
    And let’s not forget their attempts to lock in their customers by preventing devs from transferring playlists. 

    Funny how the rabid Spotify fans are happy to overlook this. 
    forgot usernamewatto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 9 of 13
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    chasm said:
    Still waiting on:

    - Default Cloud Storage Solution 

    The Files app will natively include most of the popular third-party cloud storage solutions, but I think that's about as far as they are willing to go. I'm not sure why you think Apple should move away from that when Google/ChromeOS and Microsoft/Windows don't let you change "default cloud storage solutions" or offer a universal app that lets you access most of the different competitors within itself ...
    https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/remove-change-set-default-apps-android/

    The universal app you mention is available on Android BTW. One would be "Better Open With" which has been available for years. I used it on an old ZTE smartphone. 
    forgot usernameAlex1N
  • Reply 10 of 13
    chasm said:
    Still waiting on:

    - Default Cloud Storage Solution 

    The Files app will natively include most of the popular third-party cloud storage solutions, but I think that's about as far as they are willing to go. I'm not sure why you think Apple should move away from that when Google/ChromeOS and Microsoft/Windows don't let you change "default cloud storage solutions" or offer a universal app that lets you access most of the different competitors within itself ...

    As for your choice of Spotify, you might have missed the article -- you might want to reconsider that choice NOT because the service isn't perfectly fine (it is), but because it pays artists ONE THIRD as much as Apple Music does, and yet still can't manage to turn a profit.
    None of your facts really seem true.  Got any sources for those claims?  To be honest, I don't even know what your first claim even means.  As to your second claim, a third less sounds a bit exaggerated.  
  • Reply 11 of 13
    I'm the furthest you can get from being an Apple apologist but maybe, just maybe they're updating the feature piecemeal so they can more adequately deal with inevitable hiccups.  It's a helluva lot less disruptive if the company and customers are dealing with a couple of issues with a couple of apps as opposed to a multitude of issues with multiple apps at the same time.  Lessons learned dealing with default email and browser issues can be applied proactively to any future default apps. 
    Supporting customizable default applications for URL schemes shouldn't run into any hiccups, especially for a company with Apple's resources.

    The numerous problems that Apple's implementation has had, and the many other bugs in other Apple code, indicate abysmal software engineering & testing skills.
  • Reply 12 of 13
    I'm the furthest you can get from being an Apple apologist but maybe, just maybe they're updating the feature piecemeal so they can more adequately deal with inevitable hiccups.  It's a helluva lot less disruptive if the company and customers are dealing with a couple of issues with a couple of apps as opposed to a multitude of issues with multiple apps at the same time.  Lessons learned dealing with default email and browser issues can be applied proactively to any future default apps. 
    Supporting customizable default applications for URL schemes shouldn't run into any hiccups, especially for a company with Apple's resources.

    The numerous problems that Apple's implementation has had, and the many other bugs in other Apple code, indicate abysmal software engineering & testing skills.
    Whether or not their software engineering and testing skills are abysmal is immaterial to the counterpoint I was making against CheezeFreeze's implication of intentional delays. 

    But to address your point succinctly, you're wrong.  Bugs in code aren't an indication of abysmal software engineering.  Statements like that only indicate someone making sweeping generalizations.  Bugs in code are an inevitable part of software development.  There's no such thing as perfect code.  Now, is Apple's code more error prone than it used to be? More error prone than any of their contemporaries? Idk, neither does anyone else.  Recency bias may cause one to assume it's worse, but that's opinion not empirical evidence. 
    Alex1N
  • Reply 13 of 13
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,696member
    chasm said:
    Still waiting on:

    - Default Cloud Storage Solution 

    The Files app will natively include most of the popular third-party cloud storage solutions, but I think that's about as far as they are willing to go. I'm not sure why you think Apple should move away from that when Google/ChromeOS and Microsoft/Windows don't let you change "default cloud storage solutions" or offer a universal app that lets you access most of the different competitors within itself ...

    As for your choice of Spotify, you might have missed the article -- you might want to reconsider that choice NOT because the service isn't perfectly fine (it is), but because it pays artists ONE THIRD as much as Apple Music does, and yet still can't manage to turn a profit.
    I'm not sure what you mean with the first paragraph. 

    My Google files (email, drive, photos etc) go to Google cloud infrastructure. 

    My OneDrive files go to Microsoft infrastructure. 

    My Huawei Drive files go to Huawei infrastructure. 

    Dropbox to Dropbox etc. 

    I'm not aware of a default cloud option. 

    When I download a file it goes to the internal storage on my phone (downloads folder or the phone gallery etc).

    When I upload a file I get a list of service options to use. 
    edited October 2020 gatorguyCloudTalkintokyojimuAlex1N
Sign In or Register to comment.