iIOS 14: kodi remote crashes for several uses cases
#1
Hi,

since the update to iOS 14.0 (same happening with iOS 14.01) I experience crashes of the Kodi Remote App. 

First uses case (can be worked around): Sync'ing new Albums or Artists for Music database
When running Kodi Remote on iOS <14 you could just quickly wipe down the whole menu in the Album and Artist View. This lead to the App updating the local database. Now wiping down the menu lets the App crash. You can still sync the database when slowly (!) pulling down the menu until you see "Sync database" text, and then let the menu snap back.

Second use case (no workaorund found yet): Entering the settings of Kodi.
Before iOS 14 you could enter the graphical remote control of Kodi Remote, then via a text field "more..." enter a hierarchical text based menu. In this you could for example enter the menu "System > Audio > Output" and select different audio outputs (in my case alsa devices with different behaviour). With iOS 14 you can only enter the highest hierarchical level which shows "System" and a few other entries. When trying to enter "System" the App crashes immediately. It is not possible to configure Kodi anymore remotely via the App.

Regards,
Buschel
Reply
#2
In addition, the Album selection via Genre also does not work anymore. You can enter the Genre-page and the genres are listed as usual. But as soon as you are selecting a genre the Kodi Remote App crashes.
Reply
#3
Still same behaviour after update to iOS 14.1.
Reply
#4
Hi, my remote constantly crashes since iOS 14. Connecting to the server works ok, but as soon as I press one of the main menu items (Music, Movies, etc), the app crashes.
Reply
#5
I haven't been having a problem with iOS14 specifically, but since updating to Kodi 18.9 on my iMac I have had the remote crash on my iOS devices if I select from many of the menu items
Reply
#6
i have noticed that as soon as i hit TV it crashes. Seems OK for Movies though, any update/fix on this?
Reply
#7
(2020-10-27, 22:02)HiChBe Wrote: I haven't been having a problem with iOS14 specifically, but since updating to Kodi 18.9 on my iMac I have had the remote crash on my iOS devices if I select from many of the menu items

I've rolled back to Kodi 18.8 and my use case problems (very basic) are resolved. I can use the remote app now as I need without crashing.
Reply
#8
Next bad experience. After updating my phone to iOS 14.2 the Kodi Remote App did not work *at all* anymore. It was just crashing after starting. After completely re-installing I could again connect to Kodi and see the main menu. But when I entered one of the categories like "Music" or "Movies" the App crashed again. This for me got resolved via *once* switching from German to English language settings. I now can basically use the Remote App again. But still the App crashes for the use cases I reported earlier (search for a genre or sync new albums) are seen.
Reply
#9
When trying some of the use cases I mentioned above a lot of times, the settings menu *sometimes* works (I can enter Remote>...more>System>Audio>Output), and *sometimes* the sync'ing of Albums and Artists also works. Selecting Genres *never* works though.

Looking into the Developer´s Release Notes for iOS14 there is a hint to changes in JSON -- which I understood is used to interface with kodi -- under the section "Third-Party Apps": iOS & iPadOS 14 Release Notes. The section mentions the app "might quit unexpectedly". Does sound to me like the issues needs to be fixed in the iOS App code.
Reply
#10
It took me a few hours to set up XCode, load the master branch of the Kodi Remote App and apply all configuration changes needed to be able to build and deploy to my iPhone. The issues I described above do not show up in the simulators, they only occur on the real device and are related to JSON. After a few changes I do not see the problems with my local version anymore, but I will continue to play around with it and see, if more than the known problems occur (Remark: I only use Kodi for Music playback).

What is changed:
  • Fix some calls which caused even the simulator abort
    -> otherwise Kodi Remote does not even work on Simulator
  • Added iOS14 related Target Properties to support the new Local Network Access policy (tutorial)
    -> otherwise Kodi Remote does not see the local network when installed to iPhone
  • Replaced one specific call of JSONKit with a NSJSONSerialization call and corrected the error handling (so, the iOS 14 Release Notes definately pointed to the right place)
    -> this fixed the instabilities for me

Known issue:
  • I cannot use the keyboard to enter the IP address of Kodi manually.
Reply
#11
Is there a fix for those without iOS development tools? Or a patch forthcoming?

(2020-11-16, 00:03)Buschel Wrote: It took me a few hours to set up XCode, load the master branch of the Kodi Remote App and apply all configuration changes needed to be able to build and deploy to my iPhone. The issues I described above do not show up in the simulators, they only occur on the real device and are related to JSON. After a few changes I do not see the problems with my local version anymore, but I will continue to play around with it and see, if more than the known problems occur (Remark: I only use Kodi for Music playback).

What is changed:
  • Fix some calls which caused even the simulator abort
    -> otherwise Kodi Remote does not even work on Simulator
  • Added iOS14 related Target Properties to support the new Local Network Access policy (tutorial)
    -> otherwise Kodi Remote does not see the local network when installed to iPhone
  • Replaced one specific call of JSONKit with a NSJSONSerialization call and corrected the error handling (so, the iOS 14 Release Notes definately pointed to the right place)
    -> this fixed the instabilities for me

Known issue:
  • I cannot use the keyboard to enter the IP address of Kodi manually.
Reply
#12
(2020-11-22, 17:35)jlcooke Wrote: Is there a fix for those without iOS development tools? Or a patch forthcoming?
I am new to Apple´s software development eco system. To me it seems it will be impossible to share the current development steps without using the iOS development environment. To have the app updated in the store someone needs to register for an account and upload the app for review. In its current state the app will most likely not even be accepted by Apple for their store. Reason being that there are several violations (e.g. using deprecated functions which currently also cause problems with the app when compiled with the latest development environment) and that the current application does not properly show on the iPad (there Play/Pause/Stop/Search/Skip buttons are misaligned an not useable). In general the app needs a refresh.
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
iIOS 14: kodi remote crashes for several uses cases0