Native Back Button Invisible on Initial Load of Mobile Web Screen (MESP) but Still Clickable

[aayushipare]

Hi everyone,

I'm facing an issue in ServiceNow Now Mobile (Zurich) with a Mobile Web Screen (MESP) and would like to know if anyone else has experienced this or found a workaround.

 

Issue ->

When navigating from a native mobile screen to a Mobile Web Screen (URL configured as a MESP page), the native header back button is not visible on the initial load.

However:

• The screen title displays correctly.
• The back button area is still clickable.
• Tapping the invisible back button successfully navigates back.
• After refreshing/reloading the page, the back button icon becomes visible.
• This behavior only occurs on Mobile Web Screens (MESP/WebView).
• Native mobile screens do not have this issue.

Configuration

Mobile Web Screen

URL: /mesp?id=catalog_categories_now_mobile

Settings:

Hide screen name = false

Hide native header = false

The MESP page loads a Service Portal widget.

Observed Behavior

1. Navigate from a native screen to the Mobile Web Screen.
2. Native header is displayed.
3. Screen title is displayed.
4. Back button icon is invisible.
5. Tap where the back button should be.
6. Navigation works correctly.
7. Refresh the page.
8. Back button icon is now visible.

Additional Findings

• The navigation stack appears to be correct because the back action works.
• The touch target exists even when the icon is not visible.
• The issue looks more like a rendering/UI repaint problem rather than a navigation issue.
• I reviewed the widget CSS and did not find any fullscreen overlays, fixed-position headers, or high z-index elements that would intentionally hide the native header.

Any suggestions, known defects, KB articles, or workarounds would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!