How can I programmatically change a select box selection from within the control's own change event and have it work in mobile browsers

Answer 1

You need to select option either by [value=1] or give it a class .default for example.

$('#select_id').val(1);

And then refresh .selectmenu('refresh') for re-enhancement.

$('#select_id').selectmenu('refresh');

Demo 1 - Demo 2