Share associations gone

[BikeFlagAZ]

After updating to iPadOS, my file type associations are all gone. For example, if I e-mail myself an Excel file, the share sheet does not offer Excel as an option. Instead, I get a few generic choices such as Airdrop, Messages, Mail. Tried the “More” button but no luck.

Tried the same with GPX and KMZ files, but no longer see my GPS program or Google Earth as choices.

Any way to fix this? My iPad Pro 12.9 (2017 model) is barely usable since the update.

 

[twerppoet]

The Share Sheet has changed; but your Excel app is still there.

Once you open the Share Sheet, only your favorites will be at the very top. After that will come all other compatible apps under suggestions. You can choose the Edit button to move apps to Favorites. Only favorites can be arrainged in order. The Suggestions will re-order based on what iOS thinks you want most. Another words, if they’re not in favorites, the apps you use the most will move forward in the Suggestions section; eventually.

Obviously I don’t use Excel very often.

There is a very detailed review of iPadOS at MacStories. It has chapters, so you can skip straight to the files and share sheet sections. If you use Files a lot (as I do) then I heavly recommend reading it. The changes made may be confusing at first, you’ll find a lot of new features and more controls have are available under the hood.

 

[BikeFlagAZ]

The Share Sheet has changed; but your Excel app is still there.

Once you open the Share Sheet, only your favorites will be at the very top. After that will come all other compatible apps under suggestions.

View attachment 87700

Thanks for the suggestions, twerppoet, but I am still no closer to a solution, even after reading up on Macstories.

The problem is that this statement just isn’t true:
“After that will come all other compatible apps under suggestions”


I know Excel is still on the iPad, but it does NOT appear in either the Favorites nor in the Suggestions, so I can’t open an Excel e-mail attachment without saving first, finding the file with Files, and then opening it, a long and slow process relative to the old method where I could directly Open in Excel. Editing the Suggestions does nothing, as Excel is not in the list and there does not appear to be a way to add it to the list.


The situation is far worse with the KML, KMZ and GPX files and the Google Earth app. My GPS app (GAIA) will export these file types by sending them to me in an e-mail attachment.
In previous versions of iOS, I could just long-press on the attachment and then Open in Google Earth.
With iPadOS, Google Earth does not appear in either Favorites or Suggestions, so I can’t open the attachment directly. Worse, there is no way to open the KMZ, KML, or GPX file files from within the Google Earth app itself, so I’m stuck.

I’ve tried deleting and reinstalling a few apps, hoping they would appear in the Suggestions, but no luck there either.

So I’m still stuck, unable to do things I’ve done on a daily basis for years with previous versions of iOS.

Any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BikeFlagAZ]

Addendum:
I just tested and found that none of these problems are occurring on my iPhone XR running iOS 13.1
The share sheets are showing the correct applications for a given file type, unlike the iPad running iPadOS.

Hopefully they’ll get this resolved as it’s a real pain.

 

[twerppoet]

I certainly sounds like a bug and/or update issue. Not a common one or we would be seeing a lot more complaints. Not that that it being uncommon helps you.

The next thing I would try would be to Reset All Settings under Settings > General > Reset. This won’t erase content or apps, but will return all settlings to default. It has been known to clear up some kinds of problems after an update. You will need to go back through your settings and tweak them to your preferences.

Be careful not to confuse this with the Erase all Contents and Settings; but don’t panic when it looks like that’s what it is doing. The process looks similar, but the outcome is not.

I can’t think of any other possible solution at this point, short of re-installing iPadOS on your device. If you live near an Apple Store, I’d take it in and have them look at it. Last I checked they will do a backup and restore of your iPad in-store, for free.

You can also try chatting with Appel’s Tech Support using the Apple Support app. Just drill down until it asks for a description of your issue. I don’t think you’ll be charged for using this method, but if there are charges they will make that clear before proceeding.

If you decide to to the restore yourself, make sure you have good backups of not only your iPad (iTunes or iCloud), but of any documents that may not be stored in iCloud (or other cloud services). Then do a full restore.

Good luck

 

[BikeFlagAZ]

Settings > General > Reset did the trick!

Thanks so much.

 

[twerppoet]

No problem. Glad to help.

 

[BikeFlagAZ]

Well, I’m back to ground zero again.
Running 13.2.3 and all share associations are blown out again.
Tried “Reset all settings” but no luck this time.

About ready to give up, can’t get any work done.


Update:
I deleted Google Earth, rebooted the iPad, did a “Reset all settings”, rebooted again, and finally reinstalled Google Earth and got the share associations to work.

I’ve had to do this about five times since IOS 13 was released.

 

[twerppoet]

At this point I’d consider doing a clean reinstall of iOS on the iPad. You’ll wan to make sure you have a good backup, not only a back up of your iPad, but an independent backup of any important files (just in case restoring from the back up also the problem).

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings

If you have an Apple Store near you, you could set up an appointment to have then do this for you. Or just look at the iPad and see if there is any hardware/memory issues that could be causing the issue.

 

[BikeFlagAZ]

At this point I’d consider doing a clean reinstall of iOS on the iPad. You’ll wan to make sure you have a good backup, not only a back up of your iPad, but an independent backup of any important files (just in case restoring from the back up also the problem).

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings

If you have an Apple Store near you, you could set up an appointment to have then do this for you. Or just look at the iPad and see if there is any hardware/memory issues that could be causing the issue.

I did a clean install a few weeks ago, but things only worked properly until the next IOS update. The nearest Apple store is a 300 mile round trip drive, but I’ll have them look at it the next time I’m in Phoenix.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[twerppoet]

No problem. Really no idea whats going on.