v2.7.12 - I can’t view issues ...

[samuelawachie]

I can’t view issues on repos. It’s giving the same error I see on the GitHub website viewed by Safari browser. That’s the reason I got the app.
The GitHub mobile app just shows “Something went wrong” after they added copilot AI stuff.

Environment: iPhone 6s - iOS15.8.6 - v2.7.12(278)

[samuelawachie]

[samuelawachie]

That's what it shows and does not load anything. This error was what made me start looking for GitHub clients that can view Issues and are not affected by their "improvements" of dropping iOS 15 webkit and their AI stuff both of which has made me only being able to see these Issues on desktop or one other client (that shows it)

[samuelawachie]

This is what chatgpt thought: what you’re seeing is almost certainly a modern CSS feature breaking on older Safari.

From your screenshot the page is failing at:

@layer popover-polyfill { :where([popover]) { ... } }

This uses two CSS features that don’t exist in iOS 15 Safari:

@layer (CSS Cascade Layers)

[popover] from the Popover API

Both were added much later in Safari 16+. Since iOS 15 is stuck on Safari 15’s engine, the polyfill that GitHub uses for UI components (issue menus, Copilot prompts, etc.) crashes the layout. That’s why you see the raw CSS error and a partially rendered page.

The GitHub mobile app also uses the same web components internally, which is why it shows “Something went wrong”.
Practical Workarounds (that still work on iOS 15)
1️⃣ Force the “plain” issue view (most reliable)

Edit the URL like this:

https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/issues/9?plain=1

Example:

https://github.com/layer/receiver/issues/9?plain=1

This bypasses most UI scripts and loads the raw issue discussion.
2️⃣ Use Safari Reader Mode

This surprisingly works well.

Steps:

Open the issue page.

Tap aA in Safari’s address bar.

Tap Show Reader.

Reader strips the broken JS/CSS and shows the issue text.
3️⃣ Use the GitHub API view

This always works because it bypasses the UI.

Example format:

https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/issues/9

You’ll see the full issue content as JSON.
4️⃣ Use a text proxy

Example:

https://textise.net/showtext.aspx?strURL=https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/issues/9

This converts the page into a simple HTML/text view.
Why this started ~7 months ago

GitHub gradually rolled out:

new popover UI system

Copilot issue assistant

modern CSS layers

Older Safari engines like the one in iOS 15 cannot parse them correctly.

So your diagnosis about Copilot UI changes was actually pretty accurate.

💡 Best long-term workaround for your iPhone 6S (iOS 15)

Use Reader Mode or ?plain=1 URLs — they’re the least painful.