KeyboardAwareScrollView` scrolls to top instead of keeping the cursor visible when inserting blank lines in a multiline `TextInput

[xl0301]

iOS: KeyboardAwareScrollView jumps to top when inserting blank lines in a parent-scrolled multiline TextInput

I’m using:

"react-native-keyboard-controller": "^1.21.7"

with Expo SDK 54.

My screen uses an editor-style layout: a parent KeyboardAwareScrollView owns scrolling, while the multiline TextInput expands with its content and has scrolling disabled.

<KeyboardAwareScrollView>
  <TextInput
    multiline
    scrollEnabled={false}
    value={text}
    onChangeText={setText}
  />
</KeyboardAwareScrollView>

Steps to reproduce

1. Enter several paragraphs with blank lines between them:

First line


Second line


Third line

2. Tap the cursor in the middle paragraph.
3. Press Enter repeatedly to add blank lines at that cursor position.

Actual behavior

On iOS, inserting blank lines in the middle of the text can cause the parent KeyboardAwareScrollView to unexpectedly scroll back to the top.

The scroll position does not follow the caret, so the cursor may move off-screen while editing.

Expected behavior

The parent scroll view should preserve the current editing position and scroll only as needed to keep the caret visible. Adding lines above the caret should not reset the page to the top.

Environment

• react-native-keyboard-controller: ^1.21.7
• Expo SDK: 54
• Platform: iOS only
• Reproduced on: both physical iOS devices and iOS Simulator
• Not observed on: Android

This seems to occur specifically when:

• TextInput is multiline;
• scrollEnabled={false} is set on the input;
• scrolling is delegated entirely to the wrapping KeyboardAwareScrollView;
• blank lines are inserted in the middle of existing text.

Is this a known limitation or issue with KeyboardAwareScrollView? Is there a recommended configuration or workaround for editor-style screens where the parent scroll view, rather than the TextInput, owns scrolling?

[kirillzyusko]

@xl0301 are you using new architecture?

[xl0301]

@kirillzyusko Could you clarify what you mean by “New Architecture” in this context? Do you mean React Native’s Fabric/TurboModules architecture, or a specific configuration related to react-native-keyboard-controller?

In my app.json, I have:

"newArchEnabled": true

So React Native’s New Architecture is enabled in my Expo SDK 54 app.

[kirillzyusko]

@xl0301 did you test latest version of this library? Does it still have a bug?

Would it be possible to provide a repro code so that I can copy/paste into my example project and reproduce this problem?

[xl0301]

@kirillzyusko I tested it with the latest version of the library. The issue still occurs on both the iOS Simulator and physical iOS devices, but not on Android.
Here is the video:https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/967bf4d7-98f8-44af-9894-9ab59135b7c5

Here is a minimal reproducible example:

import { useState } from "react";
import { StyleSheet, TextInput } from "react-native";
import { KeyboardAwareScrollView } from "react-native-keyboard-controller";
import { useSafeAreaInsets } from "react-native-safe-area-context";

const KeyboardEditorDemo = () => {
  const [text, setText] = useState("");
  const insets = useSafeAreaInsets();
  return (
    <KeyboardAwareScrollView
      style={[styles.content, { paddingTop: insets.top }]}
      showsVerticalScrollIndicator={true}
      keyboardShouldPersistTaps="handled"
    >
      <TextInput
        style={styles.contentInput}
        multiline
        value={text}
        onChangeText={setText}
        scrollEnabled={false}
      />
    </KeyboardAwareScrollView>
  );
};

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  content: { flex: 1 },
  contentInput: {
    minHeight: 600,
    padding: 16,
    textAlignVertical: "top",
    borderWidth: 1,
    borderColor: "#CCC",
  },
});

export default KeyboardEditorDemo;

[xl0301]

@kirillzyusko The previous video may not have shown the issue clearly, so I recorded a new one. The issue is intermittent, but it is more likely to reproduce under the conditions shown in this video.

Simulator.Screen.Recording.-.iPhone.17.Pro.-.2026-08-10.at.22.02.38.mov

[kirillzyusko]

@xl0301 does the issue reproducible if you are using plain ScrollView? I had a similar bug report and it turned out to be in ScrollView implementation 🤔 Just wanted to exclude such behavior here 👀

[xl0301]

@kirillzyusko A plain ScrollView doesn’t meet my use case. I’m building a long-form text editor, where the page needs to automatically scroll to keep the cursor visible while typing. With a plain ScrollView, once the cursor moves beyond the visible area, it doesn’t scroll at all.

[kirillzyusko]

@xl0301 could you check a thread in this issue #1142? is it the same problem that you experience?

[xl0301]

@kirillzyusko Yes, this issue describes the same two problems I’m experiencing.

I can live with the first one, since the cursor still stays within the visible area. But the second issue—where the cursor is automatically scrolled to the top—is quite troublesome for my use case.

Do you mean that this is an issue in React Native’s ScrollView implementation?

[xl0301]

@kirillzyusko I also tried setting scrollEnabled to true, which fixes this issue. However, it introduces two other intermittent problems:

• When the keyboard is shown, the content area may occasionally stop scrolling.
• When the keyboard is dismissed, the content area cannot be scrolled; attempting to scroll causes the keyboard to appear again.

[kirillzyusko]

Do you mean that this is an issue in React Native’s ScrollView implementation?

@xl0301 yes, this is why I asked you to verify if the problem happens in your environment with plain ScrollView 🙏

I also tried setting scrollEnabled to true, which fixes this issue. However, it introduces two other intermittent problems

I think having two nested scrollables is wrong idea by design? KeyboardAwareScrollView will never scroll inner element (inner scroll inside TextInput).

I know @IvanIhnatsiuk has been working on something similar? I remember you told me that you have one single big TextInput (enriched markdown) and use KeyboardAwareScrollView? Do you experience the problem described in this thread?