The “prefs” URL Scheme not working in iOS 10

Question

I can't get the "prefs" URL Scheme to work in iOS 10.
It's set up correctly since the same App works fine on iOS 9.

Is this a bug or did it get renamed / removed?

Code:

NSURL *url = [NSURL URLWithString:@"prefs:root=LOCATION_SERVICES"];
if (![[UIApplication sharedApplication]canOpenURL:url]) {
    [[UIApplication sharedApplication]openURL:url]; 
}

@Droppy I can't get the "prefs" URL Scheme to work in iOS 10. correctly since the same App works fine on iOS 9. — SG iOS Developer, Oct 10 '16 at 09:15
Please see the link: http://useyourloaf.com/blog/openurl-deprecated-in-ios10/ — Saurabh Jain, Oct 10 '16 at 09:31
See this 1. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/38964264/openurl-in-ios10 , 2. https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/content/releasenotes/General/WhatsNewIniOS/Articles/iOS10.html , 3. http://pastebin.com/SrhqHjth — Jamshed Alam, Oct 10 '16 at 09:41
@SaurabhJain this code also not working for iOS 10 [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"prefs:root=LOCATION_SERVICES"] options:@{} completionHandler:nil]; — SG iOS Developer, Oct 12 '16 at 13:13

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 22 '17 at 16:49

In order directly open location settings. Use the below code:

// This will open ios devices location settings in iOS 10
  if ([UIApplication instancesRespondToSelector:NSSelectorFromString(@"openURL:options:completionHandler:")]) {
    [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"App-Prefs:root=Privacy&path=LOCATION"] options:@{} completionHandler:nil];
  }
  else {
// This will open ios devices location settings in below iOS 10
    if ([[UIApplication sharedApplication] canOpenURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"prefs:root=LOCATION_SERVICES"]]) {
      [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"prefs:root=LOCATION_SERVICES"]];
    }
  }

"App-Prefs:root" or "prefs:root" are considered as private API's. Avoid using them otherwise the app may get rejected during review. — Tejas K, Jul 24 '18 at 09:05

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered May 02 '17 at 18:59

Got to replace prefs with App-Prefs, here is my Swift helper methods to support both iOS 10 and lower, tested on iOS 9 & 10

class Helper {

    static func openLocationSettings() {
        if #available(iOS 10.0, *) {
            openSettings(url: "App-Prefs:root=Privacy&path=LOCATION")
        } else {
            openSettings(url: "prefs:root=LOCATION_SERVICES")
        }
    }

    static func openSettings(url: String) {
        guard let settingsUrl = URL(string: url), UIApplication.shared.canOpenURL(settingsUrl) else { return }

        if #available(iOS 10.0, *) {
            UIApplication.shared.open(settingsUrl)
        } else {
            UIApplication.shared.openURL(settingsUrl)
        }
    }

}

Example 1 Open Location Settings:

Helper.openLocationSettings()

Example 2 Open Application Settings:

Helper.openSettings(url: UIApplicationOpenSettingsURLString)

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 10 '16 at 09:47

The new method in iOS 10:

//Objective-C
- (void)openURL:(NSURL*)url options:(NSDictionary<NSString *, id> *)options
  completionHandler:(void (^ __nullable)(BOOL success))completion


// Swift
open func open(_ url: URL, options: [String : Any] = [:],
  completionHandler completion: (@escaping (Bool) -> Swift.Void)? = nil)

Opening a URL with iOS 10

// Objective-C
UIApplication *application = [UIApplication sharedApplication];
[application openURL:URL options:@{} completionHandler:nil];

// Swift
UIApplication.shared.open(url, options: [:], completionHandler: nil)

For more info, refer to this link

This code also not working for iOS 10 [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"prefs:root=LOCATION_SERVICES"] options:@{} completionHandler:nil]; — SG iOS Developer, Oct 12 '16 at 13:11

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 10 '16 at 10:30

I would suggest to verify method availability first and then use appropriate method.

   if ([application respondsToSelector:@selector(openURL:options:completionHandler:)]) 
   {
      [application openURL:URL options:@{}
         completionHandler:^(BOOL success) {

            NSLog(@"Open URL Scheme %@: %d",scheme,success);
      }];
   } 
   else 
   {
      BOOL success = [application openURL:URL];
      NSLog(@"Open URL Scheme %@: %d",scheme,success);
   }

Hope this helps.

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 21 '17 at 22:07

0

Add your scheme to your plist as one of your URLSchemes

answered Mar 21 '17 at 22:07

Au Ris

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Sujay · Answer 6 · 2017-03-30T14:14:15.963

prefs:root=LOCATION_SERVICES is working for below iOS 10...so checked for UIApplicationOpenSettingsURLString and App-Prefs:root=Privacy&path=LOCATION. Both are working for me.... Got hint by @Rajan Balan.

if ([[UIApplication sharedApplication] canOpenURL:[NSURL URLWithString:UIApplicationOpenSettingsURLString]]) {
     if(SYSTEM_VERSION_GREATER_THAN(@"10")) {
          [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"App-Prefs:root=Privacy&path=LOCATION"]];

          // Below code is also working in iOS 10 to open location services
          // [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString: UIApplicationOpenSettingsURLString]];

     } else {
          [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"prefs:root=LOCATION_SERVICES"]];
     }
}

Where

#define SYSTEM_VERSION_EQUAL_TO(v)                  ([[[UIDevice currentDevice] systemVersion] compare:v options:NSNumericSearch] == NSOrderedSame)
#define SYSTEM_VERSION_GREATER_THAN(v)              ([[[UIDevice currentDevice] systemVersion] compare:v options:NSNumericSearch] == NSOrderedDescending)
#define SYSTEM_VERSION_GREATER_THAN_OR_EQUAL_TO(v)  ([[[UIDevice currentDevice] systemVersion] compare:v options:NSNumericSearch] != NSOrderedAscending)
#define SYSTEM_VERSION_LESS_THAN(v)                 ([[[UIDevice currentDevice] systemVersion] compare:v options:NSNumericSearch] == NSOrderedAscending)
#define SYSTEM_VERSION_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL_TO(v)     ([[[UIDevice currentDevice] systemVersion] compare:v options:NSNumericSearch] != NSOrderedDescending)

The “prefs” URL Scheme not working in iOS 10

6 Answers6