[Trainer-Talk] Fwd: [aphmantischameleonuser] Critical issues with iOS 17 beta and Mantis

[Humberto Avila]

Hi Folks,


Check this out. I believe it is a critically important message coming 
from the Great Jonathan Mosen if you're using or instructing with the 
APH Mantis Q40 or similar HID protocol Braille display. I plan to report 
my feedback myself. The more they hear from users the more likely it is 
to gain attention.

Just FYI and have a good rest of the summer!


JAWS Certified, 2022 <https://freedomscientific.com/training/certification>

NVDA Certified Expert <https://certification.nvaccess.org>


-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: 	[aphmantischameleonuser] Critical issues with iOS 17 beta and 
Mantis
Date: 	Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:19:07 +1200
From: 	Jonathan Mosen <jmosen at mosen.org>
Reply-To: 	aphmantischameleonuser at freelists.org
To: 	aphmantischameleonuser at freelists.org



Hi all.
iOS 17 is in beta at the moment. Beta software has bugs. That is to be 
expected, so I've refrained from posting about this issue here until 
now. I have however contacted HumanWare directly and they have been able 
to duplicate my findings. They are trying to reach out to Apple.
I am raising it here now first to see if anyone else is running the iOS 
17 beta with a Mantis and is experiencing what I am about to describe, 
and second in case there is anyone here who may have the ability to try 
and alert Apple to just how serious this is. It's a judgement call about 
when to sound the alarm, and it is not my intention to concern people 
unnecessarily. But at this point, time is running out. There have been 
issues with the Mantis right throughout this beta cycle. The first few 
builds would not take keyboard input in edit fields but Braille worked 
fine. That issue was replaced in developer beta 4 with the problem in 
reverse. When you install a new build of iOS on an iPhone, and I have 
verified this on two different iPhone models, everything works 
beautifully initially. You can restart VoiceOver as much as you want, 
and all works as advertised.
The problems begin when you restart the Mantis. At that point, the 
Mantis connects to the iPhone, but it only works as a keyboard, not a 
Braille display. The usual trick of choosing the Reconnect option from 
the menu on the Mantis does not resolve the problem, nor does rebooting 
the iPhone or the Mantis. I have seen a few occasions where I can bring 
the full functionality back to life from the Power Off screen of iOS. I 
have no idea why this works sometimes and it does not work every time. 
Sometimes, if you completely unpair the iPhone and Mantis, then pair 
them again, you'll get lucky for a while until the problem recurs, but 
most of the time, even that doesn't work.
The upshot of this is that mostly, the Mantis only works as a keyboard, 
and not as a display.
We expect the Apple event on around about 12 September, with the Golden 
Master of iOS 17 that week, so time is rapidly running out for a fix. We 
also know that Braille bugs tend to hang around iOS for a while.
In discussing this on Mastodon, I am told by one person that the HIMS 
QBraille XL is exhibiting similar issues. I don't know if that device 
connects to iOS via the Braille HID protocol but my hunch is that this 
is the culprit.
As you can appreciate, if you can't use Braille reliably on your Mantis 
then this is a show stopper. It would certainly stop me not just from 
upgrading on my primary device, but also from buying an iPhone 15 since 
I wouldn't be able to use it with my Mantis. This poses not just a 
productivity problem, but a potential safety risk for DeafBlind people 
if they upgrade and find they have lost reliable Braille entirely.
I would be very interested in hearing if anyone else is testing and 
whether they can confirm this. It's possible that there is some variable 
affecting some people but not others, although as I say, HumanWare are 
also seeing it.
I am hopeful that we might be able to get this resolved before it causes 
really serious issues. But we don't have long.

Jonathan Mosen MNZM
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