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Explore the networking protocols and technologies used by the device to connect to Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth devices, and cellular data services.

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When updating a VPN app with `includeAllNetworks`, the newer instance of the packet tunnel is not started via on-demand rules
When installing a new version the app while a tunnel is connected, seemingly the old packet tunnel process gets stopped but the new one does not come back up. Reportedly, a path monitor is reporting that the device has no connectivity. Is this the expected behavior? When installing an update from TestFlight or the App store, the packet tunnel instance from the old tunnel is stopped, but, due to the profile being on-demand and incldueAllNetworks, the path monitoring believes the device has no connectivity - so the new app is never downloaded. Is this the expected behavior? During development, the old packet tunnel gets stopped, the new app is installed, but the new packet tunnel is never started. To start it, the user has to toggle the VPN twice from the Settings app. The tunnel could be started from the VPN app too, if we chose to not take the path monitor into account, but then the user still needs to attempt to start the tunnel twice - it only works on the second try. As far as we can tell, the first time around, the packet tunnel never gets started, the app receives an update about NEVPNStatus being set to disconnecting yet NEVPNConnection does not throw. The behavior I was naively expecting was that the packet tunnel process would be stopped only when the new app is fully downloaded and when the update is installed, Are we doing something horribly wrong here?
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Jan ’26
Kernel panics on M5 devices with network extension
Hello, We have a security solution which intercepts network traffic for inspection using a combination of Transparent Proxy Provider and Content filter. Lately we are seeing reports from the market that on M5 Macbooks and A18 Neos the system will kernel panic using our solution, even though it never happens on M1-M4 and no significant code changes were made in the mean time. All crashes seem to be related to an internal double free in the kernel: panic(cpu 0 caller 0xfffffe003bb68224): skmem_slab_free_locked: attempt to free invalid or already-freed obj 0xf2fffe29e15f2400 on skm 0xf6fffe2518aaa200 @skmem_slab.c:646 Debugger message: panic Memory ID: 0xff OS release type: User OS version: 25D2128 Kernel version: Darwin Kernel Version 25.3.0: Wed Jan 28 20:54:38 PST 2026; root:xnu-12377.91.3~2/RELEASE_ARM64_T6050 Additionally, from further log inspection, before panics we find some weird kernel messages which seem to be related to some DMA operations gone wrong in the network driver on some machines: 2026-03-30 14:11:21.779124+0300 0x30f2 Default 0x0 873 0 Arc: (Network) [com.apple.network:connection] [C9.1.1.1 IPv4#e5b4bb04:443 in_progress socket-flow (satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: en0[802.11], ipv4, ipv6, dns, uses wifi, flow divert agg: 1, LQM: good)] event: flow:start_connect @0.075s 2026-03-30 14:11:21.780015+0300 0x1894 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (402262746): No more valid control units, disabling flow divert 2026-03-30 14:11:21.780017+0300 0x1894 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (402262746): Skipped all flow divert services, disabling flow divert 2026-03-30 14:11:21.780102+0300 0x1894 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: SK[2]: flow_entry_alloc fe "0 proc kernel_task(0)Arc nx_port 1 flow_uuid D46E230E-B826-4E0A-8C59-4C4C8BF6AA60 flags 0x14120<CONNECTED,QOS_MARKING,EXT_PORT,EXT_FLOWID> ipver=4,src=<IPv4-redacted>.49703,dst=<IPv4-redacted>.443,proto=0x06 mask=0x0000003f,hash=0x04e0a750 tp_proto=0x06" 2026-03-30 14:11:21.780194+0300 0x1894 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: tcp connect outgoing: [<IPv4-redacted>:49703<-><IPv4-redacted>:443] interface: en0 (skipped: 0) so_gencnt: 14634 t_state: SYN_SENT process: Arc:873 SYN in/out: 0/1 bytes in/out: 0/0 pkts in/out: 0/0 rtt: 0.0 ms rttvar: 250.0 ms base_rtt: 0 ms error: 0 so_error: 0 svc/tc: 0 flow: 0x9878386f 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934431+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: Hit error condition (not panicking as we're in error handler): t8110dart <private> (dart-apcie0): invalid SID 2 TTBR access: level 1 table_index 0 page_offset 0x2 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934432+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.511690]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 6 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934441+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.511696]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 9 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934441+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.569033]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 6 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934441+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.569038]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 9 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934442+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.577453]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 7 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934442+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.586328]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 5 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934442+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.586332]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 8 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934442+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.621392]: (dart-apcie0) AppleT8110DART::_fatalException: dart-apcie0 (<ptr>): DART DART SID exception ERROR_SID_SUMMARY 0x00003000 ERROR_ADDRESS 0x0000000000009800 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934443+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.621397]: Hit error condition (not panicking as we're in error handler): 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934443+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: t8110dart <ptr> (dart-apcie0): invalid SID 2 TTBR access: level 1 table_index 0 page_offset 0x2Expect a `deadbeef` in the error messages below 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934452+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: Expect a `deadbeef` in the error messages below 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934456+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleEmbeddedPCIE) apcie[0:centauri-control]::_dartErrorHandler() InvalidPTE caused by read from address 0x9800 by SID 2 (RID 2:0:1/useCount 1/device <private>) 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934469+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleT8110DART) Ignored dart-apcie0 (0xfbfffe18820b0000): DART(DART) error: SID 2 PTE invalid exception on read of DVA 0x9800 (SEG 0 PTE 0x2) ERROR_SID_SUMMARY 0x00003000 TIME 0x11242d43fd TTE 0xffffffffffffffff AXI_ID 0 We do not have any correlation between machines, usage pattern or installed applications. Uninstalling the network protection features seem to largely fix the issues, even though we have heard of crashes happening even in safe mode or with our network extension disabled from system settings. We weren't able to reproduce internally and it seems to happen completely random on client machines, but often enough to be disrupting. Can you tell us please if this is a known problem and if there's a workaround or what can we do to narrow it down? Thanks.
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Summary of '27 Changes?
There doesn't seem to be a What's New in Networking or What's New in Foundation talk this year, and nothing mentioned in the various Release Notes, so can you summarize the overall changes across platforms, or point to a document that does so?
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Network Extension App for MacOS with 3 Extensions
Hi All, I am currently working on a Network Extension App for MacOS using 3 types of extensions provided by Apple's Network Extension Framework. Content Filter, App Proxy (Want to get/capture/log all HTTP/HTTPS traffic), DNS Proxy (Want to get/capture/log all DNS records). Later parse into human readable format. Is my selection of network extension types correct for the intended logs I need? I am able to run with one extension: Main App(Xcode Target1) <-> Content Filter Extension. Here there is a singleton class IPCConnection between App(ViewController.swift) which is working fine with NEMachServiceName from Info.plist of ContentFilter Extension(Xcode Target2) However, when I add an App Proxy extension as a new Xcode Target3, I think the App and extension's communication getting messed up and App not getting started/Crashing. Here, In the same Main App, I am adding new separate IPCConnection for this extension. Here is the project organization/folder structure. MyNetworkExtension ├──MyNetworkExtension(Xcode Target1) │ ├── AppDelegate.swift │ ├── Assets.xcassets │ ├── Info.plist │ ├── MyNetworkExtension.entitlement │ | ── Main │ |-----ViewController.swift │ └── Base.lproj │ └── Main.storyboard ├── ContentFilterExtension(Xcode Target2) │ ├── ContentFilterExtension.entitlement │ │ ├── FilterDataProvider.swift │ │ ├── Info.plist │ │ ├── IPCConnection.swift │ │ └── main.swift ├── AppProxyProviderExtension(Xcode Target3) │ ├── AppProxyProviderExtension.entitlement │ │ ├── AppProxyIPCConnection.swift │ │ ├── AppProxyProvider.swift │ │ ├── Info.plist │ │ └── main.swift └── Frameworks ├── libbsm.tbd └── NetworkExtension.framework Is my Approach for creating a single Network Extension App with Multiple extensions correct or is there any better approach of project organization that will make future modifications/working easier and makes the maintenance better? I want to keep the logic for each extension separate while having the same, single Main App that manages everything(installing, activating, managing identifiers, extensions, etc). What's the best approach to establish a Communication from MainApp to each extension separately, without affecting one another? Is it good idea to establish 3 separate IPC Connections(each is a singleton class) for each extension? Are there any suggestions you can provide that relates to my use case of capturing all the network traffic logs(including HTTP/HTTPS, DNS Records, etc), especially on App to Extension Communication, where my app unable to keep multiple IPC Connections and maintain them separately? I've been working on it for a while, and still unable to make the Network Extension App work with multiple extensions(each as a new Xcode target). Main App with single extension is working fine, but if I add new extension, App getting crashed. I suspect it's due to XPC/IPC connection things! I really appreciate any support on this either directly or by any suggestions/resources that will help me get better understand and make some progress. Please reach out if in case any clarifications or specific information that's needed to better understand my questions. Thank you very much
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421
Sep ’25
Content Filter Permission Prompt Not Appearing in TestFlight
I added a Content Filter to my app, and when running it in Xcode (Debug/Release), I get the expected permission prompt: "Would like to filter network content (Allow / Don't Allow)". However, when I install the app via TestFlight, this prompt doesn’t appear at all, and the feature doesn’t work. Is there a special configuration required for TestFlight? Has anyone encountered this issue before? Thanks!
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1.2k
Mar ’26
Disable URLSession auto retry policy
We are developing an iOS application that is interacting with HTTP APIs that requires us to put a unique UUID (a nonce) as an header on every request (obviously there's more than that, but that's irrilevant to the question here). If the same nonce is sent on two subsequent requests the server returns a 412 error. We should avoid generating this kind of errors as, if repeated, they may be flagged as a malicious activity by the HTTP APIs. We are using URLSession.shared.dataTaskPublisher(for: request) to call the HTTP APIs with request being generated with the unique nonce as an header. On our field tests we are seeing a few cases of the same HTTP request (same nonce) being repeated a few seconds on after the other. Our code has some retry logic only on 401 errors, but that involves a token refresh, and this is not what we are seeing from logs. We were able to replicate this behaviour on our own device using Network Link Conditioner with very bad performance, with XCode's Network inspector attached we can be certain that two HTTP requests with identical headers are actually made automatically, the first request has an "End Reason" of "Retry", the second is "Success" with Status 412. Our questions are: can we disable this behaviour? can we provide a new request for the retry (so that we can update headers)? Thanks, Francesco
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425
Aug ’25
Title: Accessing Wi-Fi SSID for custom On-Demand logic in PacketTunnelProvider on macOS
We are developing a macOS VPN application using NEPacketTunnelProvider with a custom encryption protocol. We are using standard On-Demand VPN rules with Wi-Fi SSID matching but we want to add some additional feature to the native behaviour.  We want to control the 'conenect/disconnect' button status and allow the user to interact with the tunnel even when the on demand rule conditions are satisfied, is there a native way to do it? In case we need to implement our custom on-demand behaviour we need to access to this information: connected interface type ssid name and being informed when it changes so to trigger our logic, how to do it from the app side? we try to use CWWiFiClient along with ssidDidChangeForWiFiInterface monitoring, it returns just the interface name en0 and not the wifi ssid name. Is location access mandatory to access wifi SSID on macOS even if we have a NEPacketTunnelProvider? Please note that we bundle our Network Extension as an App Extension (not SystemExtension).
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Jan ’26
macOS Tahoe: IPMonitor incorrectly re-ranks interfaces causing VPN DNS leaks
Description Enterprise users are experiencing VPN resource access failures after upgrading to macOS Tahoe. Investigation indicates that configd (specifically IPMonitor) is incorrectly re-ranking network interfaces after a connectivity failure with probe server. This results in DNS queries routing through the physical network adapter (en0) instead of the VPN virtual adapter, even while the tunnel is active. This behaviour is not seen in previous macOS versions. Steps to Reproduce: Connect to an enterprise VPN (e.g., Ivanti Secure Access). Trigger a transient network condition where the Apple probe server is unreachable. For example make the DNS server down for 30 sec. Observe the system routing DNS queries for internal resources to the physical adapter. Expected Results The: VPN virtual interface should maintain its primary rank for enterprise DNS queries regardless of the physical adapter's probe status. Actual Results: IPMonitor detects an UplinkIssue, deprioritizes the VPN interface, and elevates the physical adapter to a higher priority rank. Technical Root Cause & Logs: The system logs show IPMonitor identifying an issue and modifying the interface priority at 16:03:54: IPMonitor Detection: The process identifies an inability to reach the Apple probe server and marks en0 with an advisory: Log snippet 2026-01-06 16:03:53.956399+0100 localhost configd[594]: [com.apple.SystemConfiguration:IPMonitor] configd[594] SetInterfaceAdvisory(en0) = UplinkIssue (2) reason='unable to reach probe server' Interface Re-ranking: Immediately following, IPMonitor recalculates the rank, placing the physical service ID at a higher priority (lower numerical rank) than the VPN service ID (net.pulsesecure...): Log snippet 2026-01-06 16:03:53.967935+0100 localhost configd[594]: [com.apple.SystemConfiguration:IPMonitor] 0. en0 serviceID=50CD9266-B097-4664-BFE6-7BAFCC5E9DC0 addr=192.168.0.128 rank=0x200000d 2026-01-06 16:03:53.967947+0100 localhost configd[594]: [com.apple.SystemConfiguration:IPMonitor] 1. en0 serviceID=net.pulsesecure.pulse.nc.main addr=192.168.0.128 rank=0x2ffffff 3.Physical adapter Is selected as Primary Interface: 2026-01-06 16:03:53.968145+0100 localhost configd[594]: [com.apple.SystemConfiguration:IPMonitor] 50CD9266-B097-4664-BFE6-7BAFCC5E9DC0 is the new primary IPv4 configd[594]: 50CD9266-B097-4664-BFE6-7BAFCC5E9DC0 is the new primary DNS Packet Trace Evidence Wireshark confirms that DNS queries for enterprise-specific DNS servers are being originated from the physical IP (192.168.0.128) instead of the virtual adapter: Time: 16:03:54.084 Source: 192.168.0.128 (Physical Adapter) Destination: 172.29.155.115 (Internal VPN DNS Server) Result: Connectivity Failure (Queries sent outside the tunnel)
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556
Apr ’26
AccessorySetupKit – WiFi picker – show accessories after factory reset?
Hi there, We’re developing a companion app for a smart home product that communicates over the user’s local network. To provision the device, it initially creates its own Wi-Fi network. The user joins this temporary network and enters their home Wi-Fi credentials via our app. The app then sends those credentials directly to the device, which stores them and connects to the local network for normal operation. We’re using AccessorySetupKit to discover nearby devices (via SSID prefix) and NEHotspotManager to join the accessory’s Wi-Fi network once the user selects it. This workflow works well in general. However, we’ve encountered a problem: if the user factory-resets the accessory, or needs to restart setup (for example, after entering the wrong Wi-Fi password), the device no longer appears in the accessory picker. In iOS 18, we were able to work around this by calling removeAccessory() after the device is selected. This forces the picker to always display the accessory again. But in iOS 26, a new confirmation dialog now appears when calling removeAccessory(), which confuses users during setup. We’re looking for a cleaner way to handle this scenario — ideally a way to make the accessory rediscoverable without prompting the user to confirm removal. Thanks for your time and guidance.
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386
Nov ’25
Bluetooth 5 Coded PHY (Long Range) removed in iOS 14
I am pretty sure iOS 13.4 (beta and later) did support Coded PHY (Long Range). Tested devices are iPhone SE2 and iPhone 11 Pro. However, it seems iOS 14 removed the support of Coded PHY, accidentally or on purpose, I don't know? The same PHY update request returns "1M PHY" in iOS 14, but "Coded PHY" in iOS 13 (13.4 beta and later). Anyone knows why? Samson
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6.1k
Oct ’25
Is it allowed for a third-party iOS app to query time.apple.com (NTP/SNTP)? Any official usage guidance / rate limits?
I’m developing an iOS idle game (guild management). To detect manual device time changes that would break progression, I need a trusted “current real-world time” reference. I’m considering querying Apple’s NTP host time.apple.com, but I couldn’t find any official guidance about whether third-party apps may use time.apple.com directly (acceptable use, rate limits, whether it’s discouraged, etc.). Apple Developer Support couldn’t provide info and suggested asking on the forums. Questions: 1. Is it permitted for a third-party iOS app to query time.apple.com via NTP/SNTP (Yes/No or conditional)? 2. If permitted, are there any published or recommended constraints (rate limits, caching, prohibited patterns, commercial app considerations)? 3. If not permitted / not recommended, what is the recommended alternative approach (run our own time service, use public NTP pool, or any Apple-recommended mechanism)? 4. If there is any official document / policy covering this, could you point me to it? For context: I do not need sub-second accuracy and I do not intend high-frequency polling. If implemented at all, it would be very low frequency (e.g., first launch + once per 24h) with caching and graceful fallback on failure. My main goal is policy clarity rather than implementation details.
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Jan ’26
Network System Extension cannot use network interface of another VPN
Hi, Our project is a MacOS SwiftUI GUI application that bundles a (Sandboxed) System Network Extension, signed with a Developer ID certificate for distribution outside of the app store. The system network extension is used to write a packet tunnel provider (NEPacketTunnelProvider), as our project requires the creation of a TUN device. In order for our System VPN to function, it must reach out to a (self-hosted) server (i.e. to discover a list of peers). Being self-hosted, this server is typically not accessible via the public web, and may only be accessible from within a VPN (such as those also implemented using NEPacketTunnelProvider, e.g. Tailscale, Cloudflare WARP). What we've discovered is that the networking code of the System Network Extension process does not attempt to use the other VPN network interfaces (utunX) on the system. In practice, this means requests to IPs and hostnames that should be routed to those interfaces time out. Identical requests made outside of the Network System Extension process use those interfaces and succeed. The simplest example is where we create a URLSession.downloadTask for a resource on the server. A more complicated example is where we execute a Go .dylib that continues to communicate with that server. Both types of requests time out. Two noteworthy logs appear when packets fail to send, both from the kernel 'process': cfil_hash_entry_log:6088 <CFIL: Error: sosend_reinject() failed>: [30685 com.coder.Coder-Desktop.VPN] <UDP(17) out so b795d11aca7c26bf 57728068503033955 57728068503033955 age 0> lport 3001 fport 3001 laddr 100.108.7.40 faddr 100.112.177.88 hash 58B15863 cfil_service_inject_queue:4472 CFIL: sosend() failed 49 I also wrote some test code that probes using a UDP NWConnection and NWPath availableInterfaces. When run from the GUI App, multiple interfaces are returned, including the one that routes the address, utun5. When ran from within the sysex, only en0 is returned. I understand routing a VPN through another is unconventional, but we unfortunately do need this functionality one way or another. Is there any way to modify which interfaces are exposed to the sysex? Additionally, are these limitations of networking within a Network System Extension documented anywhere? Do you have any ideas why this specific limitation might exist?
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Jul ’25
NEFilterDataProvider activation on consumer iOS — saveToPreferences fails (code 5), .mobileconfig requires MDM
Hello, I'm developing a gambling blocker app that uses NEFilterDataProvider. My app was approved on the App Store, but the core feature doesn't work for end users. I have the content-filter-provider entitlement. Issue 1 — saveToPreferences() fails in distribution builds In dev builds (Xcode direct install), NEFilterManager.saveToPreferences() works fine — iOS shows a permission dialog and the filter is registered. In distribution builds (TestFlight/App Store), it fails immediately: NEFilterErrorDomain code 5 — Operation not permitted Console log from nehelper: "Creating a content filter configuration is only allowed through profile in production version" Issue 2 — .mobileconfig profile requires MDM Following the Console hint, I tried a .mobileconfig profile with com.apple.webcontent-filter payload (ContentFilterUUID, FilterType: Plugin, PluginBundleID). On an unsupervised consumer iPhone (iOS 18.5), installation fails: Profile Installation Failed — MDM required Question: What is the correct mechanism to activate a NEFilterDataProvider on a consumer (non-MDM) iPhone in a distribution build? Is there a specific entitlement or approval process I'm missing? (DTS Case-ID: 20087732)
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Crash in libquic.dylib | quic_recovery_pto | iOS 26.1
Hello, I am investigating a recurring crash that appears to be originating within the system's network stack. OS Version: iPhone OS 26.1 (23B85) Role: Foreground Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV) Exception Subtype: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000000 Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000001, 0x0000000000000000 Triggered by Thread: 19 Description: The crash is triggered by Thread 19 and occurs deep within libquic.dylib during a QUIC recovery timer event. Based on the backtrace, the failure happens in quic_recovery_pto. The issue seems to occur when a protocol instance schedules a wakeup, leading to a null pointer dereference in the system library. Crashed Thread Backtrace snippet:Thread 19 Crashed: Thread 19 Crashed: 0 libquic.dylib 0x00000001a00a38cc quic_recovery_pto + 72 (quic_recovery.c:1259) 1 libquic.dylib 0x00000001a00a3390 quic_recovery_timer_fired + 132 (quic_recovery.c:1460) 2 libquic.dylib 0x00000001a00a1f8c quic_timer_run + 248 (quic_timer.c:210) 3 Network 0x000000018ec76cbc __nw_protocol_instance_schedule_wakeup_block_invoke + 76 (protocol_implementation.cpp:5847) 4 Network 0x000000018eba34e0 __nw_context_reset_timer_block_with_time_block_invoke + 268 (context.cpp:2224) 5 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c84727ec _dispatch_client_callout + 16 (client_callout.mm:85) 6 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c845d664 _dispatch_continuation_pop + 596 (queue.c:349) 7 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c8470528 _dispatch_source_latch_and_call + 396 (source.c:601) 8 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c846f1fc _dispatch_source_invoke + 844 (source.c:966) 9 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c8463288 _dispatch_workloop_invoke + 1612 (queue.c:4761) 10 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c846c3ec _dispatch_root_queue_drain_deferred_wlh + 292 (queue.c:7265) 11 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c846bce4 _dispatch_workloop_worker_thread + 692 (queue.c:6859) 12 libsystem_pthread.dylib 0x00000001ec0623b8 _pthread_wqthread + 292 (pthread.c:2696) 13 libsystem_pthread.dylib 0x00000001ec0618c0 start_wqthread + 8 (:-1) Can anyone provide insights into what might be causing libquic to access an invalid address in this context? Any help or suggestions for further diagnostics would be greatly appreciated.
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May ’26
URL Filter and Content Filter Providers
Hello, I have a few questions regarding URL Filter (iOS 26) and Content Filter Providers. URL Filter According to the WWDC26 video, URL Filter appears to be available for both consumer and enterprise deployments. This seems consistent with the classic Network Extension Provider Deployment documentation (TN3134 – August 2025), where no specific deployment restriction is mentioned. However, a more recent document (Apple Platform Deployment, September 2025) indicates the following for URL Filter: “Requires supervision on iPhone, iPad and Mac” (with a green checkmark). 👉 My question: Is URL Filter actually available for consumer use on non-supervised iPhones (deployed on Testflight and AppStore), or is supervision now required? Content Filter Providers From past experience, I remember that Content Filter Providers were only available on supervised devices. Based on the current documentation, I am questioning their usability in a consumer context, i.e. on non-supervised iPhones. In the Network Extension Provider Deployment documentation, it is stated that this is a Network Extension and that, since iOS 16, it is a “per-app on managed device” restriction. In the more recent Apple Platform Deployment document, it states for iPhone and iPad: “App needs to be installed on the user’s iOS and iPadOS device and deletion can be prevented if the device is supervised.” 👉 My understanding: Supervised device: The Content Filter Provider is installed via a host application that controls enabling/disabling the filter, and the host app can be prevented from being removed thanks to supervision. Non-supervised device: The Content Filter Provider is also installed via a host application that controls enabling/disabling the filter, but the app can be removed by the user, which would remove the filter. 👉 My question: Can Content Filter Providers be used in a consumer context on non-supervised iPhones (deployed on Testflight and AppStore), accepting that the user can uninstall the host app (and therefore remove the filter)? Thank you in advance for your feedback. Sources: TN3134 => TN3134: Network Extension provider deployment | Apple Developer Documentation Apple Platform Deployment / Filter content for Apple devices => https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/deployment/dep1129ff8d2/1/web/1.0
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103
Jan ’26
Need Inputs on Which Extension to Use
Hi all, I have a working macOS (Intel) system extension app that currently uses only a Content Filter (NEFilterDataProvider). I need to capture/log HTTP and HTTPS traffic in plain text, and I understand NETransparentProxyProvider is the right extension type for that. For HTTPS I will need TLS inspection / a MITM proxy — I’m new to that and unsure how complex it will be. For DNS data (in plain text), can I use the same extension, or do I need a separate extension type such as NEPacketTunnelProvider, NEFilterPacketProvider, or NEDNSProxyProvider? Current architecture: Two Xcode targets: MainApp and a SystemExtension target. The SystemExtension target contains multiple network extension types. MainApp ↔ SystemExtension communicate via a bidirectional NSXPC connection. I can already enable two extensions (Content Filter and TransparentProxy). With the NETransparentProxy, I still need to implement HTTPS capture. Questions I’d appreciate help with: Can NETransparentProxy capture the DNS fields I need (dns_hostname, dns_query_type, dns_response_code, dns_answer_number, etc.), or do I need an additional extension type to capture DNS in plain text? If a separate extension is required, is it possible or problematic to include that extension type (Packet Tunnel / DNS Proxy / etc.) in the same SystemExtension Xcode target as the TransparentProxy? Any recommended resources or guidance on TLS inspection / MITM proxy setup for capturing HTTPS logs? There are multiple DNS transport types — am I correct that capturing DNS over UDP (port 53) is not necessarily sufficient? Which DNS types should I plan to handle? I’ve read that TransparentProxy and other extension types (e.g., Packet Tunnel) cannot coexist in the same Xcode target. Is that true? Best approach for delivering logs from multiple extensions to the main app (is it feasible)? Or what’s the best way to capture logs so an external/independent process (or C/C++ daemon) can consume them? Required data to capture (not limited to): All HTTP/HTTPS (request, body, URL, response, etc.) DNS fields: dns_hostname, dns_query_type, dns_response_code, dns_answer_number, and other DNS data — all in plain text. I’ve read various resources but remain unclear which extension(s) to use and whether multiple extension types can be combined in one Xcode target. Please ask if you need more details. Thank you.
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346
Jan ’26
Does URLSession support ticket-based TLS session resumption
My company has a server that supports ticket-based TLS session resumption (per RFC 5077). We have done Wireshark captures that show that our iOS client app, which uses URLSession for REST and WebSocket connections to the server, is not sending the TLS "session_ticket" extension in the Client Hello package that necessary to enable ticket-based resumption with the server. Is it expected that URLSession does not support ticket-based TLS session resumption? If "yes", is there any way to tell URLSession to enable ticket-based session resumption? the lower-level API set_protocol_options_set_tls_tickets_enabled() hints that the overall TLS / HTTP stack on IOS does support ticket-based resumption, but I can't see how to use that low-level API with URLSession. I can provide (lots) more technical details if necessary, but hopefully this is enough context to determine whether ticket-based TLS resumption is supported with URLSession. Any tips / clarifications would be greatly appreciated.
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Aug ’25
When updating a VPN app with `includeAllNetworks`, the newer instance of the packet tunnel is not started via on-demand rules
When installing a new version the app while a tunnel is connected, seemingly the old packet tunnel process gets stopped but the new one does not come back up. Reportedly, a path monitor is reporting that the device has no connectivity. Is this the expected behavior? When installing an update from TestFlight or the App store, the packet tunnel instance from the old tunnel is stopped, but, due to the profile being on-demand and incldueAllNetworks, the path monitoring believes the device has no connectivity - so the new app is never downloaded. Is this the expected behavior? During development, the old packet tunnel gets stopped, the new app is installed, but the new packet tunnel is never started. To start it, the user has to toggle the VPN twice from the Settings app. The tunnel could be started from the VPN app too, if we chose to not take the path monitor into account, but then the user still needs to attempt to start the tunnel twice - it only works on the second try. As far as we can tell, the first time around, the packet tunnel never gets started, the app receives an update about NEVPNStatus being set to disconnecting yet NEVPNConnection does not throw. The behavior I was naively expecting was that the packet tunnel process would be stopped only when the new app is fully downloaded and when the update is installed, Are we doing something horribly wrong here?
Replies
7
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3
Views
730
Activity
Jan ’26
Kernel panics on M5 devices with network extension
Hello, We have a security solution which intercepts network traffic for inspection using a combination of Transparent Proxy Provider and Content filter. Lately we are seeing reports from the market that on M5 Macbooks and A18 Neos the system will kernel panic using our solution, even though it never happens on M1-M4 and no significant code changes were made in the mean time. All crashes seem to be related to an internal double free in the kernel: panic(cpu 0 caller 0xfffffe003bb68224): skmem_slab_free_locked: attempt to free invalid or already-freed obj 0xf2fffe29e15f2400 on skm 0xf6fffe2518aaa200 @skmem_slab.c:646 Debugger message: panic Memory ID: 0xff OS release type: User OS version: 25D2128 Kernel version: Darwin Kernel Version 25.3.0: Wed Jan 28 20:54:38 PST 2026; root:xnu-12377.91.3~2/RELEASE_ARM64_T6050 Additionally, from further log inspection, before panics we find some weird kernel messages which seem to be related to some DMA operations gone wrong in the network driver on some machines: 2026-03-30 14:11:21.779124+0300 0x30f2 Default 0x0 873 0 Arc: (Network) [com.apple.network:connection] [C9.1.1.1 IPv4#e5b4bb04:443 in_progress socket-flow (satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: en0[802.11], ipv4, ipv6, dns, uses wifi, flow divert agg: 1, LQM: good)] event: flow:start_connect @0.075s 2026-03-30 14:11:21.780015+0300 0x1894 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (402262746): No more valid control units, disabling flow divert 2026-03-30 14:11:21.780017+0300 0x1894 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (402262746): Skipped all flow divert services, disabling flow divert 2026-03-30 14:11:21.780102+0300 0x1894 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: SK[2]: flow_entry_alloc fe "0 proc kernel_task(0)Arc nx_port 1 flow_uuid D46E230E-B826-4E0A-8C59-4C4C8BF6AA60 flags 0x14120<CONNECTED,QOS_MARKING,EXT_PORT,EXT_FLOWID> ipver=4,src=<IPv4-redacted>.49703,dst=<IPv4-redacted>.443,proto=0x06 mask=0x0000003f,hash=0x04e0a750 tp_proto=0x06" 2026-03-30 14:11:21.780194+0300 0x1894 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: tcp connect outgoing: [<IPv4-redacted>:49703<-><IPv4-redacted>:443] interface: en0 (skipped: 0) so_gencnt: 14634 t_state: SYN_SENT process: Arc:873 SYN in/out: 0/1 bytes in/out: 0/0 pkts in/out: 0/0 rtt: 0.0 ms rttvar: 250.0 ms base_rtt: 0 ms error: 0 so_error: 0 svc/tc: 0 flow: 0x9878386f 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934431+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: Hit error condition (not panicking as we're in error handler): t8110dart <private> (dart-apcie0): invalid SID 2 TTBR access: level 1 table_index 0 page_offset 0x2 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934432+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.511690]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 6 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934441+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.511696]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 9 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934441+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.569033]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 6 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934441+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.569038]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 9 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934442+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.577453]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 7 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934442+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.586328]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 5 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934442+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.586332]: arm_cpu_init(): cpu 8 online 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934442+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.621392]: (dart-apcie0) AppleT8110DART::_fatalException: dart-apcie0 (<ptr>): DART DART SID exception ERROR_SID_SUMMARY 0x00003000 ERROR_ADDRESS 0x0000000000009800 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934443+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: [ 73.621397]: Hit error condition (not panicking as we're in error handler): 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934443+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: t8110dart <ptr> (dart-apcie0): invalid SID 2 TTBR access: level 1 table_index 0 page_offset 0x2Expect a `deadbeef` in the error messages below 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934452+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: Expect a `deadbeef` in the error messages below 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934456+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleEmbeddedPCIE) apcie[0:centauri-control]::_dartErrorHandler() InvalidPTE caused by read from address 0x9800 by SID 2 (RID 2:0:1/useCount 1/device <private>) 2026-03-30 14:11:21.934469+0300 0xed Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleT8110DART) Ignored dart-apcie0 (0xfbfffe18820b0000): DART(DART) error: SID 2 PTE invalid exception on read of DVA 0x9800 (SEG 0 PTE 0x2) ERROR_SID_SUMMARY 0x00003000 TIME 0x11242d43fd TTE 0xffffffffffffffff AXI_ID 0 We do not have any correlation between machines, usage pattern or installed applications. Uninstalling the network protection features seem to largely fix the issues, even though we have heard of crashes happening even in safe mode or with our network extension disabled from system settings. We weren't able to reproduce internally and it seems to happen completely random on client machines, but often enough to be disrupting. Can you tell us please if this is a known problem and if there's a workaround or what can we do to narrow it down? Thanks.
Replies
33
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2
Views
3.8k
Activity
5d
Summary of '27 Changes?
There doesn't seem to be a What's New in Networking or What's New in Foundation talk this year, and nothing mentioned in the various Release Notes, so can you summarize the overall changes across platforms, or point to a document that does so?
Replies
1
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2
Views
75
Activity
4h
Network Extension App for MacOS with 3 Extensions
Hi All, I am currently working on a Network Extension App for MacOS using 3 types of extensions provided by Apple's Network Extension Framework. Content Filter, App Proxy (Want to get/capture/log all HTTP/HTTPS traffic), DNS Proxy (Want to get/capture/log all DNS records). Later parse into human readable format. Is my selection of network extension types correct for the intended logs I need? I am able to run with one extension: Main App(Xcode Target1) <-> Content Filter Extension. Here there is a singleton class IPCConnection between App(ViewController.swift) which is working fine with NEMachServiceName from Info.plist of ContentFilter Extension(Xcode Target2) However, when I add an App Proxy extension as a new Xcode Target3, I think the App and extension's communication getting messed up and App not getting started/Crashing. Here, In the same Main App, I am adding new separate IPCConnection for this extension. Here is the project organization/folder structure. MyNetworkExtension ├──MyNetworkExtension(Xcode Target1) │ ├── AppDelegate.swift │ ├── Assets.xcassets │ ├── Info.plist │ ├── MyNetworkExtension.entitlement │ | ── Main │ |-----ViewController.swift │ └── Base.lproj │ └── Main.storyboard ├── ContentFilterExtension(Xcode Target2) │ ├── ContentFilterExtension.entitlement │ │ ├── FilterDataProvider.swift │ │ ├── Info.plist │ │ ├── IPCConnection.swift │ │ └── main.swift ├── AppProxyProviderExtension(Xcode Target3) │ ├── AppProxyProviderExtension.entitlement │ │ ├── AppProxyIPCConnection.swift │ │ ├── AppProxyProvider.swift │ │ ├── Info.plist │ │ └── main.swift └── Frameworks ├── libbsm.tbd └── NetworkExtension.framework Is my Approach for creating a single Network Extension App with Multiple extensions correct or is there any better approach of project organization that will make future modifications/working easier and makes the maintenance better? I want to keep the logic for each extension separate while having the same, single Main App that manages everything(installing, activating, managing identifiers, extensions, etc). What's the best approach to establish a Communication from MainApp to each extension separately, without affecting one another? Is it good idea to establish 3 separate IPC Connections(each is a singleton class) for each extension? Are there any suggestions you can provide that relates to my use case of capturing all the network traffic logs(including HTTP/HTTPS, DNS Records, etc), especially on App to Extension Communication, where my app unable to keep multiple IPC Connections and maintain them separately? I've been working on it for a while, and still unable to make the Network Extension App work with multiple extensions(each as a new Xcode target). Main App with single extension is working fine, but if I add new extension, App getting crashed. I suspect it's due to XPC/IPC connection things! I really appreciate any support on this either directly or by any suggestions/resources that will help me get better understand and make some progress. Please reach out if in case any clarifications or specific information that's needed to better understand my questions. Thank you very much
Replies
4
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0
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421
Activity
Sep ’25
Content Filter Permission Prompt Not Appearing in TestFlight
I added a Content Filter to my app, and when running it in Xcode (Debug/Release), I get the expected permission prompt: "Would like to filter network content (Allow / Don't Allow)". However, when I install the app via TestFlight, this prompt doesn’t appear at all, and the feature doesn’t work. Is there a special configuration required for TestFlight? Has anyone encountered this issue before? Thanks!
Replies
23
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1
Views
1.2k
Activity
Mar ’26
Disable URLSession auto retry policy
We are developing an iOS application that is interacting with HTTP APIs that requires us to put a unique UUID (a nonce) as an header on every request (obviously there's more than that, but that's irrilevant to the question here). If the same nonce is sent on two subsequent requests the server returns a 412 error. We should avoid generating this kind of errors as, if repeated, they may be flagged as a malicious activity by the HTTP APIs. We are using URLSession.shared.dataTaskPublisher(for: request) to call the HTTP APIs with request being generated with the unique nonce as an header. On our field tests we are seeing a few cases of the same HTTP request (same nonce) being repeated a few seconds on after the other. Our code has some retry logic only on 401 errors, but that involves a token refresh, and this is not what we are seeing from logs. We were able to replicate this behaviour on our own device using Network Link Conditioner with very bad performance, with XCode's Network inspector attached we can be certain that two HTTP requests with identical headers are actually made automatically, the first request has an "End Reason" of "Retry", the second is "Success" with Status 412. Our questions are: can we disable this behaviour? can we provide a new request for the retry (so that we can update headers)? Thanks, Francesco
Replies
7
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3
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425
Activity
Aug ’25
Title: Accessing Wi-Fi SSID for custom On-Demand logic in PacketTunnelProvider on macOS
We are developing a macOS VPN application using NEPacketTunnelProvider with a custom encryption protocol. We are using standard On-Demand VPN rules with Wi-Fi SSID matching but we want to add some additional feature to the native behaviour.  We want to control the 'conenect/disconnect' button status and allow the user to interact with the tunnel even when the on demand rule conditions are satisfied, is there a native way to do it? In case we need to implement our custom on-demand behaviour we need to access to this information: connected interface type ssid name and being informed when it changes so to trigger our logic, how to do it from the app side? we try to use CWWiFiClient along with ssidDidChangeForWiFiInterface monitoring, it returns just the interface name en0 and not the wifi ssid name. Is location access mandatory to access wifi SSID on macOS even if we have a NEPacketTunnelProvider? Please note that we bundle our Network Extension as an App Extension (not SystemExtension).
Replies
9
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2
Views
508
Activity
Jan ’26
Requesting Network Extension Capability
One thing I wanted to confirm, suppose i submit one request to onboard OHTTP relay for one organisation app and it gets approved, so can I re submit the request with different bundle ID for other organisation and same PIR server, same OHTTP server ? Or do we need different domain name ?
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4
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0
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373
Activity
5d
Requesting URL Filtering capability
Hi Apple team, Could you please let us know the estimated timeline for approval of our OHTTP relay request? We’d appreciate any updates on the current status or next steps from your side. My request number is GZ8425KHD9. Thanks in advance.
Replies
13
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0
Views
682
Activity
2w
macOS Tahoe: IPMonitor incorrectly re-ranks interfaces causing VPN DNS leaks
Description Enterprise users are experiencing VPN resource access failures after upgrading to macOS Tahoe. Investigation indicates that configd (specifically IPMonitor) is incorrectly re-ranking network interfaces after a connectivity failure with probe server. This results in DNS queries routing through the physical network adapter (en0) instead of the VPN virtual adapter, even while the tunnel is active. This behaviour is not seen in previous macOS versions. Steps to Reproduce: Connect to an enterprise VPN (e.g., Ivanti Secure Access). Trigger a transient network condition where the Apple probe server is unreachable. For example make the DNS server down for 30 sec. Observe the system routing DNS queries for internal resources to the physical adapter. Expected Results The: VPN virtual interface should maintain its primary rank for enterprise DNS queries regardless of the physical adapter's probe status. Actual Results: IPMonitor detects an UplinkIssue, deprioritizes the VPN interface, and elevates the physical adapter to a higher priority rank. Technical Root Cause & Logs: The system logs show IPMonitor identifying an issue and modifying the interface priority at 16:03:54: IPMonitor Detection: The process identifies an inability to reach the Apple probe server and marks en0 with an advisory: Log snippet 2026-01-06 16:03:53.956399+0100 localhost configd[594]: [com.apple.SystemConfiguration:IPMonitor] configd[594] SetInterfaceAdvisory(en0) = UplinkIssue (2) reason='unable to reach probe server' Interface Re-ranking: Immediately following, IPMonitor recalculates the rank, placing the physical service ID at a higher priority (lower numerical rank) than the VPN service ID (net.pulsesecure...): Log snippet 2026-01-06 16:03:53.967935+0100 localhost configd[594]: [com.apple.SystemConfiguration:IPMonitor] 0. en0 serviceID=50CD9266-B097-4664-BFE6-7BAFCC5E9DC0 addr=192.168.0.128 rank=0x200000d 2026-01-06 16:03:53.967947+0100 localhost configd[594]: [com.apple.SystemConfiguration:IPMonitor] 1. en0 serviceID=net.pulsesecure.pulse.nc.main addr=192.168.0.128 rank=0x2ffffff 3.Physical adapter Is selected as Primary Interface: 2026-01-06 16:03:53.968145+0100 localhost configd[594]: [com.apple.SystemConfiguration:IPMonitor] 50CD9266-B097-4664-BFE6-7BAFCC5E9DC0 is the new primary IPv4 configd[594]: 50CD9266-B097-4664-BFE6-7BAFCC5E9DC0 is the new primary DNS Packet Trace Evidence Wireshark confirms that DNS queries for enterprise-specific DNS servers are being originated from the physical IP (192.168.0.128) instead of the virtual adapter: Time: 16:03:54.084 Source: 192.168.0.128 (Physical Adapter) Destination: 172.29.155.115 (Internal VPN DNS Server) Result: Connectivity Failure (Queries sent outside the tunnel)
Replies
8
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3
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556
Activity
Apr ’26
AccessorySetupKit – WiFi picker – show accessories after factory reset?
Hi there, We’re developing a companion app for a smart home product that communicates over the user’s local network. To provision the device, it initially creates its own Wi-Fi network. The user joins this temporary network and enters their home Wi-Fi credentials via our app. The app then sends those credentials directly to the device, which stores them and connects to the local network for normal operation. We’re using AccessorySetupKit to discover nearby devices (via SSID prefix) and NEHotspotManager to join the accessory’s Wi-Fi network once the user selects it. This workflow works well in general. However, we’ve encountered a problem: if the user factory-resets the accessory, or needs to restart setup (for example, after entering the wrong Wi-Fi password), the device no longer appears in the accessory picker. In iOS 18, we were able to work around this by calling removeAccessory() after the device is selected. This forces the picker to always display the accessory again. But in iOS 26, a new confirmation dialog now appears when calling removeAccessory(), which confuses users during setup. We’re looking for a cleaner way to handle this scenario — ideally a way to make the accessory rediscoverable without prompting the user to confirm removal. Thanks for your time and guidance.
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0
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3
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386
Activity
Nov ’25
Bluetooth 5 Coded PHY (Long Range) removed in iOS 14
I am pretty sure iOS 13.4 (beta and later) did support Coded PHY (Long Range). Tested devices are iPhone SE2 and iPhone 11 Pro. However, it seems iOS 14 removed the support of Coded PHY, accidentally or on purpose, I don't know? The same PHY update request returns "1M PHY" in iOS 14, but "Coded PHY" in iOS 13 (13.4 beta and later). Anyone knows why? Samson
Replies
10
Boosts
1
Views
6.1k
Activity
Oct ’25
Is it allowed for a third-party iOS app to query time.apple.com (NTP/SNTP)? Any official usage guidance / rate limits?
I’m developing an iOS idle game (guild management). To detect manual device time changes that would break progression, I need a trusted “current real-world time” reference. I’m considering querying Apple’s NTP host time.apple.com, but I couldn’t find any official guidance about whether third-party apps may use time.apple.com directly (acceptable use, rate limits, whether it’s discouraged, etc.). Apple Developer Support couldn’t provide info and suggested asking on the forums. Questions: 1. Is it permitted for a third-party iOS app to query time.apple.com via NTP/SNTP (Yes/No or conditional)? 2. If permitted, are there any published or recommended constraints (rate limits, caching, prohibited patterns, commercial app considerations)? 3. If not permitted / not recommended, what is the recommended alternative approach (run our own time service, use public NTP pool, or any Apple-recommended mechanism)? 4. If there is any official document / policy covering this, could you point me to it? For context: I do not need sub-second accuracy and I do not intend high-frequency polling. If implemented at all, it would be very low frequency (e.g., first launch + once per 24h) with caching and graceful fallback on failure. My main goal is policy clarity rather than implementation details.
Replies
2
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0
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156
Activity
Jan ’26
Network System Extension cannot use network interface of another VPN
Hi, Our project is a MacOS SwiftUI GUI application that bundles a (Sandboxed) System Network Extension, signed with a Developer ID certificate for distribution outside of the app store. The system network extension is used to write a packet tunnel provider (NEPacketTunnelProvider), as our project requires the creation of a TUN device. In order for our System VPN to function, it must reach out to a (self-hosted) server (i.e. to discover a list of peers). Being self-hosted, this server is typically not accessible via the public web, and may only be accessible from within a VPN (such as those also implemented using NEPacketTunnelProvider, e.g. Tailscale, Cloudflare WARP). What we've discovered is that the networking code of the System Network Extension process does not attempt to use the other VPN network interfaces (utunX) on the system. In practice, this means requests to IPs and hostnames that should be routed to those interfaces time out. Identical requests made outside of the Network System Extension process use those interfaces and succeed. The simplest example is where we create a URLSession.downloadTask for a resource on the server. A more complicated example is where we execute a Go .dylib that continues to communicate with that server. Both types of requests time out. Two noteworthy logs appear when packets fail to send, both from the kernel 'process': cfil_hash_entry_log:6088 <CFIL: Error: sosend_reinject() failed>: [30685 com.coder.Coder-Desktop.VPN] <UDP(17) out so b795d11aca7c26bf 57728068503033955 57728068503033955 age 0> lport 3001 fport 3001 laddr 100.108.7.40 faddr 100.112.177.88 hash 58B15863 cfil_service_inject_queue:4472 CFIL: sosend() failed 49 I also wrote some test code that probes using a UDP NWConnection and NWPath availableInterfaces. When run from the GUI App, multiple interfaces are returned, including the one that routes the address, utun5. When ran from within the sysex, only en0 is returned. I understand routing a VPN through another is unconventional, but we unfortunately do need this functionality one way or another. Is there any way to modify which interfaces are exposed to the sysex? Additionally, are these limitations of networking within a Network System Extension documented anywhere? Do you have any ideas why this specific limitation might exist?
Replies
5
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2
Views
585
Activity
Jul ’25
NEFilterDataProvider activation on consumer iOS — saveToPreferences fails (code 5), .mobileconfig requires MDM
Hello, I'm developing a gambling blocker app that uses NEFilterDataProvider. My app was approved on the App Store, but the core feature doesn't work for end users. I have the content-filter-provider entitlement. Issue 1 — saveToPreferences() fails in distribution builds In dev builds (Xcode direct install), NEFilterManager.saveToPreferences() works fine — iOS shows a permission dialog and the filter is registered. In distribution builds (TestFlight/App Store), it fails immediately: NEFilterErrorDomain code 5 — Operation not permitted Console log from nehelper: "Creating a content filter configuration is only allowed through profile in production version" Issue 2 — .mobileconfig profile requires MDM Following the Console hint, I tried a .mobileconfig profile with com.apple.webcontent-filter payload (ContentFilterUUID, FilterType: Plugin, PluginBundleID). On an unsupervised consumer iPhone (iOS 18.5), installation fails: Profile Installation Failed — MDM required Question: What is the correct mechanism to activate a NEFilterDataProvider on a consumer (non-MDM) iPhone in a distribution build? Is there a specific entitlement or approval process I'm missing? (DTS Case-ID: 20087732)
Replies
7
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0
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341
Activity
2h
Crash in libquic.dylib | quic_recovery_pto | iOS 26.1
Hello, I am investigating a recurring crash that appears to be originating within the system's network stack. OS Version: iPhone OS 26.1 (23B85) Role: Foreground Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV) Exception Subtype: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000000 Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000001, 0x0000000000000000 Triggered by Thread: 19 Description: The crash is triggered by Thread 19 and occurs deep within libquic.dylib during a QUIC recovery timer event. Based on the backtrace, the failure happens in quic_recovery_pto. The issue seems to occur when a protocol instance schedules a wakeup, leading to a null pointer dereference in the system library. Crashed Thread Backtrace snippet:Thread 19 Crashed: Thread 19 Crashed: 0 libquic.dylib 0x00000001a00a38cc quic_recovery_pto + 72 (quic_recovery.c:1259) 1 libquic.dylib 0x00000001a00a3390 quic_recovery_timer_fired + 132 (quic_recovery.c:1460) 2 libquic.dylib 0x00000001a00a1f8c quic_timer_run + 248 (quic_timer.c:210) 3 Network 0x000000018ec76cbc __nw_protocol_instance_schedule_wakeup_block_invoke + 76 (protocol_implementation.cpp:5847) 4 Network 0x000000018eba34e0 __nw_context_reset_timer_block_with_time_block_invoke + 268 (context.cpp:2224) 5 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c84727ec _dispatch_client_callout + 16 (client_callout.mm:85) 6 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c845d664 _dispatch_continuation_pop + 596 (queue.c:349) 7 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c8470528 _dispatch_source_latch_and_call + 396 (source.c:601) 8 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c846f1fc _dispatch_source_invoke + 844 (source.c:966) 9 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c8463288 _dispatch_workloop_invoke + 1612 (queue.c:4761) 10 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c846c3ec _dispatch_root_queue_drain_deferred_wlh + 292 (queue.c:7265) 11 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001c846bce4 _dispatch_workloop_worker_thread + 692 (queue.c:6859) 12 libsystem_pthread.dylib 0x00000001ec0623b8 _pthread_wqthread + 292 (pthread.c:2696) 13 libsystem_pthread.dylib 0x00000001ec0618c0 start_wqthread + 8 (:-1) Can anyone provide insights into what might be causing libquic to access an invalid address in this context? Any help or suggestions for further diagnostics would be greatly appreciated.
Replies
1
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1
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195
Activity
May ’26
URL Filter and Content Filter Providers
Hello, I have a few questions regarding URL Filter (iOS 26) and Content Filter Providers. URL Filter According to the WWDC26 video, URL Filter appears to be available for both consumer and enterprise deployments. This seems consistent with the classic Network Extension Provider Deployment documentation (TN3134 – August 2025), where no specific deployment restriction is mentioned. However, a more recent document (Apple Platform Deployment, September 2025) indicates the following for URL Filter: “Requires supervision on iPhone, iPad and Mac” (with a green checkmark). 👉 My question: Is URL Filter actually available for consumer use on non-supervised iPhones (deployed on Testflight and AppStore), or is supervision now required? Content Filter Providers From past experience, I remember that Content Filter Providers were only available on supervised devices. Based on the current documentation, I am questioning their usability in a consumer context, i.e. on non-supervised iPhones. In the Network Extension Provider Deployment documentation, it is stated that this is a Network Extension and that, since iOS 16, it is a “per-app on managed device” restriction. In the more recent Apple Platform Deployment document, it states for iPhone and iPad: “App needs to be installed on the user’s iOS and iPadOS device and deletion can be prevented if the device is supervised.” 👉 My understanding: Supervised device: The Content Filter Provider is installed via a host application that controls enabling/disabling the filter, and the host app can be prevented from being removed thanks to supervision. Non-supervised device: The Content Filter Provider is also installed via a host application that controls enabling/disabling the filter, but the app can be removed by the user, which would remove the filter. 👉 My question: Can Content Filter Providers be used in a consumer context on non-supervised iPhones (deployed on Testflight and AppStore), accepting that the user can uninstall the host app (and therefore remove the filter)? Thank you in advance for your feedback. Sources: TN3134 => TN3134: Network Extension provider deployment | Apple Developer Documentation Apple Platform Deployment / Filter content for Apple devices => https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/deployment/dep1129ff8d2/1/web/1.0
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0
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2
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103
Activity
Jan ’26
Need Inputs on Which Extension to Use
Hi all, I have a working macOS (Intel) system extension app that currently uses only a Content Filter (NEFilterDataProvider). I need to capture/log HTTP and HTTPS traffic in plain text, and I understand NETransparentProxyProvider is the right extension type for that. For HTTPS I will need TLS inspection / a MITM proxy — I’m new to that and unsure how complex it will be. For DNS data (in plain text), can I use the same extension, or do I need a separate extension type such as NEPacketTunnelProvider, NEFilterPacketProvider, or NEDNSProxyProvider? Current architecture: Two Xcode targets: MainApp and a SystemExtension target. The SystemExtension target contains multiple network extension types. MainApp ↔ SystemExtension communicate via a bidirectional NSXPC connection. I can already enable two extensions (Content Filter and TransparentProxy). With the NETransparentProxy, I still need to implement HTTPS capture. Questions I’d appreciate help with: Can NETransparentProxy capture the DNS fields I need (dns_hostname, dns_query_type, dns_response_code, dns_answer_number, etc.), or do I need an additional extension type to capture DNS in plain text? If a separate extension is required, is it possible or problematic to include that extension type (Packet Tunnel / DNS Proxy / etc.) in the same SystemExtension Xcode target as the TransparentProxy? Any recommended resources or guidance on TLS inspection / MITM proxy setup for capturing HTTPS logs? There are multiple DNS transport types — am I correct that capturing DNS over UDP (port 53) is not necessarily sufficient? Which DNS types should I plan to handle? I’ve read that TransparentProxy and other extension types (e.g., Packet Tunnel) cannot coexist in the same Xcode target. Is that true? Best approach for delivering logs from multiple extensions to the main app (is it feasible)? Or what’s the best way to capture logs so an external/independent process (or C/C++ daemon) can consume them? Required data to capture (not limited to): All HTTP/HTTPS (request, body, URL, response, etc.) DNS fields: dns_hostname, dns_query_type, dns_response_code, dns_answer_number, and other DNS data — all in plain text. I’ve read various resources but remain unclear which extension(s) to use and whether multiple extension types can be combined in one Xcode target. Please ask if you need more details. Thank you.
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5
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346
Activity
Jan ’26
Didn't receive any notification from coreWLAN for linkQualityDidChange
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/corewlan/cweventtype/linkqualitydidchange As per the documentation core WLAN will send notification when there is a change in RSSI. I did not receive any notification when there is a change in RSSI.
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6
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296
Activity
Apr ’26
Does URLSession support ticket-based TLS session resumption
My company has a server that supports ticket-based TLS session resumption (per RFC 5077). We have done Wireshark captures that show that our iOS client app, which uses URLSession for REST and WebSocket connections to the server, is not sending the TLS "session_ticket" extension in the Client Hello package that necessary to enable ticket-based resumption with the server. Is it expected that URLSession does not support ticket-based TLS session resumption? If "yes", is there any way to tell URLSession to enable ticket-based session resumption? the lower-level API set_protocol_options_set_tls_tickets_enabled() hints that the overall TLS / HTTP stack on IOS does support ticket-based resumption, but I can't see how to use that low-level API with URLSession. I can provide (lots) more technical details if necessary, but hopefully this is enough context to determine whether ticket-based TLS resumption is supported with URLSession. Any tips / clarifications would be greatly appreciated.
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6
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2
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772
Activity
Aug ’25