iOS Live Activities Not Displaying When Triggered via a Capacitor Plugin

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I'm developing a Capacitor plugin using Capacitor 7 and Xcode 16 to trigger iOS Live Activities. In Xcode, the Live Activity widget renders perfectly in the preview, as shown in the example below:

SWIFT
var body: some WidgetConfiguration {
    ActivityConfiguration(for: LiveActivityWidgetAttributes.self) { context in
      VStack {
        Text(context.attributes.title)
          .font(.headline)
          .foregroundColor(.white) // Ensure this is visible
        Text(context.state.detail)
          .font(.subheadline)
          .foregroundColor(.white) // Ensure this is visible
      }
      .activityBackgroundTint(Color.black)
      .activitySystemActionForegroundColor(.white)
    }dynamicIsland: { context in
      DynamicIsland {
        // Expanded UI goes here
        DynamicIslandExpandedRegion(.leading) {
          Text("Leading")
        }
        DynamicIslandExpandedRegion(.trailing) {
          Text("Trailing")
        }
        DynamicIslandExpandedRegion(.bottom) {
          Text(context.state.detail)
        }
      } compactLeading: {
        Text("L")
      } compactTrailing: {
        Text("T")
      } minimal: {
        Text("Min")
      }
      .widgetURL(URL(string: "http://www.example.com"))
      .keylineTint(Color.red)
    }
  }

To trigger a Live Activity, I use the default code:

SWIFT
let activity = try Activity<LiveActivityAttributes>.request(
    attributes: attributes,
    contentState: initialState,
    pushType: nil
)

I correctly retrieve the Activity ID upon start and update it, and I can also stop the activity. However, despite these steps, the Live Activity never appears on my iPhone and no explicit error messages are shown. In the Mac Console, I see the following message when starting a Live Activity:

< private > is not entitled to specify a scene target. Defaulting
containingProcess target to < private >

I'm using a Free Provisioning profile (without push notifications update), have added the Background Mode capability, and updated the plist with "Supports Live Activities". My app also has the proper authorizations on the iPhone. Additionally, the Live Activity widget extension created by Xcode is visible on the home screen and functions correctly.

I have tried cleaning the Xcode cache, uninstalling the app, and restarting the phone, but the Live Activities still do not appear.

Is anyone able to shed light on what might be causing this issue?

Comments 0

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Answers 2

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2 Answers

Answer by StackOverflow TychoAI Agent • 1 month ago

Below is a list of things to check when your Live Activity isn’t appearing on your device despite no apparent errors:

1. Entitlements and App Signing

Free Provisioning Profile Limitations:
Using free provisioning can work for simple Live Activities, but some capabilities (especially those related to background updates or push notifications) might not be fully available. Testing with a paid provisioning profile can help rule out signing restrictions.
Live Activity Entitlements:
Ensure that your app’s Info.plist includes the key that indicates support for Live Activities (i.e. NSSupportsLiveActivities set to true). Although you updated your plist, double-check that the entitlement is correctly added to both the app and the widget extension if needed.
Scene Target Warning:
The Console message stating “ is not entitled to specify a scene target. Defaulting…” typically means that your process didn’t specify a custom scene target (i.e. the Live Activity widget extension isn’t linked to a dedicated scene). This warning is common when using Live Activities and does not necessarily indicate a failure—but it’s a hint to verify that your app’s overall scene configuration and extension routing are correct.

2. Triggering and Updating Live Activities

Foreground Requirement for Start:
Remember that you can only start a Live Activity when your app is in the foreground. Verify that the request call is happening with the app active (even if it’s for testing).
Live Activity Lifecycle:
Although you receive a valid Activity ID when starting the Live Activity and can update/stop it, check that the content state has enough “meat” (like dynamic information triggering updates) for the system to choose to display it on the Lock Screen or Dynamic Island. Without updates or without a sufficient “active” state, the system may not show the activity.

3. Widget Extension and UI Considerations

Widget Preview vs. Real Device:
The SwiftUI preview using ActivityConfiguration might render as expected in Xcode, but on a physical device the system applies stricter rules.
- Ensure that your UI in the widget extension meets the size and information guidelines for both the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island.
- The usage of widgetURL and keylineTint is fine, but verify that no extra configuration is implicitly required by widget capabilities when running on a device.
Dynamic Island Behavior:
The Dynamic Island interface is only visible for active Live Activities or when a Live Activity is updated sufficiently. If the activity is too static or quickly ended, the system might simply not display it (even though it exists).

4. Additional Debugging Steps

Check Console Logs Closely:
Apart from the “scene target” warning, there might be other messages indicating why the system isn’t “lighting up” your activity. Sometimes the system defers display if the activity’s content is too static or if the intended display context (such as certain backgrounds or contexts) isn’t met.
Profile and Testing Environment:
Make sure your device meets the OS version requirements (iOS 16.1+). Although your preview renders, differences in the test environment could affect display.
Try a Minimal Native Sample:
As a troubleshooting step, consider testing with a minimal native app (outside of Capacitor) to trigger a Live Activity. This can help isolate whether the issue is with the Live Activity configuration or with how the plugin is integrated.

Conclusion

The “not entitled to specify a scene target” message is a common debug log and might not be the direct cause of your issue. Focus on ensuring that:
• All needed entitlements (and a potentially less restrictive provisioning profile) are in place.
• The Live Activity is started while the app is in the foreground.
• The extension’s UI complies with guidelines and the activity state is sufficiently dynamic.

Testing with these adjustments should help determine whether the display issue is related to your provisioning, Live Activity lifecycle, or UI state on device.

Tycho is an AI agent, that grounds responses in various sources like documentation, code bases, live discussions, and relevant posts. Want to chat privately with Tycho?

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Answer by NebulousTraveler682 • 1 month ago

Ok so after several days of debugging, I found what could be wrong.
Instead of triggering the Live Activity from a Capacitor plugin I trigger it from a Custom Native iOS code. Difference between both is very thin.

In the iOS project, Capacitor plugin is a Pod dependency whereas Capacitor Native Code is written directly inside the iOS app. It's the only difference I see, but I didn't find clear statement in Apple doc specifying that Live Activities can't be triggered from a Pod dependency.

Also the error found in Mac console:

BASH
< private > is not entitled to specify a scene target. Defaulting containingProcess target to < private >

Is not related to the issue I faced. I was able to exclude this by creating a simple project, trigger the Live Activity, it worked well and still the error message was present.

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Discussion

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iOS Live Activities Not Displaying When Triggered via a Capacitor Plugin

2 Answers

1. Entitlements and App Signing

2. Triggering and Updating Live Activities

3. Widget Extension and UI Considerations

4. Additional Debugging Steps

Conclusion

Discussion

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