# Native crash (EXC_BAD_ACCESS) on iOS Simulator x86_64 with New Architecture 4.19.0

[longnb2010]

Native crash (EXC_BAD_ACCESS) on iOS Simulator x86_64 with New Architecture

Description

The app crashes immediately on iOS Simulator (x86_64 architecture on Intel Mac) when using @react-navigation/native-stack with react-native-screens and React Native New Architecture enabled. The crash is a native crash (EXC_BAD_ACCESS / SIGSEGV) caused by an Objective-C exception: -[UIResponder doesNotRecognizeSelector:].

The crash occurs in the stack trace involving:

• RCTComponentData.mm
• RCTLegacyViewManagerInterop
• RCTMountingManager

This suggests that a native view is being set with a prop/selector that it doesn't recognize, and with RN New Architecture/Fabric, it crashes immediately instead of just showing a warning.

Screens version

4.19.0

React Native version

0.83.1

Platforms

• iOS Simulator (x86_64 architecture on Intel Mac) - ❌ Crashes
• iOS Physical Device (arm64) - ✅ Works fine
• Android (both emulator and device) - ✅ Works fine

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a new React Native project with New Architecture enabled
2. Install dependencies:

   npm install react-native-screens@4.19.0 @react-navigation/native@7.1.26 @react-navigation/native-stack@7.9.0

3. Set up NavigationContainer with createNativeStackNavigator (see minimal reproduction code below)
4. Run the app on iOS Simulator (x86_64 architecture on Intel Mac)
5. App crashes immediately on launch

Snack or a link to a repository

Minimal reproduction code:

The following minimal code is sufficient to reproduce the crash:

// App.js
import React from 'react';
import { View } from 'react-native';
import { NavigationContainer } from '@react-navigation/native';
import { createNativeStackNavigator } from '@react-navigation/native-stack';

const Stack = createNativeStackNavigator();

function TestScreen() {
  return <View style={{ flex: 1, backgroundColor: 'white' }} />;
}

function App() {
  return (
    <NavigationContainer>
      <Stack.Navigator>
        <Stack.Screen name="Test" component={TestScreen} />
      </Stack.Navigator>
    </NavigationContainer>
  );
}

export default App;

To reproduce:

1. Create a new React Native 0.83.1 project with New Architecture enabled
2. Install: npm install react-native-screens@4.19.0 @react-navigation/native@7.1.26 @react-navigation/native-stack@7.9.0
3. Replace App.js with the code above
4. Run on iOS Simulator (x86_64 on Intel Mac)
5. App crashes immediately on launch

Note: This is a native crash that occurs during initialization, so the minimal code above is sufficient to reproduce. A full repository would contain the same code plus standard React Native project setup files.

Expected Behavior

The app should run normally on iOS Simulator without crashing, similar to how it works on:

• iOS physical devices
• Android (both emulator and physical devices)

Actual Behavior

The app crashes immediately on iOS Simulator (x86_64) with:

• Crash Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS / SIGSEGV
• Exception: -[UIResponder doesNotRecognizeSelector:]
• Stack Trace: Involves RCTComponentData.mm → RCTLegacyViewManagerInterop → RCTMountingManager

Additional Observations

1. Isolation Test Results:
   • App with only <View /> → ✅ No crash
   • App with NavigationContainer + createNativeStackNavigator (no other screens) → ❌ Same crash
   • This confirms the crash is specifically from @react-navigation/native-stack / react-native-screens

Related Issues

This might be related to:

• Compatibility issues between react-native-screens and New Architecture on iOS Simulator x86_64
• Missing prop/selector validation in the Fabric interop layer
• Architecture-specific code paths not being tested on x86_64 simulator

Additional Context

According to the react-native-screens compatibility table, version 4.19.0+ should support React Native 0.81.0+ with Fabric. However, there seems to be an issue specifically with iOS Simulator x86_64 architecture.

System Information

• macOS: 15.4.1
• Xcode: 16.4
• Node: >=18
• CocoaPods: 1.16.2
• New Architecture: Enabled (Fabric)
• Hermes: Enabled

---

Note: This issue does not affect Android, suggesting it's iOS-specific, possibly related to how Objective-C runtime handles unrecognized selectors differently from Java/Kotlin on Android.

[github-actions]

Hey! 👋

The issue doesn't seem to contain a minimal reproduction.

Could you provide a snack or a link to a GitHub repository under your username that reproduces the problem?

[github-actions]

Hey! 👋

It looks like you've omitted a few important sections from the issue template.

Please complete Steps to reproduce section.

[longnb2010]

"This is a native crash that occurs during app initialization. The minimal code provided in the issue is sufficient to reproduce - no additional repository is needed as the crash happens before any complex logic runs. The issue can be reproduced by following the steps provided."

[kkafar]

@longnb2010 I'll point out that, well, the generated issue description is rather crappy 😄

I dunno how fast we'll be able to lay hands on a Mac with Intel Inside ™️ , so it might hang for a while.

What would be useful to debug this though is first:

• Full stack trace from the crash; if not visible in your console it should be available when running app via XCode.

Second thing is the "issue description" indicates similarity to this issue: #2870 rather than issue with specific hardware architecture.

Third, the presence of RCTLegacyViewManagerInterop indicates that it is react-native linking who did not work properly, which in turn either indicates misconfiguration as in #2870 (wrong AppDelegate) or an actual issue with linking code. There is very little that indicates that this is react-native-screens issue in any way possible, beside the fact that we provide a native component. Doesn't the issue happen, when you e.g. remove react-native-screens and use component from other library, e.g. react-native-safe-area-context or something?

[longnb2010]

@kkafar You’re right, I’ve just verified that the app runs successfully when I don’t use react-native-screens (i.e. when App.js is set up without @react-navigation/native-stack / react-native-screens).

[kmichalikk]

Hi @longnb2010
I was able to test this on a 2020 intel mac with macOS 15.7.3.
XCode 16.0 from apple developer (haven't try 16.4 yet) and 26.2 from the app store.
Created an empty project with 0.83 and 0.81.
Simulators: iPhone 16 Pro 18.0 and 26.2.

Each configuration worked without issues with the repro provided.

Could you try updating your system / IDE & let us know if the problem is still present?

[longnb2010]

Hi @kmichalikk
Thank you for testing this thoroughly on your setup. I appreciate the detailed information about your configuration.
I will wait for react-native-screens version 4.20.0 or 4.21.0 to test again and will update you on the results.
Best regards !

[kkafar]

@longnb2010 I highly doubt anything will change with react-native-screens@4.20 / 4.21 in that regard, since we can't reproduce the issue. Since @kmichalikk was not really able to reproduce the issue on our end we won't be able to land any patch for it.

Please make sure that your AppDelegate is correct (link), since it looks like an issue with linking.