Focus Border Ignores Simulated Keyboard Events with Full Keyboard Access On

[bananaRanger]

Hello dear Appium team!

A clear description of the problem

When the Full Keyboard Access option is enabled in the iOS Simulator, we use WebDriverAgent’s fb_performIOHIDEventWithPage method to simulate keyboard events. We expect these events (such as Tab or arrow keys) to move the system focus border accordingly. However, the behavior is the same as if Full Keyboard Access were disabled—no focus change occurs.

A step-by-step set of instructions to reproduce the problem

1. Launch the iOS Simulator.
2. Enable the Full Keyboard Access option in the accessibility settings.
3. Use WebDriverAgent’s fb_performIOHIDEventWithPage method to simulate keyboard input (e.g., Tab, arrow keys).
4. Observe the system focus border.

What results you expected

We expected Tab and arrow key events to update the current focus of the system focus border, as they would when using a physical keyboard with Full Keyboard Access enabled.

What results you saw

There was no change in focus. The system behaved as if Full Keyboard Access was not enabled at all.

The version of Xcode you are using

Xcode: Version 16.3 (16E140)
Simulator: iPhone 16 Pro (iOS 18.4 and 18.1)
Simulator: iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) (iPadOS 17.5)

Thank you!

[mykola-mokhnach]

It might be testmanagerd limits the application of iohid events because of system security considerations.
This is only an assumption as the above API is a complete black box to us.