Starting recording of a voice message locks up iPhone when VoiceOver is active

[thegregariousdragon]

• iOS version: 26.2.1

• Device: iPhone 15 Pro Max

• Delta Chat version: v2.35.0

• Expected behavior:
  Able to record and send voice messages while VoiceOver screen reader is active.

• Actual behavior:
  Tapping the record voice message button causes complete device freeze. VoiceOver stops speaking, device becomes completely unresponsive, and must be force restarted. No voice message is recorded or sent.

• Steps to reproduce:

1. Enable VoiceOver screen reader
2. Open Delta Chat
3. Select a contact and open chat
4. Tap the record voice message button
5. Device immediately locks up - VoiceOver goes silent, all iOS functions unresponsive
6. Force restart required to restore device functionality

• Additional context:
  This is a critical accessibility issue that makes voice messaging completely unusable for VoiceOver users. Happy to provide additional details, logs, or testing if needed.

• Screenshots: N/A (device freeze prevents capture)

• Logs: [Will provide if needed - device requires restart before logs can be accessed]

[thegregariousdragon]

Upon further experimentation, I have discovered that the app does not actually crash as I originally stated. What happens is that VoiceOver goes silent and I am unable to raise the volume of the speech in order to interact with the recording interface. I am able to swipe up from the bottom of the screen using the normal VoiceOver gesture and close Delta Chat, but any direct interaction with the recording interface is impossible. A possible workaround is to use the Voice Memos app to record the audio, then attach the recording as a file to any outgoing message. For obvious reasons, this isn't ideal, but I figured I should point that out.

[r10s]

cmp https://dragonscave.space/@somegregariousdude/116023926827807168 and https://dragonscave.space/@somegregariousdude/116029550531547216

[MarcoZehe]

I can confirm this. VoiceOver locks up, all gestures are being passed through to the application, no longer being processed by VoiceOver first. The app must be force-quit from app switcher before VoiceOver becomes responsive again. This is after recording of a voice message has started. The only other way is to not touch the screen at all while recording, then performing a double tap anywhere on the screen to end the recording and send it off, but since you also want to cancel a recording sometimes, that's not really a workable workaround.