If your Draftbit app won't load in Expo Go on your iPhone, work through the most common causes: network mismatches, outdated Expo Go, QR/link issues, and unsupported native modules.
You tap preview in Draftbit, scan the QR code with your iPhone, and Expo Go either hangs on a loading bar, times out, or throws an error instead of showing your app.
This is one of the most common early frustrations, and it is almost always environmental rather than a bug in your app.
The good news is that the causes fall into a short list, and each has a concrete fix.
Work through them in order. Do not change five things at once, or you will not know which fix worked.
Expo Go typically loads your bundle over the network. If your phone and the dev environment are on different networks, or a firewall blocks the connection, the app will never load.
When previewing a local dev server, put your iPhone and computer on the same Wi-Fi network. Guest networks and corporate Wi-Fi with client isolation are frequent culprits.
If you are on a restrictive network, try a tunnel connection, which routes the bundle through an external service so local network rules matter less.
For Draftbit's cloud-based preview, ensure your phone simply has working internet. A flaky mobile connection or a VPN can silently break the download.
Expo Go is tied to specific React Native and Expo SDK versions. If your app targets an SDK that your installed Expo Go does not support, it will fail to load.
Update Expo Go to the latest version from the App Store. This resolves a surprising number of mysterious loading failures.
Conversely, if your project uses an older SDK, a very new Expo Go may no longer support it. The fix is to align the app's SDK with a version Expo Go supports.
When in doubt, check the SDK version your Draftbit project targets and confirm it is within the range the current Expo Go supports.
Scanning issues are mundane but common. A blurry screen, low brightness, or a partially covered QR code can prevent a clean scan.
Increase your monitor brightness, clean the camera lens, and hold steady. On iOS you can scan with the Camera app or from within Expo Go.
If scanning simply will not work, use the manual link or connection option instead of the QR code. Typing or opening the URL directly bypasses camera issues entirely.
Also confirm you are opening the link in Expo Go and not a browser. A misrouted link is an easy thing to overlook.
Expo Go includes a fixed set of native modules. If your Draftbit app relies on a custom native module that Expo Go does not bundle, it can fail to load or crash on launch.
Symptoms include errors mentioning a missing native module or a component that references native code not present in Expo Go.
The fix is to create a development build, which is a custom client that includes your specific native dependencies. This replaces Expo Go for projects with custom native needs.
If you only use standard components, this is unlikely to be your issue, so rule out the simpler causes first.
Sometimes the preview fails because the JavaScript bundle itself will not build. A syntax error or a broken data binding can stop the bundle cold.
Look at the dev server logs or the error overlay. React Native error messages usually point to the file and line at fault.
Common offenders include a malformed API configuration, a missing asset reference, or an invalid binding introduced in the editor.
Fix the reported error, let the bundler rebuild, then reload in Expo Go. Reading the actual error beats guessing every time.
Stale caches cause phantom failures where the app loads old, broken code even after you fixed it. This is maddening but easy to clear.
Restart the dev server with the cache cleared, and force-close Expo Go on the iPhone before reconnecting.
On the phone, fully quit Expo Go from the app switcher rather than just backgrounding it. Then reopen and reconnect to the preview.
If problems persist, deleting and reinstalling Expo Go gives you a clean slate. Combined with a cleared bundler cache, this resolves most stubborn cases.
Occasionally the problem is not your network or code but the state of your Draftbit session or project itself. A stale login or an interrupted save can leave the preview pointing at something inconsistent.
Sign out and back into Draftbit to refresh your session, then reopen the project and start a new preview. This clears a class of odd, hard-to-explain failures.
Confirm your project actually saved its latest changes before you preview. Previewing a project mid-save or with unsynced edits can produce a bundle that does not match what you see in the editor.
If you have multiple projects or apps open, make sure you are previewing the one you intend. It is surprisingly easy to scan a QR code for a different app and conclude the preview is broken.
When these basics check out and the preview still fails, move on to gathering diagnostic details so you can escalate with useful information rather than a vague description.
Before assuming something deep is wrong, rule out the simple device-level issues that quietly break previews. A phone in Low Power Mode or with an unstable connection can stall the bundle download partway.
Make sure your iPhone has a solid internet connection and enough free storage for Expo Go to download and cache the bundle. A nearly full device can cause loads to fail in confusing ways.
A VPN or content blocker on the phone can also interfere with the connection between Expo Go and the dev server or Draftbit's preview service. Temporarily disabling it is a quick test.
Restarting both the phone and the dev environment sounds obvious, but it genuinely clears a surprising share of transient states. When basics like these are solid and it still fails, you can be confident the cause lies elsewhere and move to gathering details.
If you have tried network, Expo Go version, link, native modules, code errors, and cache, and it still fails, gather details before asking for help.
Note the exact error text, your Expo SDK version, your Expo Go version, and whether a minimal test project loads.
A minimal app that also fails points to environment or account issues; a minimal app that works points to something specific in your project.
Remember the honest boundary: Expo Go is a development preview only. A perfectly working preview is not a shippable app, and release still requires a signed build through EAS plus Apple's Developer Program.
Most often a network mismatch or a bundler error. Ensure the phone and dev environment can reach each other (same Wi-Fi or a tunnel for local previews), and check the dev server logs for JavaScript errors that stop the bundle from building.
Frequently, yes. Expo Go is tied to specific SDK versions, and an outdated app can fail to load projects on newer SDKs. Update it from the App Store, and make sure your project's SDK is within the supported range.
Use the manual link or connection option instead. Increase screen brightness, clean the camera lens, and confirm the link opens in Expo Go rather than a browser. Manual entry bypasses camera problems entirely.
Expo Go only includes a fixed set of native modules. Apps with custom native dependencies need a development build, a custom client that bundles your specific modules. Expo Go cannot load native code it does not include.
No. Expo Go is development-only. A shippable app requires a signed standalone build via EAS Build, a paid Apple Developer Program membership, and submission through App Store Connect.