Swift default AlertViewController breaking constraints

I am trying to use a default AlertViewController with style .actionSheet. For some reason, the alert causes a constraint error. As long as the alertController is not triggered (displayed) through a button, there are no constraint errors on the whole view. Could it be that this is a bug of Xcode?

The exact error I get looks like this:

2019-04-12 15:33:29.584076+0200 Appname[4688:39368] [LayoutConstraints] Unable to simultaneously satisfy constraints.
    Probably at least one of the constraints in the following list is one you don't want. 
    Try this: 
        (1) look at each constraint and try to figure out which you don't expect; 
        (2) find the code that added the unwanted constraint or constraints and fix it. 
(
    "<NSLayoutConstraint:0x6000025a1e50 UIView:0x7f88fcf6ce60.width == - 16   (active)>"
)

Will attempt to recover by breaking constraint 
<NSLayoutConstraint:0x6000025a1e50 UIView:0x7f88fcf6ce60.width == - 16   (active)>

This is the code I use:

@objc func changeProfileImageTapped(){
        print("ChangeProfileImageButton tapped!")
        let alert = UIAlertController(title: "Change your profile image", message: nil, preferredStyle: .actionSheet)

        alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Photo Library", style: .default, handler: nil))
        alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Online Stock Library", style: .default, handler: nil))
        alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Cancel", style: .cancel, handler: nil))
        alert.view.tintColor = ColorCodes.logoPrimaryColor

        self.present(alert, animated: true)
    }

As you can see, it is very basic. That's why I am very confused about the strange behavior I get as this default implementation should not cause any errors, right?

Output I get

Although, through breaking the constraints, the alert displays properly on all screen sizes I would be really thankful for any help I get.


The following removes the warning without needing to disable animation. And assuming Apple eventually fixes the root cause of the warning, it shouldn't break anything else.

extension UIAlertController {
    func pruneNegativeWidthConstraints() {
        for subView in self.view.subviews {
            for constraint in subView.constraints where constraint.debugDescription.contains("width == - 16") {
                subView.removeConstraint(constraint)
            }
        }
    }
}

This can then be used like this:

// After all addActions(...), just before calling present(...)
alertController.pruneNegativeWidthConstraints()

This error is not critical, seems to be unfixed bug form Apple. This constraint appears in animation style just after presenting. enter image description here I tried to catch and change it (change values, relations, priority) before presenting – no success because of this dynamically added constraints.

When you turn off animation in self.present(alert, animated: false) and using alert.view.addSubview(UIView()) – the error disappears. I can't explain it, but it works!

let alert = UIAlertController(title: "Change your profile image", message: nil, preferredStyle: .actionSheet)

alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Photo Library", style: .default, handler: nil))
alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Online Stock Library", style: .default, handler: nil))
let cancel = UIAlertAction(title: "Cancel", style: .destructive, handler: nil)

alert.addAction(cancel)
alert.view.addSubview(UIView()) // I can't explain it, but it works!

self.present(alert, animated: false)

It's a new bug in iOS versions:

  • 12.2
  • 12.3
  • 12.4
  • 13.0
  • 13.1
  • 13.2
  • 13.2.3
  • 13.3
  • 13.4
  • 13.4.1
  • 13.5
  • 13.6
  • 14.0
  • 14.2
  • 14.4

The only thing we can do is to file a bug report to Apple (I just did that and you should too).

I'll try to update answer for a new version(s) of iOS when it come out.


Adding to this answer...This seems to remove the issue for me and doesn't require any changes to existing code.

extension UIAlertController {
    override open func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        pruneNegativeWidthConstraints()
    }

    func pruneNegativeWidthConstraints() {
        for subView in self.view.subviews {
            for constraint in subView.constraints where constraint.debugDescription.contains("width == - 16") {
                subView.removeConstraint(constraint)
            }
        }
    }
}

Safe Solution

You should not remove the constraint because it is used in the future with a correct value.

As an alternative, you can change its constant to a positive value:

class PXAlertController: UIAlertController {
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()

        for subview in self.view.subviews {
            for constraint in subview.constraints {
                if constraint.firstAttribute == .width && constraint.constant == -16 {
                    constraint.constant = 10 // Any positive value
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

And then to initialize your controller use:

let controller = PXAlertController(title: "Title", message: "Message", preferredStyle: .actionSheet)