Device Unresponsive When Trying to Reboot in Single App Mode (MDM or Apple Configurator)

Main Issue

We are experiencing an issue where iOS devices become unresponsive when attempting to shutdown or reboot from the lock screen while locked into Single App Mode via MDM or Apple Configurator.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Start any iOS device.
  2. Use Apple Configurator or an MDM solution to enable Single App Mode.
  3. Wait for the device to lock into the specified app.
  4. Lock the device so that it goes to the lock screen.
  5. Hold the Power button and Volume Up button until the shutdown/emergency screen appears.
  6. At this point, the device becomes unresponsive.
  7. After approximately 30 seconds, the message "Guided Access app unavailable. Please contact your administrator" appears.
  8. The device is now frozen, and the only way to recover is to force restart it using Apple's forced restart method (Apple Support Link).

Additional Issue:

Additionally, we observe that when using an app in Single App Mode, attempting to reboot the device and canceling the reboot prevents any subsequent reboot attempts until a force restart is performed.

Steps to Reproduce This Behavior:

  1. Lock the iOS device into Single App Mode.
  2. Use the app normally.
  3. Attempt to shut down the device by holding the Power and Volume Up buttons.
  4. The shutdown/emergency screen appears as expected.
  5. Cancel the shutdown by tapping "Cancel."
  6. The device returns to the lock screen.
  7. Swipe up to return to the app.
  8. Attempt to shut down the device again using the same method.
  9. Nothing happens—the shutdown screen no longer appears.
  10. The only way to reboot the device now is through a forced restart.

This appears to be a bug in Single App Mode behavior, potentially related to Guided Access restrictions. Has anyone else encountered this issue?

Is this the right place to report this issue? or should I report it elsewhere?

I have more videos and material showing how to reproduce this issue if needed.

@Apple Any updates?

@DST Developer Any updates? :D

Device Unresponsive When Trying to Reboot in Single App Mode (MDM or Apple Configurator)
 
 
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