[Due for payment 2026-05-11] [Due for payment 2026-05-07] Chat - App returns to chat after tapping Go back to home page

[jponikarchuk]

If you haven’t already, check out our contributing guidelines for onboarding and email contributors@expensify.com to request to join our Slack channel!

---

Version Number: 9.3.64-18
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: No
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #85234
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): sdsodijnosdjoij@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: iPhone 15 Pro Max / iOS 26.3
App Component: Money Requests

Action Performed:

1. Launch Expensify app.
2. Go to any chat.
3. Send the message https://staging.new.expensify.com/abcd
4. Tap on the link.
5. Tap Go back to home page.

Expected Result:

App will return to Home tab.

Actual Result:

App returns to chat after tapping Go back to home page.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screenshots/Videos

Video.mp4

View all open jobs on GitHub

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @ZhenjaHorbach

[melvin-bot]

@mountiny recently merged #85234, but they are OOO right now, so I'll auto-assign someone else.

[github-actions]

👋 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:

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

[melvin-bot]

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

[melvin-bot]

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

[OSBotify]

Investigation Summary

Classification: Frontend bug
Causing PR: #85234 - "Introduce a Bottom Tab Navigator for Top-Level Navigation" by @WojtekBoman (High confidence)
Related Issues: None

Recommendation: REVERT

PR #85234 is a large navigation refactor that introduced a createBottomTabNavigator as a top-level tab structure, replacing the previous pattern where tab navigators were individual root stack screens. The goBackToHome() function in Navigation.ts calls goBack(ROUTES.HOME) which routes through goUp(), and the new tab-navigator-aware logic in goUp() does not correctly navigate back to the Home tab when invoked from a "not found" page opened via a link—it ends up returning to the previous chat screen instead. This is reproducible on staging (iOS only) and not in production, confirming it was introduced by this staging-only PR.

Assigned: @WojtekBoman (PR author), @ZhenjaHorbach (approving reviewer), @mountiny (approving reviewer) — from PR #85234
Labels: No label changes made. DeployBlockerCash is correctly applied because this is a frontend (App) navigation bug caused by an App PR. DeployBlocker is not present and should not be added.

Detailed Analysis

Evidence

• The melvin-bot comment on the issue explicitly flags PR Introduce a Bottom Tab Navigator for Top-Level Navigation #85234 as recently merged by @mountiny and auto-assigns a replacement reviewer.
• PR Introduce a Bottom Tab Navigator for Top-Level Navigation #85234 (merged 2026-04-24) fundamentally restructured the navigation tree: top-level navigators (ReportsSplitNavigator, SearchFullscreenNavigator, SettingsSplitNavigator, WorkspaceNavigator) moved from being individual root stack screens to children of a new TabNavigator (createBottomTabNavigator).
• The bug is iOS-only and staging-only, consistent with a recently merged PR not yet in production.
• The affected user action ("Go back to home page" from a not-found page reached via a staging URL link) goes through FullPageNotFoundView → Navigation.goBackToHome() → goBack(ROUTES.HOME) → goUp(ROUTES.HOME).
• In goUp(), newly added tab-navigator-aware branching handles targetState.type === 'tab' and dispatches TabActions.jumpTo(). The new navigation tree structure (with TAB_NAVIGATOR wrapping tabs) changes how getMinimalAction and getStateFromPath resolve the target state for ROUTES.HOME, causing the jump to land on the active chat route instead of the Home tab.

Verification

• Affected files: src/libs/Navigation/Navigation.ts (contains goBackToHome, goUp, goBack) and the entire navigation tree introduced in PR Introduce a Bottom Tab Navigator for Top-Level Navigation #85234.
• PR Introduce a Bottom Tab Navigator for Top-Level Navigation #85234 directly modifies src/libs/Navigation/Navigation.ts (confirmed via gh pr view 85234 --json files).
• PR Introduce a Bottom Tab Navigator for Top-Level Navigation #85234 also modifies src/libs/Navigation/helpers/linkTo/index.ts, src/libs/Navigation/helpers/getAdaptedStateFromPath.ts, src/libs/Navigation/AppNavigator/createRootStackNavigator/GetStateForActionHandlers.ts, and introduces src/libs/Navigation/AppNavigator/Navigators/TabNavigator.native.tsx — all core to the navigation path triggered by goBackToHome().

Root Cause

The TabNavigator refactor changed the root navigation state structure from a flat list of full-screen navigators to a nested structure where all tabs live inside a single TAB_NAVIGATOR route. The goBackToHome() function issues two sequential goBack(ROUTES.HOME) calls. With the old flat structure, the first call navigated to the split navigator root and the second popped to the sidebar. With the new nested tab structure, the target state resolution for ROUTES.HOME via getMinimalAction points at the TAB_NAVIGATOR entry, and the subsequent TabActions.jumpTo or pop dispatch is incorrectly targeting the reports split navigator's state rather than switching to the Home tab — leaving the user on the chat screen they came from.