[Due for payment 2026-10-27] Web- Browser back button doesn't dismiss "You appear to be offline" alert

@ZhenjaHorbach

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Version Number: v9.5.10-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: No
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #103554
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): gd868gd+1@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Pull Request QA execution
Device used: Desktop / Windows 11
App Component: Other

Action Performed:

Preconditions:

The account has a workspace.
There are a couple of unreported expenses.
There are a couple of expenses in a report.

Open the Expensify WebApp and log in with the account from the Precondition
Go to Account / Troubleshooting and switch the "Force offline" toggle on
Go to Search / Expenses and select several different expenses
Click on "Export" and select any option ("Basic export", for example)
When the "You appear to be offline" modal appears, click the browser back button and observe

Expected Result:

The "You appear to be offline" modal should be dismissed.

Actual Result:

The "You appear to be offline" modal is not dismissed.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

Screenshots/Videos

_To b

Bug7287536_1792091369696.Expensify_PR103554_Back_Web.mp4

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Applause Internal Information
Exported by: Chandana Kiran
Bug ID: 7287536

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @ZhenjaHorbach

While Applause doesn't embed attachments for this bug, here are the links for quick view:
https://platform.applause.com/services/links/v1/external/9b4c88ebdd604ea4de683438140fb243b5de4b2aeba0c6cb985585ee43690132

@roryabraham

@roryabraham recently merged #103554, but they are OOO right now, so I'll auto-assign someone else.

@carlosmiceli

Triggered auto assignment to @carlosmiceli (DeployBlockerCash), see https://stackoverflowteams.com/c/expensify/questions/9980/ for more details.

👋 Friendly reminder that deploy blockers are time-sensitive ⏱ issues! Check out the open `StagingDeployCash` deploy checklist to see the list of PRs included in this release, then work quickly to do one of the following:

Identify the pull request that introduced this issue and revert it.
Find someone who can quickly fix the issue.
Fix the issue yourself.

@roryabraham

@roryabraham @ZhenjaHorbach you have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you reviewed the offending PR: #103554

💬 A slack conversation has been started in #expensify-open-source

Deploy Blocker Analysis

Causing PR: Use useDecisionModal for Search bulk actions and SelectionToolbar alerts (high confidence). It is a real regression: production dismisses the modal on browser Back.

Recommendation: Revert. The revert applies cleanly to staging (a3d62cc) and main (7e9ad84). The PR is a refactor, so reverting costs little. There is no verified small roll-forward fix yet.

Root cause: The PR replaced the inline <DecisionModal> in the Search screen with the global useDecisionModal modal, which renders at the app root. Before, browser Back navigated away and the modal went with the screen. Now the modal lives outside the screen, so only its history back-guard can close it, and that guard does not fire in this flow.

Investigation details

Why this PR

It is the only PR in Deploy Checklist: New Expensify 2026-10-15 that changes the offline alert in Search bulk actions or SelectionToolbar.
Offer export templates when a group row is selected on a grouped search and [Payment due @truph01] fix: Add Contains / Equal to match type for the Merchant filter [80823] also touch useSearchBulkActions.ts, but not the offline modal.
The navigation PRs in this release (Keep split navigator state when navigating to the only sidebar screen on narrow layout #103746, [NoQA] Fix import/no-cycle - part 16 #103180, Restore last visited page on cold start for public domain accounts #103818) do not affect modal back handling.
The modal, popover, BulkActionBar, and useSyncModalWithHistory code is identical between production (5ca624c) and staging (a3d62cc).
The PR merged 2026-10-14 and is in 9.5.10-0. Its test notes say browser Back on web wasn't tested. They also report a stuck SelectionToolbar Export offline alert on Android.

Production

The alert was an inline modal with no back handling: SearchBulkActionsButton.tsx:276-284.

Staging

Offline paths call showOfflineModal(): useSearchBulkActions.ts:686 defines it, and useSearchBulkActions.ts:1247 calls it for Basic export. SelectionToolbar does the same at index.tsx:96, :120, and :183.
That opens the global modal with shouldHandleNavigationBack: true (useDecisionModal.ts:11-14). The modal renders at the app root (App.tsx:130).
On Back, the guard in useSyncModalWithHistory/index.ts:61-125 should call onClose (DecisionModalWrapper.tsx:48). In this flow it doesn't.

Why the guard doesn't fire (unconfirmed hypothesis): In @react-navigation/native 7.4.1, browser Back sends goBack() to the innermost active navigator. If the Search stack or tab history can go back, it handles the action, so the root-level guard entry is never removed. I did not reproduce this in a running app.

Why not a quick fix

Setting shouldHandleNavigationBack: false makes it worse: Back navigates, but the root modal stays on top.
Closing the modal from a navigation listener risks an extra browser back when the guard cleans up.
Before re-landing, prove the guard closes on browser Back in Search and SelectionToolbar, and add a test for it.

Severity: Low. It affects web only, offline only, after browser Back, and "Got it" still dismisses it. Demoting is defensible if the team wants to keep the refactor. Given the clean revert and the Android stuck-alert risk, reverting is the safer choice.

Next Steps: Reply with @MelvinBot <your feedback> to refine this analysis.

view run

Demoting

@ZhenjaHorbach

@ZhenjaHorbach

The solution for this issue has been 🚀 deployed to production 🚀 in version 9.5.14-3 and is now subject to a 7-day regression period 📆. Here is the list of pull requests that resolve this issue:

Fix browser Back not closing modals with history back-guard #104190

If no regressions arise, payment will be issued on 2026-10-27. 🎊

The following checklist (instructions) will need to be completed before the issue can be closed. Please copy/paste the Contributor+ Checklist from here into a new comment on this GH and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]. If no checklist is needed for this issue, you can click: [no checklist button]

@ZhenjaHorbach

@ZhenjaHorbach Huh... This is 4 days overdue. Who can take care of this?

Contributor+ Checklist:

[Contributor] The offending PR and associated issue have been commented on, pointing out the bug it caused and why, so the author and reviewers can learn from the mistake.

Link to the comment on the PR: N/A
Link to the comment on the Issue: N/A

It's @react-navigation/native issue that affects all modals

[Contributor] If the regression was CRITICAL (e.g. interrupts a core flow) A discussion in #expensify-open-source has been started about whether any other steps should be taken (e.g. updating the PR review checklist) in order to catch this type of bug sooner.

Link to discussion: N/A
[Contributor] If it was decided to create a regression test for the bug, please propose the regression test steps using the template below to ensure the same bug will not reach production again.

Regression Test Proposal

Precondition:

Use web (Chrome).
The account has a workspace and several expenses.

Test:

Go to Account > Troubleshoot and turn on "Force offline".
Go to Search > Expenses and select several expenses.
Click "Export" and select "Basic export".
Verify that the "You appear to be offline" modal appears.
Click the browser back button.
Verify that the "You appear to be offline" modal is dismissed.

Do we agree 👍 or 👎

I suppose it's a separate issue and not a regression
Since all modals were broken

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[Due for payment 2026-10-27] Web- Browser back button doesn't dismiss "You appear to be offline" alert #104154

Action Performed:

Expected Result:

Actual Result:

Workaround:

Platforms:

Screenshots/Videos

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[Due for payment 2026-10-27] Web- Browser back button doesn't dismiss "You appear to be offline" alert #104154

Description

Action Performed:

Expected Result:

Actual Result:

Workaround:

Platforms:

Screenshots/Videos

Activity

applause-bot commented on Oct 15, 2026

melvin-bot commented on Oct 15, 2026

melvin-bot commented on Oct 15, 2026

github-actions commented on Oct 15, 2026

melvin-bot commented on Oct 15, 2026

melvin-bot commented on Oct 15, 2026

MelvinBot commented on Oct 15, 2026

Deploy Blocker Analysis

3 remaining items

cristipaval commented on Oct 16, 2026

melvin-bot commented on Oct 20, 2026

melvin-bot commented on Oct 21, 2026

ZhenjaHorbach commented on Oct 23, 2026

Contributor+ Checklist:

Regression Test Proposal

Precondition:

Test:

ZhenjaHorbach commented on Oct 23, 2026

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