In our system, when a user enables a mobile hotspot and the system connects to it, the system attempts to verify WIFI availability by sending an HTTP GET request to http://captive.apple.com.
Normally, the server returns:
HTTP Status: 200 (OK)
Content-Type: text/html
This has always been used as a sign of normal connectivity.
Issue: Since last Friday, the server sometimes responds with:
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
When this occurs, our system determines that the network is unavailable and displays a connection warning (a “!” icon).
Question: Has Apple recently made any backend or CDN configuration changes to captive.apple.com that could affect the response type?
Any advice how can we solve this problem?
Thanks!
Sorry I didn’t reply earlier. This thread started out on Accessibility & Inclusion > General, so I didn’t see it go by. See tip 4 in Quinn’s Top Ten DevForums Tips.
captive.apple.com is an implementation detail of Apple’s captive network system. It’s not considered API. So:
- If you’re an app developer, don’t access this service.
- If you’re a Wi-Fi accessory developer, don’t special case this DNS name.
For more on that last point, see Extra-ordinary Networking > Working with a Wi-Fi Accessory.
Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"
