Universal Links failing for some users but working for others

Question

Created 1d

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Hi, We are facing an issue where Universal Links are working for most users but failing for some of our clients. For affected users:

Links open in Safari instead of the app, or Universal link routing does not work as expected

For other users:

The same links open the app correctly

What we verified

Associated Domains capability is configured correctly AASA file is valid and accessible App configuration and bundle ID mapping are correct AASA: https://www.gartner.com/apple-app-site-association

Issue Since the problem is only affecting a subset of users, we are unable to:

Reproduce the issue consistently Identify when or why the association breaks

Ask Has anyone experienced:

Universal Links failing only for certain users/devices?

What are the possible causes and how can we debug or proactively identify the root cause in such cases?

Any guidance would be helpful. Thanks!

Answer 1

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

23h

Thank you so much for the post.

To start I would like to let you know the location for the AASA is incorrect AASA: https://www.gartner.com/apple-app-site-association

I recommend that you review the Universal Tech Note, which provides guidance on the appropriate hosting location for the AASA file.

Example: https://example.com/.well-known/apple-app-site-association

Tech Note: TN3155: Debugging universal links | Apple Developer Documentation

I also recommend to follow the guidelines and use the troubleshooting in that tech note as well.

Hope this helps.

Albert  WWDR

Answer 2

Nethaji426 OP

11h

Thank you for your response and for sharing

The AASA URL included in my post was provided as a reference. We do host the AASA file in the supported location (/.well-known/apple-app-site-association) and have verified that it is accessible and valid.

Our primary challenge is that Universal Links are working correctly for the majority of users, but a small subset of users experience failures where the same links open in Safari instead of the app. Since the issue is intermittent and user-specific, we have been unable to reliably reproduce it. We are particularly interested in understanding:

Whether there are known device-level or user-level conditions that can cause Universal Links to stop working. How to determine if the AASA association has become stale or invalid on specific devices. Any diagnostic logs or troubleshooting steps that can help identify why Universal Links are failing only for certain users.

We will review the troubleshooting guidance in TN3155, but any insights into debugging intermittent, user-specific Universal Link failures would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Answer 3

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

2h

Thank you for your response. The user can also opt out of Universal Links by declining to open the app when requested, and the device will remember the user’s intention. I recommend checking the swutil file for registration and the user’s declining to open the app, as this will cause the app to open in the Safari browser as the user intended.

So it's not a link failure but is part of the system. Requesting their sysdiagnose will help you to figure it out what the user intention was.

Albert  WWDR