Older iCloud Links for Sharing Shortcuts Have Suddenly Stopped Working [Updated]

[MacRumors]

Sharing Shortcuts via iCloud appears to be severely affected by an issue that is stopping older links from working.

All older iCloud links for sharing Shortcuts appear to no longer be functional, rendering it impossible to add shared Shortcuts from links that were created a while ago. It is not yet clear exactly when the cut-off date for created Shortcuts links is, but broadly, links created within the past week seem to be unaffected and continue to work correctly. Apple's own in-app gallery for downloading Shortcuts is also still working as expected.

When attempting to add a Shortcut from an affected iCloud link, users are now presented with an error message in the Shortcuts app that reads "Shortcut Not Found: The shortcut link may be invalid, or it may have been deleted." The change has since been flagged by users on Reddit and Twitter.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1374689829955497986

It is as yet unclear if the error is an intentional change on Apple's part, as it could have added an expiry period to the iCloud links to prevent them from working after a certain amount of time, or if it is simply a server-side error that has invalidated all links created prior to an internal change.

Either way, the fact that the majority of links to Shortcuts are now defunct is highly problematic for sites such as MacStories or the subreddit r/shortcuts, which are heavily reliant on iCloud links for sharing previously-created Shortcuts.

Update: Apple has now provided a statement to Federico Viticci of MacStories, explaining that it is aware of the problem and is working to restore the previously shared Shortcuts:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1374925965239914496

There are also now early indications that the problematic iCloud links to Shortcuts have started to be restored.

Article Link: Older iCloud Links for Sharing Shortcuts Have Suddenly Stopped Working [Updated]

 

[macsareveryinteresting]

Apple will fix it by iOS 14.5.

 

[nvmls]

iCloud is annoying at so many levels its mind bending.

When trying to share several pictures it tends to send iCloud links also which are extremely inconvenient making the receiver leave the conversation to see them on a browser, for such a basic sharing interaction, even whatsapp has it right.

Also, how Apple is currently managing moving massive amounts of photos through iCloud is anything but "simple" (which sooner or later ends up leading to cloud storage issues anyways)

 

[goonie4life9]

Not to worry folks, for the Senior Advisor I spoke to assured me this is not an issue. He stated that Apple talks to millions of customers an hour and if this was an issue, Apple would know about it before any customer knew about it. The current guidance is for customers to erase and re-install iCloudShareOS. This should be done through iTunes. If that doesn't resolve the issue, it will need to be escalated to Engineering after conducting Diagnostics, with Mail Logging enabled. Engineering will respond in 48 hr and because this is a known issue, Apple's Official Position on the matter is to keep your iCloudShareOS up to date.

 

[nt5672]

Sounds like more Apple arrogance. 50 or 100 million users can just reinstall, no big deal, we are Apple after all and don't give a &^^%$.

 

[BGM]

I've not looked at the shortcut gallery for well over a year, today is the day i select to try to download some new ones haha!

 

[Braderunner]

Could this be the reason shortcuts for the Themo Watch app aren’t working on my HomePods? Been happening since 1st or 2nd beta of 14.5. Hopefully, it will get fixed when 14.5 is released for the HomePod…or, sooner.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Apple will fix it by iOS 14.5.

I agree it will be fixed with 14.5 can't wait.

 

[jonnyb098]

Oh another random busted "feature"

SHOCKED!!!! FLUMMOXED!!!!

 

[ArPe]

Maybe they expired like some Dropbox and wetransfer links.

 

[iLilana]

That’s going to be inconvenient when my Mac mini arrives today.

 

[andywaynebrooks]

I'm sure the 6 or 7 nerds who actually use this super obscure feature will find this disruptive.

 

[jfunker]

Wrong database selected, 83884092049 rows affected. Poor intern!

 

[Populus]

Not to worry folks, for the Senior Advisor I spoke to assured me this is not an issue. He stated that Apple talks to millions of customers an hour and if this was an issue, Apple would know about it before any customer knew about it. The current guidance is for customers to erase and re-install iCloudShareOS. This should be done through iTunes. If that doesn't resolve the issue, it will need to be escalated to Engineering after conducting Diagnostics, with Mail Logging enabled. Engineering will respond in 48 hr and because this is a known issue, Apple's Official Position on the matter is to keep your iCloudShareOS up to date.

WTF is this? I mean, you can ask your users to keep their iOS, iPadOS and macOS updated, but asking your users to keep this... iCloudShareOS up to date??? What is this operating system to begin with? An OS inside iOS? Then, you say users must update it through iTunes, a software that is deprecated for more than a year.

Honestly all this **** shouldn’t be necessary, and you cannot ask your customers to have this level of t
technical knowledge.

 

[Brandon42]

WTF is this? I mean, you can ask your users to keep their iOS, iPadOS and macOS updated, but asking your users to keep this... iCloudShareOS up to date??? What is this operating system to begin with? An OS inside iOS? Then, you say users must update it through iTunes, a software that is deprecated for more than a year.

Honestly all this **** shouldn’t be necessary, and you cannot ask your customers to have this level of t
technical knowledge.

I’m pretty sure the original poster is being sarcastic.

 

[Mike_Trivisonno]

It's a security feature.

 

[Mescagnus]

Just ran into this issue, very annoying. Tried hard reset etc. to see if it would solve the issue. Glad I noticed this article!

 

[goonie4life9]

I was definitely leaning on sarcasm. However, this is the general approach of Apple phone support - say it is something they’ve never heard of, demand you do a complete reinstallation, escalate to Engineering, and then tell you to keep your software update. It’s a really not troubleshooting but rather make a big change and hope it works. If it doesn’t, wait for some future update.

 

[Rokkit]

Sharing Shortcuts via iCloud appears to be severely affected by an issue that is stopping older links from working.

All older iCloud links for sharing Shortcuts appear to no longer be functional, rendering it impossible to add shared Shortcuts from links that were created a while ago. It is not yet clear exactly when the cut-off date for created Shortcuts links is, but broadly, links created within the past week seem to be unaffected and continue to work correctly. Apple's own in-app gallery for downloading Shortcuts is also still working as expected.

When attempting to add a Shortcut from an affected iCloud link, users are now presented with an error message in the Shortcuts app that reads "Shortcut Not Found: The shortcut link may be invalid, or it may have been deleted." The change has since been flagged by users on Reddit and Twitter.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1374689829955497986

It is as yet unclear if the error is an intentional change on Apple's part, as it could have added an expiry period to the iCloud links to prevent them from working after a certain amount of time, or if it is simply a server-side error that has invalidated all links created prior to an internal change.

Either way, the fact that the majority of links to Shortcuts are now defunct is highly problematic for sites such as MacStories or the subreddit r/shortcuts, which are heavily reliant on iCloud links for sharing previously-created Shortcuts.

Article Link: Older iCloud Links for Sharing Shortcuts Have Suddenly Stopped Working

In the past couple of weeks I have lost the ability to sync shortcuts across my devices. I changed one on my phone that is one I primarily use on my watch and the watch keeps using the old one. My iPad still has the old one too. No idea what is going on.

 

[Populus]

I was definitely leaning on sarcasm. However, this is the general approach of Apple phone support - say it is something they’ve never heard of, demand you do a complete reinstallation, escalate to Engineering, and then tell you to keep your software update. It’s a really not troubleshooting but rather make a big change and hope it works. If it doesn’t, wait for some future update.

Ok, then excuse me, I didn’t get your sarcasm lol
I actually thought this iCloudShareOS was a thing

 

[amartinez1660]

I was definitely leaning on sarcasm. However, this is the general approach of Apple phone support - say it is something they’ve never heard of, demand you do a complete reinstallation, escalate to Engineering, and then tell you to keep your software update. It’s a really not troubleshooting but rather make a big change and hope it works. If it doesn’t, wait for some future update.

Haha, I completely read it as sarcasm with a pinch of truth. A few posts later that someone seemed to take it seriously ended up cracking me up fulfilling a full joke loop successfully ?
On that note, it’s definitely that vibe, and if it is on a Mac it will be “let’s do a SMC/NVRam/etc resets”, on their defense, a few encounters lately though they have gone the extra mile for real, like for example, I have had this “New Music Mix” playlist that updates every Friday not updating every Friday, tackling it for a straight 2 hours (I know, a lot of time, but was hell bent on finding a solution to that).

 

[Westside guy]

iCloud is annoying at so many levels its mind bending.

I keep hoping Apple will bring iCloud at least close to feature parity with Google's and Microsoft's offerings; but it seems destined to remain well behind.

I still prefer Apple hardware, but its ecosystem often seems half-baked.