Why would this code work on iPhone 5, 4 and 4s but not 5s?

Question

I have the below code for adding some UIBarButtons to my project. This works just fine on the following:

All on iOS 7.1

• Simulator iPhone Retina 3.5 inch;
• Simulator iPhone Retina 4 inch;
• Simulator iPhone Retina 4 inch (64 bit)
• Iphone 4
• iPhone 4s

I don't have an iPhone 5 device to test though.

It doesn't work on a new iPhone 5s. Whats different?

Here is the code:

    -(void)setupNavigationBar
{
    self.saveSearchButton =  [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeCustom];
    [self.saveSearchButton setImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"Save Search"] forState:UIControlStateNormal];
    [self.saveSearchButton setImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"Save Search Active"] forState:UIControlStateHighlighted|UIControlStateSelected];
    [self.saveSearchButton addTarget:self action:@selector(saveSearchButtonpressed)forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
    [self.saveSearchButton setFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 23, 31)];

     self.changeLayutButton =  [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeCustom];
    [self.changeLayutButton setImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"View List"] forState:UIControlStateNormal];
    [self.changeLayutButton setImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"View Grid"] forState:UIControlStateHighlighted|UIControlStateSelected];
    [self.changeLayutButton addTarget:self action:@selector(changeViewLayoutButtonPressed)forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
    [self.changeLayutButton setFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 23, 31)];

    self.sortByButton =  [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeCustom];
    [self.sortByButton setImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"Sort By"] forState:UIControlStateNormal];
    [self.sortByButton setImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"Sort By Active"] forState:UIControlStateHighlighted|UIControlStateSelected];
    [self.sortByButton addTarget:self action:@selector(sortByButtonPressed)forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
    [self.sortByButton setFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 23, 31)];

    UIBarButtonItem *fixedItem = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemFixedSpace target:nil action:nil];
    fixedItem.width = 20;

    UIBarButtonItem *saveSearchButton = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithCustomView:self.saveSearchButton];
    UIBarButtonItem *changeViewButton = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithCustomView:self.changeLayutButton];
    UIBarButtonItem *sortByButton = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithCustomView:self.sortByButton];


    NSArray *barbuttonitems = @[sortByButton, fixedItem, changeViewButton, fixedItem,saveSearchButton];

    self.navigationItem.rightBarButtonItems = barbuttonitems;

    self.lastLayoutUsed = [[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults]objectForKey:@"LastLayoutUsed"];

    if ([self.lastLayoutUsed isEqualToString:@"GridLayout"]){
        self.changeLayutButton.selected = YES;
        [NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:0.0 target:self selector:@selector(highlightButton:) userInfo:self.changeLayutButton repeats:NO];
    }
}

I've stepped through the code and all the properties are not nil and have valid values. I've checked all images are the correct side, too.

How would this work on every device on simulator and not an actual iPhone 5S?

Also, since the two phones (iPhone 4S and 5S) have the exact same screen width and iOS version I am really puzzled?

The buttons don't show up at all. No compiler warning and no console errors.

UPDATE

Tested the above code on a iPhone 5 and it works just fine. This leads be to believe it must be something to do with the 64bit of the iPhone 5S?

UPDATE 2

Removed all the code from the method and changed it to a very simple button like this:

         self.saveSearchButton =  [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeCustom];
[self.saveSearchButton setTitle:@"Save" forState:UIControlStateNormal];
    [self.saveSearchButton setTintColor:[UIColor blueColor]];
    UIBarButtonItem *saveSearchButton = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithCustomView:self.saveSearchButton];
    self.navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem = saveSearchButton;

This now doesn't work on any devices or simulators.

What am I doing wrong here?

Update 3 - Solution!

Right, so it was one simple thing that caused all this fuss. I declared my UIButtons as weak and not strong - I was under the impression that UI elements needed to be weak as they go off view so often?

I came to this answer with the help from the comments section.

This also does not explain why it works on iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 when declared as weak. It also worked on the 64 bit simulator declared as weak

Does this mean the 64bit simulator is to be used as a guide and actual testing must be done on the device as it seems the simulator is not accurate when it comes to UIKit testing?

I'd love to know more about this.

Answer 1

The problem was that [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeCustom] doesn't leave an instance of the object as is stated in the Apple Docs. And the UIBarButton expects an instance of some sorts. https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/uikit/reference/UIButton_Class/UIButton/UIButton.html

The solution as is stated in the AppleDocs is using the alloc+init construction to make a button.

buttonWithType:

"This method is a convenience constructor for creating button objects with specific configurations. If you subclass UIButton, this method does not return an instance of your subclass. If you want to create an instance of a specific subclass, you must alloc/init the button directly."

Answer 2

If your properties are weak, and you directly assign a newly created object to them, then by the rules of ARC they should immediately be deallocated and set to nil, since nothing else holds a strong reference to them. The fact that is was working on other devices / simulators was an accident of implementation.

There is no real need to use weak properties for UI elements now that views are not unloaded under memory pressure conditions any more. If you do still want to use weak properties, the correct pattern to use is to create a local (strong) reference, add it to a superview, and then assign to the property - at this point the button will have an owning reference (the superview) so will not be removed by ARC:

UIButton *button = [UIButton buttonWithType:whatever];
[self.view addSubview:button];
self.button = button;

Answer 3

@TotumusMaximus You have misunderstood what the documentation is saying. Note the first part:

If you subclass UIButton...

What this means is that if you try to do [MyAwesomeButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeCustom], the object that will be created will be a UIButton instance, NOT a MyAwesomeButton instance. In order to get a MyAwesomeButton instance, then you would need to do [[MyAwesomeButton alloc] init]. There are no button subclasses involved in the OP's problem, so this portion of the documentation does not apply here.