Mobile SignIn function failure from @aws-amplify/auth but WebVersion works (using Expo)

[ajaviles13]

Before opening, please confirm:

• I have searched for duplicate or closed issues and discussions.
• I have read the guide for submitting bug reports.
• I have done my best to include a minimal, self-contained set of instructions for consistently reproducing the issue.

JavaScript Framework

React Native

Amplify APIs

Authentication

Amplify Version

v6

Amplify Categories

auth

Backend

Amplify CLI

Environment information

# Put output below this line
System:
    OS: macOS 14.4
    CPU: (14) arm64 Apple M3 Max
    Memory: 2.73 GB / 36.00 GB
    Shell: 5.9 - /bin/zsh
  Binaries:
    Node: 22.9.0 - /opt/homebrew/bin/node
    npm: 10.9.0 - /opt/homebrew/bin/npm
  Browsers:
    Chrome: 130.0.6723.70
    Safari: 17.4
  npmPackages:
    @aws-amplify/api: ^6.0.54 => 6.0.55 
    @aws-amplify/api/internals:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/api/server:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/auth: ^6.5.0 => 6.5.0 (6.5.3)
    @aws-amplify/auth/cognito:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/auth/cognito/server:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/auth/enable-oauth-listener:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/auth/server:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/core: ^6.4.5 => 6.4.6 
    @aws-amplify/core/internals/adapter-core:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/core/internals/aws-client-utils:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/core/internals/aws-client-utils/composers:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/core/internals/aws-clients/cognitoIdentity:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/core/internals/aws-clients/pinpoint:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/core/internals/providers/pinpoint:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/core/internals/utils:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/core/server:  undefined ()
    @aws-amplify/react-native: ^1.1.6 => 1.1.6 
    @aws-amplify/ui-react-native: ^2.2.16 => 2.2.16 
    @babel/core: ^7.20.0 => 7.25.8 
    @react-native-async-storage/async-storage: ^2.0.0 => 2.0.0 
    @react-native-community/masked-view: ^0.1.11 => 0.1.11 
    @react-native-community/netinfo: ^11.4.1 => 11.4.1 
    @react-native-picker/picker: ^2.8.1 => 2.8.1 
    @react-navigation/native: ^6.1.18 => 6.1.18 
    HelloWorld:  0.0.1 
    aws-amplify: ^6.6.6 => 6.6.6 
    aws-amplify/adapter-core:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/analytics:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/analytics/kinesis:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/analytics/kinesis-firehose:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/analytics/personalize:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/analytics/pinpoint:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/api:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/api/server:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/auth:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/auth/cognito:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/auth/cognito/server:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/auth/enable-oauth-listener:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/auth/server:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/data:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/data/server:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/datastore:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/in-app-messaging:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/in-app-messaging/pinpoint:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/push-notifications:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/push-notifications/pinpoint:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/storage:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/storage/s3:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/storage/s3/server:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/storage/server:  undefined ()
    aws-amplify/utils:  undefined ()
    axios: ^1.7.7 => 1.7.7 
    expo: ~51.0.38 => 51.0.38 
    expo-constants: ~16.0.1 => 16.0.2 
    expo-font: ^12.0.10 => 12.0.10 
    expo-linking: ~6.3.1 => 6.3.1 
    expo-router: ~3.5.9 => 3.5.23 
    expo-splash-screen: ~0.27.4 => 0.27.6 (0.27.5)
    expo-status-bar: ~1.12.1 => 1.12.1 
    nativewind: ^2.0.11 => 2.0.11 
    react: 18.2.0 => 18.2.0 
    react-dom: 18.2.0 => 18.2.0 
    react-native: 0.74.5 => 0.74.5 (0.73.10)
    react-native-appwrite: ^0.5.0 => 0.5.0 
    react-native-dotenv: ^3.4.11 => 3.4.11 
    react-native-dropdown-select-list: ^2.0.5 => 2.0.5 
    react-native-gesture-handler: ~2.16.1 => 2.16.2 
    react-native-get-random-values: ^1.11.0 => 1.11.0 
    react-native-picker-select: ^9.3.1 => 9.3.1 
    react-native-reanimated: ~3.10.1 => 3.10.1 
    react-native-safe-area-context: ^4.11.1 => 4.11.1 
    react-native-screens: 3.31.1 => 3.31.1 
    react-native-url-polyfill: ^2.0.0 => 2.0.0 
    react-native-web: ~0.19.6 => 0.19.12 
    tailwindcss: ^3.3.2 => 3.3.2 
  npmGlobalPackages:
    @aws-amplify/cli: 12.13.0
    npm: 10.9.0

Describe the bug

I am integrating all the "aws-amplify/auth" functions into my custom UI. I've already successfully integrated the {signUp, signOut, confirmSignUp, resendSignUp } functions and they work great. No errors and my account I create (using email as username) goes right into my Cognito Pool smoothly which was set up through AWS Amplify Studio. Logout button works great when I get to my "Home" screen after Signing Up and Confirming my 6-digit Code. This is the return value I get by overlaying my 'confirmSignUp' and 'signUp' responses and storing them in a global app variable called "user":
'newSetUser': {"isSignUpComplete": true, "nextStep": {"codeDeliveryDetails": {"attributeName": "email", "deliveryMedium": "EMAIL", "destination": "a***@g***"}, "signUpStep": "DONE"}, "userId": "c14b75c0-70b1-7048-9c0b-07ba8df12052"}

The problem is after I log out... I try to Sign In using my custom Sign In UI screen that is connected to the {signIn} function from "aws-amplify/auth". When clicking "Sign In", I get this bizarre error that I cannot figure out what is going on. I can clearly see my username (email) and password get passed into the 'signIn' function correctly and they are the same creds I used upon set up (I've validated this over and over again). This is the error message:
"Error during sign in: [Unknown: An unknown error has occurred.]"

Expected behavior

For me to simply sign in with the correct credentials with no errors. I've watched and followed several YouTube videos and thread approaches to this simply "signIn" function within "aws-amplify/auth" but I always come back to get this unknown error message...

Reproduction steps

1. I go to my Sign In Screen (after logging out of a verified account)
2. Enter in credentials (email + password) I just used for creating my account (but logged out once I entered the app's protected path)
3. Click "Sign In"
4. The TextInputs (email and password) are passed correctly via props into my custom "aws_signIn" function which is show below in the Code Snippet

Code Snippet

// Put your code below this line.
`import { Auth, API, Storage, Amplify } from 'aws-amplify';
import config from '../src/aws-exports'; // Ensure this path points to your aws-exports.js file
import { signIn, signUp, autoSignIn, signOut, confirmSignUp, resendSignUp } from 'aws-amplify/auth';

// Enable detailed logging for AWS Amplify
Amplify.configure(config); // Correctly configure Amplify with the config file

// ========================== //
// === User Authentication == //
// ========================== //

// Sign in a user
export const aws_signIn = async ({ email, password }) => {

    try {
        console.log("'Amplify.js' Email: ", email.trim().toLowerCase());
        console.log("'Amplify.js' Password: ", password.trim());

        let clean_email = email.trim().toLowerCase();
        let clean_password = password.trim();
        
        const signInResult = await signIn({
            'username': clean_email,
            'password': clean_password
        });
        
        console.log('signInResult: ', signInResult);
        
        return signInResult;
    } catch (e) {
        console.error('Error during sign in:', e); // Log the entire error object
        throw new Error(e.message || 'An unknown error occurred during sign in.');
    }
};`

**====== The code that is executed once the "Sign Up" button is clicked below ======**
`import { aws_signIn } from '../../lib/amplify'
import { useGlobalContext } from "../../context/GlobalProvider"; 

const SignIn = () => {
  const { setUser, setIsLoggedIn } = useGlobalContext();
  const [isSubmitting, setIsSubmitting] = useState(false);
  const [error, setError] = useState('');

  let onlyShowOneAlert = false;

  const [form, setForm] = useState({
    email: '',
    password: ''
  });

  const onSignInPressed = async () => {
    setError('');

    if(!form.email || !form.password) {
      Alert.alert('Sign In Error', 'Email & Password required to sign in.');
      onlyShowOneAlert = true;
    }
    setIsSubmitting(true);
    try {  
      const signInResult = await aws_signIn(form);
      setUser(signInResult);
      setIsLoggedIn(true);
      router.replace('/home');  // Redirect the user to the home page
    } catch (err) {
        setError(err.message)
        console.log('Catch Error: ', error);
    } finally{
        setIsSubmitting(false);
        console.log('Finally Error: ', error);
    }
  };`

**### TERMINAL LOG UPON PASSING IN TextInput Props:**
LOG: 'Amplify.js' Email:  a************@gmail.com
LOG: 'Amplify.js' Password:  TestPassword123
 ERROR  Error during sign in: [Unknown: An unknown error has occurred.]
 LOG  Catch Error:  An unknown error has occurred.
 LOG  Finally Error:  An unknown error has occurred.

Log output

// Put your logs below this line

aws-exports.js

/* eslint-disable */
// WARNING: DO NOT EDIT. This file is automatically generated by AWS Amplify. It will be overwritten.

const awsmobile = {
"aws_project_region": "us-east-2",
"aws_cognito_identity_pool_id": "us-east-2:#########-####-####-####-###########",
"aws_cognito_region": "us-east-2",
"aws_user_pools_id": "us-east-2_##########",
"aws_user_pools_web_client_id": "#########################",
"oauth": {},
"aws_cognito_username_attributes": [
"EMAIL"
],
"aws_cognito_social_providers": [],
"aws_cognito_signup_attributes": [
"EMAIL"
],
"aws_cognito_mfa_configuration": "OFF",
"aws_cognito_mfa_types": [
"SMS"
],
"aws_cognito_password_protection_settings": {
"passwordPolicyMinLength": 6,
"passwordPolicyCharacters": []
},
"aws_cognito_verification_mechanisms": [
"EMAIL"
]
};

export default awsmobile;

Manual configuration

No response

Additional configuration

No response

Mobile Device

iPhone 15 Pro

Mobile Operating System

iOS18.0.1

Mobile Browser

No response

Mobile Browser Version

No response

Additional information and screenshots

Using Expo

[cwomack]

Hello, @ajaviles13 and thanks for opening this issue. Given that there's no information in the error message to help us here, we might need to get some additional info from the network requests when this error happens. Can you share a screenshot or the details of what your responses are from Cognito when this happens? Here's a link to the RN docs to help with the network logging.

We know that getting the logs is tough sometimes in React Native, so if you're open to sharing a minimal sample app that reproduces this reliably then that would be great as well.

[cwomack]

@ajaviles13, have one more request after digging into your dependencies. It looks like you've got the following outdated dependencies:

    @aws-amplify/core: ^6.4.5 => 6.4.6 
    @aws-amplify/auth: ^6.5.0 => 6.5.0 (6.5.3)

Can you see if removing these and only having the aws-amplify: ^6.6.6 => 6.6.6 resolves the issue?

[ajaviles13]

Hi @cwomack, thanks for getting back to me. I tried the following:

1. Updated both "@aws-amplify/core"=>6.4.6 and "@aws-amplify/auth" => 6.5.0 but that did not do anything. Same exact Sign In is failing with the same unknown error
2. I removed both "@aws-amplify/core" and "@aws-amplify/auth" from my dependencies and ensured my "aws-amplify": "^6.6.6". I tried performing a login and still getting the same [Unknown: An unknown error has occurred.]

I am happy to share my React Native project folder. I filled in any account sensitive info with "#" plus this is an MVP app where I am seeing if I will be using AWS Auth for Authentication.

What is the best way for me to provide you with a zip file of my App Project Folder?

I'll also provide more information on the general folder structure of my app as well.

[cwomack]

@ajaviles13, best way to share it (if you're open to it) would be to make the repo public if you remove any sensitive information that might be on it, invite me to the private repo if you'd like, or hop on our AWS Amplify Discord server and you we can follow up there as well with a DM.

[ajaviles13]

@cwomack - great. I removed sensitive information and shared everything but my "node_modules" folder in a public repo here: [aws-auth-error](https://github.com/ajaviles13/aws-auth-error.git). Take a look at the README file before diving in.

This isn't a time sensitive matter because I have a functional workaround using Appwrite for my Auth workflow and webhooks to sync new users/data created upon sign up directly into my AWS infrastructure. But I would love to have my Auth workflow within AWS.

[ajaviles13]

@cwomack - I wonder if it has something to do with CORS. I am not an expert at CORS but watched a couple videos and may be thinking it is correlated with my AWS Auth workflow failing to auto sign in and sign in as well.

Edited: Never mind, CORS only affects web browsing and not Mobile Apps

[cwomack]

@ajaviles13, thank you for the sample repo!

Few more questions to better understand the architecture here as I haven't used Appwrite personally and am just digging into their docs. Are you only trying to incorporate the Auth category then from Amplify via one of the "Auth Journeys" mentioned by Appwrite?

Additionally, I see you're wrapping your Auth API's and using autoSignIn(). This may cause issues because of how autoSignIn() behaves when wrapped, more on that here. Can you see if refactoring to use the Auth API's directly resolves the issue or gives you any different errors?

[ajaviles13]

Hi @cwomack, thanks for the reply. Let's forget I even mentioned Appwrite, all that implementation was stripped out of the repo that I uploaded earlier. Goal here is to get AWS Amplify Auth working as expected.

After attempting the "wrapping Auth API" suggestion you made I am still getting these issues (I also added a Loom Recording below):

1. Error Message when signing up and using the same code as V6 AWS Documentation says. It stems from the code below " // 3. Trigger autoSignIn event - will not be triggered automatically".
2. Error when signing in after I have confirmed and authenticated my account. This error message is returned "Error during sign in: [Unknown: An unknown error has occurred.]"
3. Error code when trying to refresh app and autoSignIn: "[NotAuthorizedException: Unauthenticated access is not supported for this identity pool.]"

Please see this Loom recording of the issues I am facing:
https://www.loom.com/share/b50554ecf672462596332686ea29c93b?sid=69cdcde5-7203-4f56-b31a-ec0f5e2e4e6e

I also updated the "amplify.js", "confirmCodeUponSignUp.jsx", and "signUp.jsx" in aws-auth-error based on the V6 documentation which is still leading me to the errors defined above.

Let me know if there is anything else I can provide that will be helpful.

[ashika112]

@ajaviles13 Thanks for the very detailed video and explaining through your workflow. Really appreciate this. Looking at the code in the video i noticed couple of things and gonna try and help based on the observation there.

1. From the looks of it, your autoSignIn code looks good to me, could you provide me with the result for signUp nextStep for me?

2. [NotAuthorizedException: Unauthenticated access is not supported for this identity pool.] - This is probably coming from API call before signing In. If guest access is not allowed per your backend setup, then API call for other parts of Amplify (in this case, getCurrentUser will throw this error. Because you can not get current User if you are not logged in based on your backend setup.

Meanwhile, we will work on reproducing the error in a fresh RN app to see if we can isolated it to some setup.

[ajaviles13]

@ashika112 - thank you for sharing your findings and glad to hear you got it working. I am performing a deeper analysis on my code base. I've been able to implement both Appwrite and Supabase Auth (used in different app files but same code base) perfectly with the same unplug/plugin approach in my code base. I'll need to dig deeper why my codebase isn't working with AWS Auth. Thanks again

[cwomack]

@ajaviles13, wanted to circle back and see if you had a chance to dig into the codebase and find the root cause. Let us know if you're still needing help on this!

[ajaviles13]

Hi @cwomack, I haven't had a chance to dig deeper. I have my current Auth workflow working great with Supabase at the moment and I am heads down in other FE/BE dev priorities in order to launch an MVP app within the next month. I'm a one man band at the moment so I'll circle back to the AWS Auth implementation in late December once my MVP is out there with my beta users.

[cwomack]

@ajaviles13, completely understand and take your time! We'll update the labels to be pending your response until you get some bandwidth to dig deeper and keep the issue open. Feel free to reply back whenever you get a chance in December, and good luck!

[ajaviles13]

Sounds good and will do. Thanks @cwomack !

[cwomack]

@ajaviles13, wanted to check in and see if you had the time to dig deeper on this.

[ajaviles13]

Hi @cwomack , thanks for following up. I haven't had time to dig deeper into the Amplify implementation. I did spend some time just creating a one-off User Pool in AWS Cognito and copy/pasting my userPoolID and clientID directly into my app and the workflow worked for signing up and signing in. I confirm my email with a 6-digit code and I get redirected to my home page as expected. If I sign out, I can sign back in since I verified my email with the 6-digit code. However, my Authentication Creds don't persist if I refresh my app. On refresh, my app will always send me back to the login screen. I am using AsyncStorage to store the auth tokens upon creating an account and I can see them when doing so but then I refresh the app, they go poof and don't return.

[cwomack]

@ajaviles13, is the issue tied to the token persistence after refreshing easily reproducible via the code in the sample repo you shared in an earlier comment? And when you say you refresh the app, is this just a simple refreshing of the browser or a full refresh of the app itself?

[ajaviles13]

Hi @cwomack - sorry for the delayed response. I was able to get the Sign In to persist. I jerry rigged it and leveraged Asyn Storage to make it happen. Not sure if this is the right approach but I won't be implementing this into my app just yet and will continue playing with it on the side. Supabase Auth has just been so much easier to work with so I will continue using that for now

export const signInUser = async (email, password) => {

  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    const user = new CognitoUser({
      Username: email,
      Pool: userPool,
    });

    // Explicitly format the authentication details
    const authDetails = new AuthenticationDetails({
      Username: email,
      Password: password,
      ValidationData: {}, // Add empty validation data
    });

    user.authenticateUser(authDetails, {
      onSuccess: async (result) => {
        try {
          // Get all tokens
          const accessToken = result.getAccessToken().getJwtToken();
          const idToken = result.getIdToken().getJwtToken();
          const refreshToken = result.getRefreshToken().getToken();

          //console.log("AWSsignInUser from 'AWScognito.js': user attributes: ", user);

          // Store result in AsyncStorage
          await AsyncStorage.setItem("authenticatedResult", JSON.stringify(result));
          await AsyncStorage.setItem("authenticatedUser", JSON.stringify(user));

          resolve({ result, accessToken, idToken, refreshToken });
        } catch (error) {
          console.error('Token processing error:', error);
          reject(error);
        }
      },
      onFailure: (err) => {
        console.error('Authentication error:', err);
        reject(err);
      },
      newPasswordRequired: (userAttributes, requiredAttributes) => {
        reject(new Error('New password required'));
      },
    });
  });
};

[cwomack]

@ajaviles13, the need for a custom rolled Async Storage shouldn't be needed if you're using code similar to what @ashika112 provided here.

As we're looking into this further, I'm confused by the mix of same v5 API's/imports and the current ones showing on your repo for v6 (relative to the code in the original issue description). I think we might have some blurred lines between when this issue was opened with the token persistence issue being tied to v5 artifacts needing to be cleaned up, and now more related to the v6 migrated app using a custom async storage. Can you see if using Async Storage in the "out of the box" intended way resolves the issue?