Flutter iOS Simulator Build Error - Unable to find destination for emulation

[Ibrahima Bachir Traoré]

Hi,

I'm encountering an issue when trying to run my Flutter app on the iOS simulator. The app builds successfully but fails to launch with the following error:

Failed to build iOS app

Uncategorized (Xcode): Unable to find a destination matching the provided destination specifier:

        { id:6925F2DD-5E44-49DD-AB7A-E11C69EFADFD }

Available destinations for the "Runner" scheme:

        { platform:macOS, arch:arm64, variant:Designed for [iPad,iPhone], id:00008132-001408142163801C, name:My Mac }

        { platform:iOS, arch:arm64, id:00008130-000459360C42001C, name:iPhone de Leandro }

        { platform:iOS, id:dvtdevice-DVTiPhonePlaceholder-iphoneos:placeholder, name:Any iOS Device }

        { platform:iOS Simulator, id:dvtdevice-DVTiOSDeviceSimulatorPlaceholder-iphonesimulator:placeholder, name:Any iOS Simulator Device }

Could not build the application for the simulator.

Error launching application on iPhone Air.

Environment:

• macOS 25.0.0
• Flutter (latest stable)
• Xcode with iOS Simulator

The issue happens no matter which emulated device is used.

[Natrayan Ramalingam]

Hi Ibrahima,

Thank you for reaching out. We understand that your Flutter app builds successfully but fails to launch on the iOS simulator, showing an error related to a missing destination device ID. This error typically means that Xcode (and Flutter) is trying to launch the app on a simulator with a specific device UUID that no longer exists or has been replaced. This can happen due to:

• An Xcode update

• A macOS update

• Flutter cache mismatch

To help resolve this, please follow the steps below:

Step 1: Verify your available simulators

Run the following command. This will list all simulators and their UUIDs. Check if the UUID mentioned in the error (6925F2DD-5E44-49DD-AB7A-E11C69EFADFD) exists. If it doesn’t, that’s likely the issue.

xcrun simctl list devices

Step 2: Reset and recreate simulators

If the simulator list looks odd or has missing devices, reset them:

xcrun simctl delete unavailable

xcrun simctl erase all

Then, open Xcode and create a new simulator:

• Go to Xcode → Window → Devices and Simulators → Simulators tab

• Click the “+” button to add a new simulator

• Choose a model (e.g., iPhone 15) and iOS version (e.g., iOS 18.0)

Step 3: Clean Flutter’s build cache

Sometimes Flutter holds a stale reference to a simulator. Run:

flutter clean

flutter pub get

Optionally, reset Xcode’s derived data:

rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData

Step 4: Specify the correct simulator explicitly

List all simulators Flutter can detect:

flutter devices

You’ll see output like:

iPhone 15 Pro (mobile) • A4B5E2... • ios • com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-18-0

Now launch using the proper name:

flutter run -d "iPhone 15 Pro"

This ensures Flutter uses the current simulator instead of the stale UUID.

Step 5: Optional sanity checks

If the issue still persists:

• Open the iOS simulator manually at least once before running Flutter.

• Try running the app directly via Xcode (Runner → Run) to confirm it works.

• Ensure your Flutter SDK and Xcode CLI tools are up to date:

flutter upgrade

xcode-select –install

Please try these steps and let us know if the issue persists. We’ll be happy to assist further.

Regards,

Natrayan