PanGestureHandler "Failed to obtain view" error in SDK 54 even after migration to new Gesture API

[nickdeupree]

Description:
After upgrading to Expo SDK 54 ([[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]), [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])), I am consistently seeing the following error when the app renders certain screens:

ERROR  [Error: [Gesture Handler] Failed to obtain view for PanGestureHandler. 
Note that old API doesn't support functional components.]

This did not occur in SDK 53, even though PanGestureHandler was already deprecated then. In 54, it seems much stricter and blocks rendering entirely.

---

Steps taken / current setup:

1. Removed all direct usage of PanGestureHandler and Swipeable in my own code. Migrated swiping to Gesture.Pan() + GestureDetector with Reanimated shared values.

2. Replaced Swipeable rows with custom GestureDetector wrappers.

3. Ensured every Modal is wrapped with a local GestureHandlerRootView.

4. Top-level App.tsx wraps everything in GestureHandlerRootView and includes import 'react-native-gesture-handler' at the very top.

5. Verified only one RNGH version installed (2.28.0).

6. Cleared Metro, watchman, build caches.

7. Babel config:

   module.exports = function (api) {
     api.cache(true);
     return {
       presets: ['babel-preset-expo'],
       plugins: [
         'nativewind/babel',
         [
           'module-resolver',
           {
             root: ['./'],
             alias: {
               '@': './',
               'tailwind.config': './tailwind.config.js',
             },
           },
         ],
         'react-native-reanimated/plugin', // last
       ],
     };
   };

8. Ran project-wide search for PanGestureHandler, Swipeable, State imports. None left in app code.

---

Problem:
Despite the migration, the runtime still throws this error when certain screens mount. This happens even though:

• No legacy RNGH components are imported in my app code.
• Modals are wrapped with GestureHandlerRootView.
• Functional components should be supported with the new API.

It looks like something (maybe internal to RNGH or a dependent library) is still mounting the old PanGestureHandler. This didn’t crash in SDK 53, but does in 54.

---

Questions / Request:

• Has support for the old API been removed more aggressively in SDK 54?
• Is there a way to trace or silence this error if it’s coming from a third-party library that hasn’t migrated yet?
• Can RNGH provide a compatibility shim or clearer stack trace to identify which component is mounting the old handler?

---

Environment:

• Expo SDK 54
• react-native-gesture-handler 2.28.0
• react-native-reanimated 3.x
• React Navigation 6.x
• Expo managed workflow

---

This issue is blocking migration since the app ran in SDK 53 but now crashes in SDK 54. Any guidance on how to safely transition (or identify the offending component) would be appreciated.

---

[raffidahmad]

Same problems

[m-bert]

Hi! This error was added in 2.22.0, so it's been there for a while. I'm not sure which version was included in Expo SDK 53, but I think it was already there.

IIRC react-navigation may use PanGestureHandler, have you followed their migration guides (if any is applicable)?

[corysimmons]

Just downgrade Expo to 52 and never upgrade again. Expo 43+ introduces React 19 and is buggy because it uses React 19 and this ecosystem won't support React 19 for another 20 years.