[Troubleshooting] iOS Simulators are no longer available in Rider on Mac
iOS simulators disappearing might be related to several issues on their own. They might be:
- Not listed at all;
- Greyed out.
Thus, it may be useful to try troubleshooting steps listed below first:
From Rider's Side
Delete .idea folder
Find it in the Help > Diagnostic Tools > Special Files and Folders > PROJECT StorePath. Delete it in the physical path mentioned and restart Rider;
- Try EAP or nightly version
Download the EAP version using this link. EAP is usually packed with all sorts of different improvements. Hence, it might hit a known issue.
To get a nightly build, follow the steps below:
- Download and install the JetBrains Toolbox app.
- Find JetBrains Rider in the list of products, click the dots on the right and select Other versions
- Locate a build labeled
Nightlyand clickInstall
From Rider and Xcode
Check if the correct Xcode version is selected in Rider
Go to Rider > Settings > Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment > Apple Platforms > Xcode path. Make sure this path is the same with the Xcode > Settings > Locations > Command Line Tools. If it differs, change one of them to the proper one.
From macOS or Xcode side
Update Xcode
Make sure that the Xcode is up to date in Applications.
Try another Xcode version
Use instructions from this StackOverFlow thread or some third-party apps like Xcodes.
Make sure required Simulators are downloaded
Use the Xcode documentation to add simulators if required.
- iOS platform is installed
Make sure that not only Simulators are installed in Xcode > Settings > Components, but iOS platform as well:
Re-install the iOS Platform;
Go to Xcode > Settings > Components > press on the i sign right to the iOS platform > Delete.
Once the platform is deleted, press the Get button in the lower right corner of the same menu and choose the iOS platform to install.
You may also reinstall the Xcode itself using these instructions.
If nothing of the above steps helps or the previous version works only, please contact Support (Help > Contact Support) so we can investigate it further.
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A workaround for me was:
- Download iOS 18.2 simulator runtime from here: https://developer.apple.com/download/all/?q=Xcode
- Run this command in Terminal: xcodebuild -importPlatform /Users/{Your User}/Downloads/iOS_18.2_Simulator_Runtime.dmg
Hope this helps
Wow, does Rider actually work with .net Maui and iOS on Mac? There is just one issue after another since 2024.3 I believe this all ties in with this issue? https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/RIDER-117599/Could-not-load-the-framework-IDEDistribution-on-MacOS-15.0
Putting this here because the answers that worked for me are above, but aren't after other people said nothing works because they were updated answers.
The issue is the 18.3.1 simulator in xcode. I confirmed this while working with my team. It was working for all of us but one guy, and I noticed his components shows “iOS 18.2 + iOS 18.3.1 Simulator” while the rest of us just had iOS 18.2. I clicked the update button in mine, and once it was done, my simulators in Rider went away after I invalidated the cache (closing and reopening might have also done it?).
He downgraded to XCode 16.1, which used iOS 18.1, and his simulators came back. I followed the directions above and manually downloaded the iOS 18.2 Simulator dmg, and as soon as I ran the import command the simulators were instantly back in Rider.
Looks like Jetbrains needs to add support for the 18.3.1 simulator, and Apple needs to not mismatch the version of thier simulator to the iOS component….
Vkroust comment above worked for me.
Uninstall the new 18.2+18.3.1 update then
A workaround for me as suggested by Vkroust was:
- Download iOS 18.2 simulator runtime from here: https://developer.apple.com/download/all/?q=Xcode
- Run this command in Terminal: xcodebuild -importPlatform /Users/{Your User}/Downloads/iOS_18.2_Simulator_Runtime.dmg
Hope this helps
The workarounds above did not work for me. It seems that the current Rider version does not support Xcode 16.2 well.
I think the problem is that Xcode 16.2 installs iOS runtime 18.2 but IOS simulator 18.3.1, not 18.2.
Rider does not seem to like this and xcode does not let you install 18.2 Simulator.
So I managed to get this fixed by downloading manually IOS 18.2 simulator runtime from Apple Developer Portal, then installing it using terminal (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/installing-additional-simulator-runtimes).
Good morning,
I have a similar issue as described above. After migrating the MAUI app to .NET 9, I cannot associate Ios Simulators with Rider anymore. I tried all the above suggestions, but nothing worked.
Rider: 2024.3.5
Xcode: 16.2 (16C5032a)
Everything works fine on Android Emulator.
Does anybody have any other clue?
Does anyone at Rider Team have this working on XCode 16.2? Are you guys able to create .net 9 MAUI app with XCode 16.2 and run simulators?
Yah, I'm not sure why people even suggest that going to 16.1 is an option as you can only use release versions, debug does not work.
I only get the issue with xcode 16.2
Downgrading xcode to 16.1 and the simulators all appear in the list again
Of course this isn't a suitable workaround if I want to target the latest MAUI version, which requires 16.2 to build the app.
None of this works. Seems like every time Xcode has a new build, Rider is useless for months. We may have to abandon Rider. Too bad, our team likes it, but not if they cannot do their work. In our case, we see the simulator list in Rider, but still get the old “Invalid Xcode Simulators” useless message that links to here. Very disappointed in Rider!
What the heck is going on with Rider? For more than a year iOS development on Mac is broken in some form or another. I can only run release simulators, debug never works, and it seems half of other users have the options just greyed out. This is a bit crazy how long bugs for one of the core features is just being left unfixed.
All of the workarounds above don't work for me. I use XCode 16.2 and the latest release rider version and also tried the 2025 EAP Version, still not seeing any simulators in the list.
Hello everyone,
There is currently an issue with the 18.3.1 runtime.
Please downgrade runtime to 18.2 until the fix is available - steps are available in the article. And remember to upvote the bug for updates.
In situations where Rider shows no simulators/devices the following steps may help to resolve the issue.
1. Examine the idea.log
Look into the log for : Cannot read plist file: /Users/{user}/Library/LaunchAgents/com.jetbrains.AppCode.BridgeService.plist where {user} is your username. You will most likely see a “No such file or directory” exception followed by a “Permission denied” exception when Rider tries to write the file.
If you see this then steps (2) to (5) may resolve the issue for you. If not, try the above suggestions.
2. Verify permissions in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents folder
3. Modify permissions to the ~/Library/LaunchAgents folder
4. Delete unavailable simulator devices
5. Invalidate Rider caches and restart
File | Invalidate caches => Invalidate and restart.I have the same issue since I update the Xcode simulator runtime to 18.3.1. Since then, I've reinstalled a couple of Xcodes and simulator runtimes as described above. I've reinstalled Rider and tested the EAP version. No success.
The Rider log says:
So, yes, Rider detects the iOS 18.2 runtime but does not seem to support it (which it does and did before, of course). I don't have the 18.3.1 installed right now.
I've omitted the actual “build preferences” above. For iOS 18.2, for example, they look like this:
What am I looking at here?
Honestly, I dread upgrading xcode because rider almost inevitably messes up and i end up wasting such a lot of time. Right now, after upgrading to latest version of Xcode (16.3), i can't select a valid simulator from an installation on windows connected to my macbook - just says “Invalid Xcode installation”
There might be one thing that prevents Rider to work with my setup: I'm using PartialAppManifest for my .plist files on iOS.
Indeed, I think I have tried all the proposed solutions except reinstalling XCode, but it shouldn't be the issue since my project works in VSCode and all iPhone Simulators are displayed in there.
Hello everyone,
I hope this message finds you well!
In my case, I added lines in the Info.plist for IPAD, which caused me this error, and since I removed those lines, the Simulator started working again.
I hope this can help someone!
Hello Anna Morozyuk , I am getting this issue with the latest EAP and I have done everything suggested here but still it's not working. VSCode on my Mac can detect and deploy to the simulators but rider doesn't
Vkroust You save my day!
I also tried all the above suggestion still its not working. I installed the EAP version still the issue exits.
Im frustrated with the fact that free tools like meteor for vs code work fine while paied rider does not. Maybe it's time to fix this critical stuff instead of delegating this in lazy mode and checking out periodically if that has been fixed. When the issue is persistent for such a long time might be worth to change something from the jetbrains side.
In my case, it was the simulator v. 18.3.1 issue, I just removed simulators and installed manually as described in medium article. After that iOS 18.2 simulators appeared in Rider even without restart
https://medium.com/%40pouyahallaj/how-to-manually-download-and-install-ios-simulator-files-for-xcode-on-mac-b146923fd198
I am thinking of cancelling my Rider subscription the issue in the Rider does not fixed for long time ,
the code is working fine in the vs code on mac , i can easily run the app on any iOS simulates without any issues.
Thank you Rider team.
Its look like the current rider is not working with XCode 16.2 because if i use 16.1 the simulator is showing up
Same issue as Reimar Twelker here.
Still the problem is there with rider 2025.2. this problem is so annoying.
I have a similar issue as described above. After migrating the MAUI app to .NET 9, I cannot associate Ios Simulators with Rider anymore. I tried all the above suggestions, but nothing worked.
Rider: 2025.2.4
Xcode: 26.0.1 (17A400)
Everything works fine on Android Emulator.
Does anybody have any other solutions?
JetBrains has earned a very bad reputation for not fixing critical bugs over a terribly long period of time, sometimes even years. Since Microsoft abandoned VS on macOS, VS Code has been the only competition for us NET MAUI developers. And now they are unable to keep up with the XCode releases – and have been for far too long. This makes Rider on the Mac pointless, but it's obvious: no one at JetBrains seems to care :-(
I am running Rider 2025.3.1 with Xcode 16.0.1 and .NET 9 Maui. Works fine for me, but I also had Problems. Check, that the correct version in xcode-select is activated and sometimes i need to run a ‘xcrun simctl erase all’.