`mailto:` and `tel:` URLs failing in Simulator (Error -10814) — Expected behavior?

Question

Created 17h

Replies 2

Boosts 0

Participants 3

Hey everyone,

We’re testing a React Native iOS app in the Simulator. There is a quirk with our email and phone links. The inline links render correctly and visually register taps, but they are unresponsive. The same behavior occurs with an "Email Us" button.

These links work on a physical device. To confirm, we used Terminal to see what was happening:

xcrun simctl openurl booted mailto:info@example.com
xcrun simctl openurl booted tel:+15555555555

Both of these commands throw an error:

NSOSStatusErrorDomain code=-10814

So does the Simulator lack a registered handler (like the native Mail or Phone apps) for mailto: and tel: schemes, or is there a touch-handling bug in our UI?

Our Environment & Setup

React Native: 0.80.2
Simulator Device: iPhone 17
Simulator Runtime: iOS 26.0
Implementation: React Native's Linking.canOpenURL() and Linking.openURL().
Config: For 3rd-party fallbacks, we added googlegmail and ms-outlook to our LSApplicationQueriesSchemes in our Info.plist.

My Questions

Is this -10814 error the expected behavior for mailto: and tel: schemes across iOS Simulators?
Are there workarounds or testing strategies for these links, or do I always need to validate on physical hardware?

Thanks in advance for any insights!

Answered by DTS Engineer in 903853022

While it’s true that we don’t support third-party tools in general, in this case I think you’ll find that the same issue affects Xcode-built apps. And, yeah, these URL schemes are something you’ll have to test on real hardware. The simulator is a great tool for day-to-day development, but it’s a simulator, not an emulator, and thus a lot of integration-y stuff just don’t work there.

Oh, and btw, error -10814 is actually a public error code in the macOS SDK, namely kLSApplicationNotFoundErr.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

Answer 1

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

17h

Thanks for your post.

You should check with the support resources provided by “React Native” to get assistance with their software.

Unless another developer in the forums has experience with the third-party and can provide assistance.

However I would suggest you should test with a real device as iOS Simulator does not ship with the native Mail or Phone apps. Those apps depend on hardware/services that don't exist in the simulated environment.

Albert  WWDR

Answer 2

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

2h

Recommended

While it’s true that we don’t support third-party tools in general, in this case I think you’ll find that the same issue affects Xcode-built apps. And, yeah, these URL schemes are something you’ll have to test on real hardware. The simulator is a great tool for day-to-day development, but it’s a simulator, not an emulator, and thus a lot of integration-y stuff just don’t work there.

Oh, and btw, error -10814 is actually a public error code in the macOS SDK, namely kLSApplicationNotFoundErr.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"