White Screen on iOS After Upgrading to Expo SDK 53 with eas update

### Build/Submit details page URL

_No response_

### Summary

Platform: iOS
Build Type: eas update
Expo SDK: 53.0.11
Expo Go Version: Latest from App Store
Development Client: Yes (expo-dev-client)
Framework: expo-router

Issue Summary
After upgrading to Expo SDK 53, the app works perfectly on Android, but on iOS, it freezes on a white screen immediately after launch only when using eas update.

This issue did not exist on SDK 52. We were forced to upgrade because older SDK versions are no longer supported by Expo Go on iOS.

What Works
Running the app in development mode using expo start works fine on both platforms.

Android builds via eas update also work without issue.

The app runs fine on iOS when built locally with expo run:ios.

❌ What Doesn't Work
iOS builds made using eas update + Expo Go freeze at a white screen on launch.

Tested on real device and simulator using the latest Expo Go from the App Store — same result.

Repro Steps
Build the app with eas update for any release channel (QA, development, etc.)

Open the build on iOS using the latest Expo Go

Observe: white screen on launch, app doesn’t load

Works fine on Android and in dev mode (expo start)

🙏 Request
Has anyone experienced this or found a solution to get eas update working properly on iOS with Expo SDK 53 + Expo Go?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

### Managed or bare?

Managed

### Environment

expo-env-info 1.3.4 environment info:
System:
OS: macOS 14.6
Shell: 5.9 - /bin/zsh
Binaries:
Node: 20.18.1 - ~/.nvm/versions/node/v20.18.1/bin/node
Yarn: 1.22.22 - /opt/homebrew/bin/yarn
npm: 10.8.2 - ~/.nvm/versions/node/v20.18.1/bin/npm
Watchman: 2025.04.28.00 - /opt/homebrew/bin/watchman
Managers:
CocoaPods: 1.16.2 - /opt/homebrew/bin/pod
SDKs:
iOS SDK:
Platforms: DriverKit 24.2, iOS 18.2, macOS 15.2, tvOS 18.2, visionOS 2.2, watchOS 11.2
IDEs:
Android Studio: 2024.2 AI-242.23339.11.2421.12483815
Xcode: 16.2/16C5032a - /usr/bin/xcodebuild
npmPackages:
expo: 53.0.17 => 53.0.17
expo-router: ~5.1.3 => 5.1.3
expo-updates: ~0.28.16 => 0.28.16
react: 19.0.0 => 19.0.0
react-dom: 19.0.0 => 19.0.0
react-native: 0.79.5 => 0.79.5
react-native-web: ^0.20.0 => 0.20.0
npmGlobalPackages:
eas-cli: 16.4.1
Expo Workflow: bare

env: load .env
env: export EXPO_CONFIG_scheme EXPO_CONFIG_name EXPO_CONFIG_owner EXPO_CONFIG_slug EXPO_CONFIG_orientation EXPO_CONFIG_icon EXPO_CONFIG_version EXPO_CONFIG_web_bundler EXPO_CONFIG_newArchEnabled EXPO_CONFIG_splash_image EXPO_CONFIG_splash_resizeMode EXPO_CONFIG_experiments_tsconfigPaths APP_CODE EXPO_CONFIG_ios_runtimeVersion EXPO_CONFIG_ios_buildNumber EXPO_CONFIG_ios_bundleIdentifier EXPO_CONFIG_ios_googleServicesFile EXPO_CONFIG_ios_infoPlist_UIBackgroundModes EXPO_CONFIG_ios_infoPlist_UIRequiresFullScreen EXPO_CONFIG_ios_supportsTablet EXPO_CONFIG_ios_requireFullScreen EXPO_CONFIG_ios_infoPlist_CFBundleAllowMixedLocalizations EXPO_CONFIG_ios_infoPlist_CFBundleLocalizations EXPO_CONFIG_ios_infoPlist_ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption EXPO_CONFIG_android_package EXPO_CONFIG_android_runtimeVersion EXPO_CONFIG_android_versionCode EXPO_CONFIG_android_googleServicesFile EXPO_CONFIG_android_allowBackup EXPO_CONFIG_android_edgeToEdgeEnabled EXPO_CONFIG_updates_url EXPO_CONFIG_updates_fallbackToCacheTimeout EXPO_CONFIG_extra_eas_projectId EXPO_CONFIG_extra_router_origin EXPO_PUBLIC_apiEndpoint EXPO_PUBLIC_googleRecaptchaSiteKey EXPO_PUBLIC_googleRecaptchaSecretKey
12/15 checks passed. 3 checks failed. Possible issues detected:
Use the --verbose flag to see more details about passed checks.

npx expo-doctor
env: load .env
env: export EXPO_CONFIG_scheme EXPO_CONFIG_name EXPO_CONFIG_owner EXPO_CONFIG_slug EXPO_CONFIG_orientation EXPO_CONFIG_icon EXPO_CONFIG_version EXPO_CONFIG_web_bundler EXPO_CONFIG_newArchEnabled EXPO_CONFIG_splash_image EXPO_CONFIG_splash_resizeMode EXPO_CONFIG_experiments_tsconfigPaths APP_CODE EXPO_CONFIG_ios_runtimeVersion EXPO_CONFIG_ios_buildNumber EXPO_CONFIG_ios_bundleIdentifier EXPO_CONFIG_ios_googleServicesFile EXPO_CONFIG_ios_infoPlist_UIBackgroundModes EXPO_CONFIG_ios_infoPlist_UIRequiresFullScreen EXPO_CONFIG_ios_supportsTablet EXPO_CONFIG_ios_requireFullScreen EXPO_CONFIG_ios_infoPlist_CFBundleAllowMixedLocalizations EXPO_CONFIG_ios_infoPlist_CFBundleLocalizations EXPO_CONFIG_ios_infoPlist_ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption EXPO_CONFIG_android_package EXPO_CONFIG_android_runtimeVersion EXPO_CONFIG_android_versionCode EXPO_CONFIG_android_googleServicesFile EXPO_CONFIG_android_allowBackup EXPO_CONFIG_android_edgeToEdgeEnabled EXPO_CONFIG_updates_url EXPO_CONFIG_updates_fallbackToCacheTimeout EXPO_CONFIG_extra_eas_projectId EXPO_CONFIG_extra_router_origin EXPO_PUBLIC_apiEndpoint EXPO_PUBLIC_googleRecaptchaSiteKey EXPO_PUBLIC_googleRecaptchaSecretKey
14/15 checks passed. 1 checks failed. Possible issues detected:
Use the --verbose flag to see more details about passed checks.

✖ Validate packages against React Native Directory package metadata
The following issues were found when validating your dependencies against React Native Directory:
Untested on New Architecture: jwt-decode, react-native-keyboard-aware-scroll-view, react-native-responsive-screen
Unmaintained: react-native-keyboard-aware-scroll-view, react-native-responsive-screen, react-native-switch
No metadata available: axios-mock-adapter, color-alpha, dotenv, emoji-dictionary, hoist-non-react-statics, lodash.isequal, moment
Advice:
Use libraries that are actively maintained and support the New Architecture. Find alternative libraries with https://reactnative.directory.
Add packages to expo.doctor.reactNativeDirectoryCheck.exclude in package.json to selectively skip validations, if the warning is not relevant.
Update React Native Directory to include metadata for unknown packages. Alternatively, set expo.doctor.reactNativeDirectoryCheck.listUnknownPackages in package.json to false to skip warnings about packages with no metadata, if the warning is not relevant.

1 check failed, indicating possible issues with the project.
Also the suggestion to have all these expo fixes still doens work for me ! Same issue

### Error output

_No response_

### Reproducible demo or steps to reproduce from a blank project

Just with
eas update on any channels