Xcode project not showing list of simulators

Question

I open my project in Xcode 6.1. When I try to run the project, the button is grayed out. When I try to go to Product > Clean, the option is grayed out. When I look at the list of simulators, all I get is My Mac instead of the usually iOS Device. How do I get my simulators to come back?

Check in Menu Xode->Preferences->Download, if there are all possible simulators. Check your target, is it correct. — Sinri Edogawa, Nov 01 '14 at 15:28
I tried a few answers, but non worked. Then I restarted my Mac and everything was back to normal. Not sure if all I needed was a restart or if the changes **+** the restart was necessary — mfaani, Feb 21 '18 at 21:06
New one in 2023, when none of these answers works (no, I'm not adding this as a 0-score answer at the bottom of Page 3): top menu "Product" > Destination > Destination Architectures > "Show Both" Hope this helps somebody (where the plethora of answers from 2018 might not). — Ralph J, Jun 28 '23 at 02:13

score 229 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 11 '15 at 07:00

229

Make sure that the project you are trying to run has deployment target equal to or less then the SDK version of your Xcode. In my case I tried to run a project which was built using iOS8.4 but I have Xcode6.1 with SDK version 8.1

I changed the deployment target to 8.1 and it start showing me simulators.

P.S before doing this, make sure that your code and external libraries are compatible with your new deployment target, else you have to update your Xcode.

answered Sep 11 '15 at 07:00

Ans

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This happened when my xCode version updated, and new simulators loaded, but the simulator service was still running. This will correct it: sudo killall -9 com.apple.CoreSimulator.CoreSimulatorService – cdeerinck Jul 25 '19 at 19:29
In my case, my system version does not support some iOS versions. To check this just run this command (xcrun simctl list runtimes) in terminal. When I run this I got these results: iOS 9.3 (9.3 - 13E233) - com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-9-3 (unavailable, The iOS 9.3 simulator runtime is not supported on hosts after macOS 10.14.99.) iOS 10.0 (10.0 - 14A345) - (unavailable, The iOS 10.0 simulator runtime is not supported on hosts after macOS 10.14.99.) iOS 10.3 (10.3.1 - 14E8301) - (unavailable, The iOS 10.3 simulator runtime is not supported on hosts after macOS 10.15.99.) – Ravi Sep 03 '21 at 05:05
downgrading deployment targets from iOS 12 to 10 in Podfile and Xcode worked for me. – Denver Shenal Jul 26 '22 at 03:05

Jaywant Khedkar · Answer 2 · 2020-05-25T11:25:36.187

128

Try This, It worked like a charm! for me,

Follow below step

1) Clean Derived Data as show below,

 rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/

OR

 Xcode---> Preferences--->Location--->Derived Data

2) In Deployment Info change Deployment Target

It's equal to or less then the SDK version of Xcode

3) Quit Xcode

4) Reopen Xcode you will see list of simulators

Hope this answer will help for someone.

edited May 25 '20 at 11:25

answered Nov 28 '16 at 07:03

Jaywant Khedkar

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Why this happening, is there any reason they don't want to show the simulator list? – Zohaib Ahmad Jul 21 '22 at 06:54

score 108 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 08 '17 at 00:58

108

I could not find any solution that would fix my issue. All simulators were there for all projects but the one that I needed them.

Solution:

Build Settings -> Architectures -> Supported Platforms:

changed from iphoneos to iOS

answered Feb 08 '17 at 00:58

Tumata

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Also on Unity. It made the simulators show up but it still wouldn't build. The solution was to go to the Unity Editor and set `Unity -> Build settings -> Player Settings -> Other Settings -> Target SDK = Simulator SDK` – Lorenzo Aug 08 '20 at 00:29
This alone solved it for me – simodev Feb 10 '22 at 11:24
Holy heck, man. Yes. Changing to Simulator SDK is the ONLY thing that works if you're using Unity. Also, works easily after that. Just build to a different output folder. – kfblake Jul 01 '23 at 15:47

score 86 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 01 '14 at 15:28

86

Click on the project name (Right to the Run button). Three options will appear.

Edit scheme
New scheme
Manage scheme

You can click on "New scheme" and then click on "OK" in popup window.

You will have simulators list back.

answered Nov 01 '14 at 15:28

Akshit Zaveri

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This worked for me. But I run into same problem when I try to change iPhone in simulator, and then this same scheme doesn't work any longer even if I go back to the previous simulator. I have to do New Scheme once again. I am using Xcode 12.2. There is still some bug somewhere in Xcode. – zeeshan Jan 24 '21 at 13:59
Also Worked for me with Xcode 14.1 ! – Sabrina Dec 10 '22 at 15:59

score 81 · Answer 5 · edited Mar 14 '23 at 16:46

81

Also check the iOS Deployment Target under build settings.

Somehow the Deployment Target gets set to most latest SDK that won't have available simulators.

Select the available SDK version and simulator list should be back available again. Cheers!

enter image description here

edited Mar 14 '23 at 16:46

Preetam Jadakar

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answered Jul 14 '15 at 11:39

shshnk

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score 27 · Answer 6 · answered Oct 08 '16 at 05:27

27

Cmd below solved my problem:

$ sudo xcode-select --switch /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer

In my case, I upgraded to Xcode 8 and downloaded another version 7.3.1 later (renamed it to "Xcode 7.3.1"), then cannot get the simulator list in Xcode 8.

answered Oct 08 '16 at 05:27

Kjuly

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Tried this and "edit scheme" thing mentioned earlier, neither worked out. So I was curious and tried to run the simulator itself. Got this error: Unable to determine simulator device to boot. I followed the suggestion by thegreenpizza at this post and it worked. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/24011986/unable-to-determine-simulator-device-to-boot-xcode-6 – uudaddy Mar 12 '17 at 05:43

score 24 · Answer 7 · answered May 23 '16 at 07:51

In my case i'd accidentally deleted ios devices in system Finder -> Library->Devices->Core simulator

So, the simulators are not listed in the Xcode project except ios device.

I solved this by adding ios simuulators from Xcode->Window->Devices->Add simulators

Hope it'll help someone.

score 15 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 20 '19 at 10:00

15

For those coming from Unity, even if you manage to make them show up (by changing Build Settings > Supported Platforms to iOS it would not run in the simulator.

Instead, you need to select this Simulator SDK :

And make sure something other than Metal exist.

Then the simulator device list will be there from start.

answered Apr 20 '19 at 10:00

5argon

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Just a note that the "Target SDK" setting listed above is under `Build Settings` -> `Player Settings` -> `iOS (little iphone icon on the menu)` -> `Other Settings` -> `Target SDK` in the Unity UI – Luciano Jul 13 '19 at 20:20
Kinda defeats the point of a simulator if you have to select a target device. Whilst this does seem to be a way, it didn't work for me because none of the plugin libraries i'm using were compiled for Simulator use. So ultimately pointless waist of time. Also, note that this will trigger an asset reimport FYI. – Emile Oct 27 '20 at 11:54

score 10 · Answer 9 · answered Aug 08 '20 at 10:11

Deployment Target version change to a lower one helped for me:

Window -> Devices and Simulators -> Simulators. Check what are the latest versions of existing simulators.

Then go to your project's Target. Under Deployment Info, change Target to the version you saw the latest within your simulators. Mine was set to iOS 13.6 when the simulator was iOS 13.5 only.

score 9 · Answer 10 · answered Nov 01 '14 at 15:28

9

check in your project's build settings , make certain you select Latest iOS (iOS 8.1).

answered Nov 01 '14 at 15:28

YvesLeBorg

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score 9 · Answer 11 · answered Oct 25 '17 at 06:10

9

Solution: Build Settings -> Architectures -> Supported Platforms: changed from iphoneos to iOS

Confirmed works in Xcode Version 9.0 (9A235)

answered Oct 25 '17 at 06:10

xuzepei

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score 8 · Answer 12 · answered Nov 03 '14 at 19:49

If you renamed Xcode.app since first launch, the iOS Simulator becomes unavailable. This is mentioned in the Xcode 6.1 Release Notes:

Renaming Xcode.app after running any of the Xcode tools in that bundle may cause iOS Simulator to be no longer be available. Either rename Xcode.app back to what it was when first launched or restart your Mac. (16646772)

score 8 · Answer 13 · answered Jul 31 '15 at 08:37

8

Go to Window then Devices and press the plus button at the bottom left to add a device and select the simulator which are required.This worked for me.

answered Jul 31 '15 at 08:37

bittu

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score 7 · Answer 14 · answered Jul 18 '18 at 01:20

7

Sometimes the simulator you have might not be the simulator specified in Build Settings. Make sure that simulator package is downloaded for your IOS Deployment Target

answered Jul 18 '18 at 01:20

Tarun

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score 6 · Answer 15 · answered Jun 08 '17 at 05:04

If Your problem is due to multiple (versions of) xcode

Then follow following steps

1. Cleaning Derived Data Go to Xcode preferences -> Select location tab -> select little gray arrow on /Users/apple/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData. You will be redirect to folder From there select Derived Data folder and Delete.

2. Completely Quite The Xcode and reopen

This will solve your problem. Happy coding :)

Kautsya Kanu · Answer 16 · 2016-09-04T22:51:08.307

Same Problem happened with me.. When I updated from Xcode 8 Beta 3 to Xcode 8 Beta 4, But I resolved it by this way..

Go to Window -> Devices

you can see all Devices and Simulators here

Just right click on any device or simulator
Tick on Show in Destination Menu (Even it is already checked, then click it twice, It may be refresh things)

If above does not work.. as if you do not see any simulators, then..

Change(degrade) the minimum deployment target of app to 8.3(not necessary)
restart xcode

It worked for me.. Hope will be helpful for someone later..

score 5 · Answer 17 · answered Nov 28 '16 at 07:06

5

Quite Xcode and Open it again, it will show. For me it's worked.

answered Nov 28 '16 at 07:06

Sanoj Kashyap

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score 5 · Answer 18 · answered Oct 23 '19 at 12:55

5

Just check your Deployment Target where XCode support it or not.

answered Oct 23 '19 at 12:55

Rahul Panzade

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score 5 · Answer 19 · answered Aug 04 '21 at 16:52

5

In my case the problem was in Architectures parameter. It was set to arm64 I just changed the value to Standard Architectures (arm64, armv7) - $(ARCHS_STANDARD) Then pod install

answered Aug 04 '21 at 16:52

Radomir Epur

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This one did the trick for me, thank you. – Gustavo Reyes Jun 17 '23 at 23:05

score 4 · Answer 20 · answered Oct 10 '15 at 09:41

4

Looks like Xcode hides that menu when the window is a certain size. You have to make your window quite large before it comes back.

answered Oct 10 '15 at 09:41

Masoud Al-Helou

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score 4 · Answer 21 · answered Dec 25 '17 at 07:38

4

Small but a effective solution. In my case i updated to my xcode to 9.2 version and simulators disappeared.

I found this solution and it worked for me and for others also.

**

Just quit your xcode and restart again. You will have simulators.

**

answered Dec 25 '17 at 07:38

Aklesh Rathaur

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score 3 · Answer 22 · answered Jun 14 '15 at 15:26

3

I still had my iOS Device, but all my simulators were gone.

I tried every suggested solution I could find on stackoverflow.

Eventually, I deleted the Xcode app and downloaded it again from the App Store. After installation, the simulators were back.

answered Jun 14 '15 at 15:26

OscarWyck

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score 3 · Answer 23 · answered Jul 23 '19 at 08:10

3

If you just updated Xcode, you may need to restart your computer before simulators become available again.

answered Jul 23 '19 at 08:10

ScottyBlades

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score 3 · Answer 24 · edited Nov 08 '20 at 22:23

3

If you updated Xcode to 12.1. Completely quit Xcode and it will install components.

enter image description here

edited Nov 08 '20 at 22:23

gcharita

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answered Nov 08 '20 at 22:03

irfan

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score 3 · Answer 25 · answered Oct 28 '22 at 03:38

3

I had the same problem with xCode 14.0.1. Replacing the target architecture from "arm64" to "$(ARCHS_STANDARD)" brought back the list of simulators.

answered Oct 28 '22 at 03:38

Hyndrix

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score 2 · Answer 26 · answered Feb 09 '16 at 13:57

I ran into another situation where this can occur. I work with a team we use Xcode server for continuous integration. The server wasn't seeing any simulators, but only for one project. I eventually determined that this was due to the fact that the version of Xcode on our server was one release earlier, and the Xcode project was set to build to the newest version available. Simply updating Xcode solved the issue for us.

score 2 · Answer 27 · answered Sep 19 '16 at 22:12

2

I had this happen to me after an update to a new Xcode. Running

xcode-select --install

fixed it for me.

answered Sep 19 '16 at 22:12

slemke

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score 2 · Answer 28 · answered Nov 02 '16 at 16:08

2

Just go to Xcode -> Window -> Devices

Click + at the bottom left

Add your new Simulator

answered Nov 02 '16 at 16:08

ngoctung.nguyen2408

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score 2 · Answer 29 · answered Jan 15 '19 at 15:16

2

I just needed a good, old fashioned restart the computer. When uninstalling and reinstalling XCode didn't do the job, I restarted out of pure frustration....lo and behold! After a restart, everything was as it should be.

answered Jan 15 '19 at 15:16

Mizmor

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score 2 · Answer 30 · answered Jul 23 '19 at 21:12

2

After upgrading to Xcode 10.3, the list of simulators was empty. I rebooted and it was resolved.

This doesn't necessarily answer the OP's specific question, but this was the first place I ended up in researching my Xcode 10.3 upgrade issue.

answered Jul 23 '19 at 21:12

PJSimon

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I just upgraded to 10.3 and faced the same issue. Alternatively, you can run the command shown in the answer provided by @riik https://stackoverflow.com/a/56832489 – Nathan Dudley Jul 24 '19 at 04:23

score 2 · Answer 31 · answered Apr 25 '20 at 10:20

2

Lower the Deployment Target version. For example you have set the target as iOS 13.4 but your Xcode version is lower and there is no iOS 13.4 installed simulator.

answered Apr 25 '20 at 10:20

Onur Tuna

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score 1 · Answer 32 · answered May 22 '17 at 05:56

1

I had the same issue, generated from an imported project, the project had 10.3 as deployment target and I only had 10.0 installed, changing the deployment target to 10.0 solved my issues.

answered May 22 '17 at 05:56

Ahmed Awad

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score 1 · Answer 33 · answered Jul 25 '17 at 11:40

1

For anyone struggling with this, I tried the mentioned options without success. Turns out all I needed to do was just quit and relaunch Xcode. Simple things can be annoying sometimes.

answered Jul 25 '17 at 11:40

user3752049

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score 1 · Answer 34 · answered Sep 13 '17 at 12:17

In my case I had created a static library target for tvOS in Xcode 8.3.3, and the tvOS simulator was not showing up in the list. Eventually found out that TARGETED_DEVICE_FAMILY in the Build Settings was set to 1,2 instead of 3. Leaving this here incase anyone else encounters the same problem.

score 1 · Answer 35 · answered Jul 24 '19 at 06:01

1

I simply Renamed my Xcode file in Application folder to something else and renamed it back to Xcode.

Worked

answered Jul 24 '19 at 06:01

Azim

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score 1 · Answer 36 · edited Jul 28 '19 at 15:09

1

Install iOS Simulator if you're missing one.

edited Jul 28 '19 at 15:09

Jason Aller

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answered Jul 28 '19 at 14:18

TilAye

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score 1 · Answer 37 · answered Oct 22 '19 at 18:59

1

Nothing worked for me, except

gem install snapshot

fastlane snapshot reset_simulators

answered Oct 22 '19 at 18:59

Jinesh

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score 1 · Answer 38 · answered Aug 30 '20 at 13:46

In my case I thought I created a new project using the iOS Framework template, but I inadvertently selected the macOS Framework template instead. This was preventing me from building the project for iPhone simulators. Deleting the project and recreating it, this time selecting the iOS Framework template, fixed the problem.

score 0 · Answer 39 · answered Jul 20 '16 at 01:44

0

Check if in the app store under xcode it says GET instead of installed, delete your current version and get the new one

answered Jul 20 '16 at 01:44

pflous

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score 0 · Answer 40 · answered Nov 22 '16 at 05:59

I encountered this problem when I update my xcode to 8.2beta (with the app name xcode-beta.app), I found the answer above by Jeremy Huddleston Sequoia and tried to rename xcode-beta.app to xcode.app, it worked. I guess the name should be xcode.app to use the simulators, even if you didn't changed the name by yourself when you download the beta one.

score 0 · Answer 41 · answered Oct 16 '19 at 07:38

Nothing helped me so I downloaded the simulators for my deployment Target.

Beside play button and target name where simulator is chosen,
Click the simulator to see the simulator list window.
Click on the last button is "Download Simulators"
Download the simulators for your deployment Target

You can check Deployment target :
Below play button 1st tab i.e. Project navigator, Click it and click on Project name
Select your target > General tab > Deployment Info > Deployment target.

Hope it helps

score 0 · Answer 42 · answered Jan 11 '22 at 14:20

0

After trying a lot of suggestions, the below command solved the issue for me.

Try to restart the simulator service:

sudo killall -9 com.apple.CoreSimulator.CoreSimulatorService

answered Jan 11 '22 at 14:20

Keshav

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score 0 · Answer 43 · answered May 09 '23 at 08:03

0

Go Preferences > Locations

Delete Derived Data Folder

Open Terminal at your project folder > run pod install

Problem will be solved !

answered May 09 '23 at 08:03

D.A.C. Nupun

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Xcode project not showing list of simulators

43 Answers43

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