UISearchController's UISearchBar embedded in Navigation Bar: Does not become first responder - ios

Question

I am trying to embed a UISearchController's search bar in the titleView of my navigation controller's bar. Exactly this can be seen in the UICatalog sample code by Apple and works:
// Create the search results view controller and use it for the UISearchController.
AAPLSearchResultsViewController *searchResultsController = [self.storyboard instantiateViewControllerWithIdentifier:AAPLSearchResultsViewControllerStoryboardIdentifier];
// Create the search controller and make it perform the results updating.
self.searchController = [[UISearchController alloc] initWithSearchResultsController:searchResultsController];
self.searchController.searchResultsUpdater = searchResultsController;
self.searchController.hidesNavigationBarDuringPresentation = NO;
/*
Configure the search controller's search bar. For more information on how to configure
search bars, see the "Search Bar" group under "Search".
*/
self.searchController.searchBar.searchBarStyle = UISearchBarStyleMinimal;
self.searchController.searchBar.placeholder = NSLocalizedString(#"Search", nil);
// Include the search bar within the navigation bar.
self.navigationItem.titleView = self.searchController.searchBar;
self.definesPresentationContext = YES;
I try to do the same with this code:
self.searchSuggestionsController = [[SearchSuggestionsTableViewController alloc]initWithStyle:UITableViewStylePlain];
self.searchSuggestionsController.delegate = self;
self.searchController = [[UISearchController alloc]initWithSearchResultsController:self.searchSuggestionsController];
self.searchController.delegate = self;
self.searchController.searchResultsUpdater = self.searchSuggestionsController;
self.searchController.searchBar.delegate = self;
self.searchController.dimsBackgroundDuringPresentation = YES;
[self.searchController setHidesNavigationBarDuringPresentation:NO];
self.searchController.searchBar.searchBarStyle = UISearchBarStyleProminent;
[self.searchController.searchBar setPlaceholder:NSLocalizedString(#"Search", nil)];
[self.navigationItem setTitleView:self.searchController.searchBar];
if (self.searchQuery) {
[self.searchController.searchBar setText:_searchQuery.queryString];
}
self.definesPresentationContext = YES;
But when I run it on device or in simulator the search bar in the navigation bar will never become first responder. The keyboard is not showing up, I can't enter text. What I can do is use the clear button and the text clears but still I can't enter any texts.
Any ideas?

Answer 1

Old question, but just had a similar problem. Be sure to have embedded the "searchBar" in a valid navigation controller in the VC heirachy. That happened to be my mistake. So this works;
CCCTestVC *tVC = [[CCCTestVC alloc] init];
UINavigationController *nC = [[UINavigationController alloc] initWithRootViewController:tVC];
[self.navigationController presentViewController:nC animated:YES completion:nil];
as opposed to doing this;
CCCTestVC *tVC = [[CCCTestVC alloc] init];
[self.navigationController pushViewController:tVC animated:YES];

Answer 2

try implementing UISearchBarDelegate
and call searchBar' s becomeFirstResponder() in searchBarTextDidBeginEditing
then in searchBarTextDidEndEditing call resignFirstResponder()