Hello Apple Developer community,
I am seeking help with a recurring App Store rejection under Guideline 2.1(a) - Performance - App Completeness. My app crashes on launch specifically on iOS 26.4.2 and I have confirmed this is a platform-level bug in React Native — not an issue with my application code.
BACKGROUND My app is Highway Exit Food Finder — a navigation utility built with Expo SDK 55 / React Native 0.83. It has been in review for several weeks and has been rejected multiple times due to a crash on launch on iPad Air M3 and iPhone 17 Pro Max running iOS 26.4.2.
THE CRASH Every crash log shows the same signature:
Exception: EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT) Location: ObjCTurboModule::performVoidMethodInvocation Thread: com.meta.react.turbomodulemanager.queue
The crash occurs during TurboModule initialization — BEFORE any JavaScript code runs. This means no application-level code change can fix it.
CONFIRMED PLATFORM BUG This crash is documented in:
- github.com/facebook/react-native/issues/54859
- github.com/expo/expo/issues/44680
These issues confirm that React Native's New Architecture TurboModule system throws an NSException during async void method invocation on iOS 26 that cannot be caught, causing SIGABRT.
WHAT I HAVE TRIED
- Removed expo-notifications (possible crash source)
- Removed react-native-maps
- Simplified all screens to static components
- Set newArchEnabled: false in app.json
- Upgraded to Expo SDK 55
- Submitted 17+ builds attempting to fix this
Despite all these changes the crash signature remains identical across all builds because the crash happens at the platform level.
MY QUESTIONS
-
Has anyone successfully gotten a React Native Expo app approved on App Store Review while running iOS 26.4.2 on review devices?
-
Is there a known working configuration for Expo SDK 55 that avoids the TurboModule crash on iOS 26?
-
Has anyone successfully appealed a 2.1(a) rejection caused by a platform bug rather than app code?
-
Can Apple review devices be updated to use a stable iOS version for reviewing React Native apps while the iOS 26 compatibility issues are resolved?
DEVICE AND BUILD INFO
- Review device: iPad Air 11-inch M3
- OS: iPadOS 26.4.2
- Framework: Expo SDK 55 / React Native 0.83
- Build tool: EAS Build
- All crash logs reference the identical TurboModule crash signature
Any help or guidance from the community or Apple engineers who monitor these forums would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.