VoiceOver focus order breaks when UI is updated asynchronously

[coolsoftwaretyler]

Description

When UI is updated from some asynchronous call like setTimeout, it seems the focus order of elements on the screens becomes broken (even when that focus order is correct before the UI change). The focus order jumps outside of the app (into the OS status bar, it seems?) and becomes trapped.

This seems like it may be related to #49462, but there are a few important differences I want to focus on:

1. No keyboard behavior at all.
2. This is not a problem that needs to be solved with custom focus order: the focus order is originally correct in a simple screen, but breaks when UI is changed from a setTimeout (I'm assuming it has something to do with being an async UI update, but I haven't discovered enough details yet to back up that claim)

Steps to reproduce

1. Install the reproducer on an iPhone device
2. Open the application
3. Turn on VoiceOver
4. Walk through the screen. The focus order should work as you'd expect (goes down the screen in-order as elements are written)
5. Move the focus back up to the "A" button and double tap to use it. UI is updated
6. Move focus down the screen to the "B" button. It should work as it did in your first pass.
7. Double tap the "B" button, wait for text to update to "2 new messages"
8. Swipe to move focus down. Now you'll notice a few issues:

First issue: we read out the stale "checking for new messages" text, which is no longer visible if you waited for the messages to be checked and resolve to "2 new messages"

Second issue: if you try to move focus past "2 new messages" by swiping right, your focus jumps up to the top of the screen, and then you can't get out of it by swiping left or right.

React Native Version

0.87.0

Affected Platforms

Runtime - iOS

Output of npx @react-native-community/cli info

System:
  OS: macOS 26.6.2
  CPU: (16) arm64 Apple M3 Max
  Memory: 500.75 MB / 48.00 GB
  Shell:
    version: "5.9"
    path: /bin/zsh
Binaries:
  Node:
    version: 24.2.0
    path: /Users/tylerwilliams/.asdf/installs/nodejs/24.2.0/bin/node
  Yarn:
    version: 1.22.22
    path: /Users/tylerwilliams/.asdf/shims/yarn
  npm:
    version: 11.3.0
    path: /Users/tylerwilliams/.asdf/installs/nodejs/24.2.0/bin/npm
  Watchman:
    version: 2026.05.11.00
    path: /opt/homebrew/bin/watchman
Managers:
  CocoaPods:
    version: 1.16.2
    path: /Users/tylerwilliams/.asdf/shims/pod
SDKs:
  iOS SDK:
    Platforms:
      - DriverKit 25.5
      - iOS 26.5
      - macOS 26.5
      - tvOS 26.5
      - visionOS 26.5
      - watchOS 26.5
  Android SDK:
    API Levels:
      - "31"
      - "34"
      - "35"
      - "36"
      - "36"
      - "37"
    Build Tools:
      - 30.0.3
      - 33.0.1
      - 34.0.0
      - 35.0.0
      - 36.0.0
      - 37.0.0
    System Images:
      - android-29 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-31 | Google APIs ARM 64 v8a
      - android-32 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-33 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-34 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-35 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-36.1 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-36 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-37.1 | 16 KB Page Size Google Play ARM 64 v8a
    Android NDK: Not Found
IDEs:
  Android Studio: 2026.1 AI-261.26222.65.2613.15948027
  Xcode:
    version: 26.6/17F113
    path: /usr/bin/xcodebuild
Languages:
  Java:
    version: 17.0.13
    path: /usr/bin/javac
  Ruby:
    version: 3.3.4
    path: /Users/tylerwilliams/.asdf/shims/ruby
npmPackages:
  "@react-native-community/cli":
    installed: 20.2.0
    wanted: 20.2.0
  react:
    installed: 19.2.3
    wanted: 19.2.3
  react-native:
    installed: 0.87.0
    wanted: 0.87.0
  react-native-macos: Not Found
npmGlobalPackages:
  "*react-native*": Not Found
Android:
  hermesEnabled: true
  newArchEnabled: true
iOS:
  hermesEnabled: true
  newArchEnabled: true

Stacktrace or Logs

No stack trace or log, it's not a crash or failure, just incorrect behavior.

MANDATORY Reproducer

https://github.com/coolsoftwaretyler/focusissues

Screenshots and Videos

ScreenRecording_08-25-2026.11-02-59_1.MP4

[coolsoftwaretyler]

Heads up, I can only reproduce this on a physical device with VoiceOver. Using the Accessibility inspector via Xcode on a Simulator exhibits the behavior I would expect.

CleanShot.2026-08-25.at.13.27.17.mp4