Hi, I am building an app that depends on multiple iOS devices connecting to a designated "coordinator" iOS device. I am using MPC, and it works great when the devices are connected to the same WiFi AP, with virtually 100% connection success. My definition of success is a near instant detection of available devices, >95% connection success rate, and a stable ongoing connection with no unexpected disconnects.
The issue arises when the devices are not connected to the same WiFi network (or connected to no network with WiFi and bluetooth still on). Devices detect each other immediately, but when initiating a connection, both devices initiate a handshake, but the connection is not successful. In the few times where the connection succeeds, the connection quality is high, stable, and doesn't drop.
Is this a known limitation of the framework? Could I be doing something wrong in my implementation?
Networking
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For a long time our app had this creation of a URLRequest:
var urlRequest = URLRequest(url: url, cachePolicy: .reloadIgnoringLocalAndRemoteCacheData, timeoutInterval: timeout)
But since iOS 26 was released we started to get crashes in this call. It is created on a background thread.
Thread 10 Crashed:
0 libsystem_malloc.dylib 0x00000001920e309c _xzm_xzone_malloc_freelist_outlined + 864 (xzone_malloc.c:1869)
1 libswiftCore.dylib 0x0000000184030360 swift::swift_slowAllocTyped(unsigned long, unsigned long, unsigned long long) + 56 (Heap.cpp:110)
2 libswiftCore.dylib 0x0000000184030754 swift_allocObject + 136 (HeapObject.cpp:245)
3 Foundation 0x00000001845dab9c specialized _ArrayBuffer._consumeAndCreateNew(bufferIsUnique:minimumCapacity:growForAppend:) + 120
4 Foundation 0x00000001845daa58 specialized static _SwiftURL._makeCFURL(from:baseURL:) + 2288 (URL_Swift.swift:1192)
5 Foundation 0x00000001845da118 closure #1 in _SwiftURL._nsurl.getter + 112 (URL_Swift.swift:64)
6 Foundation 0x00000001845da160 partial apply for closure #1 in _SwiftURL._nsurl.getter + 20 (<compiler-generated>:0)
7 Foundation 0x00000001845da0a0 closure #1 in _SwiftURL._nsurl.getterpartial apply + 16
8 Foundation 0x00000001845d9a6c protocol witness for _URLProtocol.bridgeToNSURL() in conformance _SwiftURL + 196 (<compiler-generated>:974)
9 Foundation 0x000000018470f31c URLRequest.init(url:cachePolicy:timeoutInterval:) + 92 (URLRequest.swift:44)# Live For Studio
Any idea if this crash is caused by our code or if it is a known problem in iOS 26?
I have attached one of the crash reports from Xcode:
2025-10-08_10-13-45.1128_+0200-8acf1536892bf0576f963e1534419cd29e6e10b8.crash
Problem description
Since macOS Sequoia, our users have experienced issues with multicast traffic in our macOS app. Regularly, the app starts but cannot receive multicast, or multicast eventually stops mid-execution. The app sometimes asks again for Local Network permission, while it was already allowed so. Several versions of our app on a single machine are sometimes (but not always) shown as different instances in the System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network list. And when several instances are shown in that list, disabling one disables all of them, but it does not actually forbids the app from receiving multicast traffic. All of those issues are experienced by an increasing number of users after they update their system from macOS 14 to macOS 15 or 26, and many of them have reported networking issues during production-critical moments.
We haven't been able to find the root cause of those issues, so we built a simple test app, called "FM Mac App Test", that can reproduce multicast issues. This app creates a GCDAsyncUdpSocket socket to receive multicast packets from a piece of hardware we also develop, and displays a simple UI showing if such packets are received. The app is entitled with "Custom Network Protocol", is built against x86_64 and arm64, and is archived (signed and notarized). We can share the source code if requested.
Out of the many issues our main app exhibits, the test app showcases some:
The app asks several times for Local Network permission, even after being allowed so previously. After allowing the app's Local Network and rebooting the machine, the System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network does not show the app, and the app asks again for Local Network access.
The app shows a different Local Network Usage Description than in the project's plist.
Several versions of the app appear as different instances in the Privacy list, and behave strangely. Toggling on or off one instance toggles the others. Only one version of the app seems affected by the setting, the other versions always seem to have access to Local Network even when the toggle is set to off.
We even did see messages from different app versions in different user accounts. This seems to contradicts Apple's documentation that states user accounts have independent Privacy settings.
Can you help us understand what we are missing (in terms of build settings, entitlements, proper archiving...) so our app conforms to what macOS expects for proper Local Network behavior?
Related material
Local Network Privacy breaks Application: this issue seemed related to ours, but the fix was to ensure different versions of the app have different UUIDs. We ensured that ourselves, to no improvement.
Local Network FAQ
Technote TN3179
Steps to Reproduce
Test App is developed on Xcode 15.4 (15F31d) on macOS 14.5 (23F79), and runs on macOS 26.0.1 (25A362). We can share the source code if requested.
On a clean install of macOS Tahoe (our test setup used macOS 26.0.1 on a Mac mini M2 8GB), we upload the app (version 5.1).
We run the app, make sure the selected NIC is the proper one, and open the multicast socket. The app asks us to allow Local Network, we allow it. The alert shows a different Local Network Usage Description than the one we set in our project's plist.
The app properly shows packets are received from the console on our LAN.
We check the list in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network, it includes our app properly allowed.
We then reboot the machine. After reboot, the same list does not show the app anymore.
We run the app, it asks again about Local Network access (still with incorrect Usage Description). We allow it again, but no console packet is received yet. Only after closing and reopening the socket are the console packets received.
After a 2nd reboot, the System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network list shows correctly the app. The app seems to now run fine.
We then upload an updated version of the same app (5.2), also built and notarized. The 2nd version is simulating when we send different versions of our main app to our users. The updated version has a different UUID than the 1st version.
The updated version also asks for Local Network access, this time with proper Usage Description.
A 3rd updated version of the app (5.3, also with unique UUID) behaves the same. The System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network list shows three instances of the app.
We toggle off one of the app, all of them toggle off. The 1st version of the app (5.1) does not have local network access anymore, but both 2nd and 3rd versions do, while their toggle button seems off.
We toggle on one of the app, all of them toggle on. All 3 versions have local network access.
We have a Java application built for macOS. On the first launch, the application prompts the user to allow local network access. We've correctly added the NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription key to the Info.plist, and the provided description appears in the system prompt.
After the user grants permission, the application can successfully connect to a local server using its hostname. However, the issue arises after the system is rebooted. When the application is launched again, macOS does not prompt for local network access a second time—which is expected, as the permission was already granted.
Despite this, the application is unable to connect to the local server. It appears the previously granted permission is being ignored after a reboot. A temporary workaround is to manually toggle the Local Network permission off and back on via System Settings > Privacy & Security, which restores connectivity—until the next reboot.
This behavior is highly disruptive, both for us and for a significant number of our users. We can reproduce this on multiple systems...
The issues started from macOS Sequoia 15.0
By opening the application bundle using "Show Package Contents," we can launch the application via "JavaAppLauncher" without any issues. Once started, the application is able to connect to our server over the local network. This seems to bypass the granted permissions? "JavaAppLauncher" is also been used in our Info.plist file
I'm trying to use ThreadNetwork API to manage TheradNetworks on device (following this documentation: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/threadnetwork/), but while some functions on THClient work (such as getPreferedNetwork), most don't (storeCredentials, retrieveAllCredentials). When calling these functions I get the following warning/error:
Client: -[THClient getConnectionEntitlementValidity]_block_invoke - Error:
-[THClient storeCredentialsForBorderAgent:activeOperationalDataSet:completion:]_block_invoke:701: - Error: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 "The connection to service with pid 414 named com.apple.ThreadNetwork.xpc was invalidated from this process." UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=The connection to service with pid 414 named com.apple.ThreadNetwork.xpc was invalidated from this process.}
Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 "The connection to service with pid 414 named com.apple.ThreadNetwork.xpc was invalidated from this process." UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=The connection to service with pid 414 named com.apple.ThreadNetwork.xpc was invalidated from this process.}
Failed to store Thread credentials: Couldn’t communicate with a helper application.
STEPS TO REPRODUCE
Create new project
Add Thread Network capability via Xcode UI (com.apple.developer.networking.manage-thread-network-credentials)
Trigger storeCredentials
let extendedMacData = "9483C451DC3E".hexadecimal
let tlvHex = "0e080000000000010000000300001035060004001fffe002083c66f0dc9ef53f1c0708fdb360c72874da9905104094dce45388fd3d3426e992cbf0697b030d474c2d5332302d6e65773030310102250b04106c9f919a4da9b213764fc83f849381080c0402a0f7f8".hexadecimal
// Initialize the THClient
let thClient = THClient()
// Store the credentials
await thClient.storeCredentials(forBorderAgent: extendedMacData!, activeOperationalDataSet: tlvHex!) { error in
if let error = error {
print(error)
print("Failed to store Thread credentials: \(error.localizedDescription)")
} else {
print("Successfully stored Thread credentials")
}
}
NOTES:
I tried with first calling getPreferedNetwork to initiate network permission dialog
Tried adding meshcop to bojur services
Tried with different release and debug build configurations
I am developing a program on my chip and attempting to establish a connection with the WiFi Aware demo app launched by iOS 26. Currently, I am encountering an issue during the pairing phase.
If I am the subscriber of the service and successfully complete the follow-up frame exchange of pairing bootstrapping, I see the PIN code displayed by iOS.
Question 1: How should I use this PIN code?
Question 2: Subsequently, I need to negotiate keys with iOS through PASN. What should I use as the password for the PASN SAE process?
If I am the subscriber of the service and successfully complete the follow-up frame exchange of pairing bootstrapping, I should display the PIN code.
Question 3: How do I generate this PIN code?
Question 4: Subsequently, I need to negotiate keys with iOS through PASN. What should I use as the password for the PASN SAE process?
Topic:
App & System Services
SubTopic:
Networking
we use the api as
NEHotspotConfigurationManager.shared.apply(hotspotConfig)
to join a wifi, but we find that in in iphone 17+, some user report the time to join wifi is very slow
the full code as
let hotspotConfig = NEHotspotConfiguration(ssid: sSSID, passphrase: sPassword, isWEP: false)
hotspotConfig.joinOnce = bJoinOnce
if #available(iOS 13.0, *) {
hotspotConfig.hidden = true
}
NEHotspotConfigurationManager.shared.apply(hotspotConfig) { [weak self] (error) in
guard let self else {
return
}
if let error = error {
log.i("connectSSID Error while configuring WiFi: \(error.localizedDescription)")
if error.localizedDescription.contains("already associated") {
log.i("connectSSID Already connected to this WiFi.")
result(["status": 0])
} else {
result(["status": 0])
}
} else {
log.i("connectSSID Successfully connected to WiFi network \(sSSID)")
result(["status": 1])
}
}
Normally it might only take 5-10 seconds, but on the iPhone 17+ it might take 20-30 seconds.
From time to time the subject of NECP grows up, both here on DevForums and in DTS cases. I’ve posted about this before but I wanted to collect those tidbits into single coherent post.
If you have questions or comments, start a new thread in the App & System Services > Networking subtopic and tag it with Network Extension. That way I’ll be sure to see it go by.
Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"
A Peek Behind the NECP Curtain
NECP stands for Network Extension Control Protocol. It’s a subsystem within the Apple networking stack that controls which programs have access to which network interfaces. It’s vitally important to the Network Extension subsystem, hence the name, but it’s used in many different places. Indeed, a very familiar example of its use is the Settings > Mobile Data [1] user interface on iOS.
NECP has no explicit API, although there are APIs that are offer some insight into its state. Continuing the Settings > Mobile Data example above, there is a little-known API, CTCellularData in the Core Telephony framework, that returns whether your app has access to WWAN.
Despite having no API, NECP is still relevant to developers. The Settings > Mobile Data example is one place where it affects app developers but it’s most important for Network Extension (NE) developers. A key use case for NECP is to prevent VPN loops. When starting an NE provider, the system configures the NECP policy for the NE provider’s process to prevent it from using a VPN interface. This means that you can safely open a network connection inside your VPN provider without having to worry about its traffic being accidentally routed back to you. This is why, for example, an NE packet tunnel provider can use any networking API it wants, including BSD Sockets, to run its connection without fear of creating a VPN loop [1].
One place that NECP shows up regularly is the system log. Next time you see a system log entry like this:
type: debug
time: 15:02:54.817903+0000
process: Mail
subsystem: com.apple.network
category: connection
message: nw_protocol_socket_set_necp_attributes [C723.1.1:1] setsockopt 39 SO_NECP_ATTRIBUTES
…
you’ll at least know what the necp means (-:
Finally, a lot of NECP infrastructure is in the Darwin open source. As with all things in Darwin, it’s fine to poke around and see how your favourite feature works, but do not incorporate any information you find into your product. Stuff you uncover by looking in Darwin is not considered API.
[1] Settings > Cellular Data if you speak American (-:
[2] Network Extension providers can call the createTCPConnection(to:enableTLS:tlsParameters:delegate:) method to create an NWTCPConnection [3] that doesn’t run through the tunnel. You can use that if it’s convenient but you don’t need to use it.
[3] NWTCPConnection is now deprecated, but there are non-deprecated equivalents. For the full story, see NWEndpoint History and Advice.
Revision History
2025-12-12 Replaced “macOS networking stack” with “Apple networking stack” to avoid giving the impression that this is all about macOS. Added a link to NWEndpoint History and Advice. Made other minor editorial changes.
2023-02-27 First posted.
I have been using the SCNetworkReachabilityGetFlags for 10+ years to inform users that their request won't work. In my experience this works pretty well although i am aware of the limitations.
Now, i am looking into the NWPathMonitor, and i have one situation that i'm trying to. get my head around - it's asynchronous.
Specifically, i am wondering what to do when my geofences trigger and i want to check network connectivity - i want to tell the user why the operation i'll perform because of the trigger couldn't be done.
SO. say i start a NWPathMonitor in didFinishLaunchingWithOptions. When the app is booted up because of a geofence trigger, might i not end up in a case where my didEnterRegion / didExitRegion gets called before the NWPathMonitor has gotten its first status?
The advantage here with SCNetworkReachabilityGetFlags, as i understand it, would be that it's synchronous?
If i want to upgrade to nwpathmonitor, i guess i have to do a method that creates a nwpathmonitor, uses a semaphore to wait for the first callback, then contunues?
Thoughts appreciated
I want to detect if the adapter is connected to the iPhone even if no IP has been given to the iPhone. I can detect that the interface is connected when the iPhone has been given an IP address, but how can I detect the adapter when not?
Topic:
App & System Services
SubTopic:
Networking
We are facing a DNS resolution issue with a specific ISP, where our domain name does not resolve correctly using the system DNS. However, the same domain works as expected when a custom DNS resolver is used.
On Android, this is straightforward to handle by configuring a custom DNS implementation using OkHttp / Retrofit. I am trying to implement a functionally equivalent solution in native iOS (Swift / SwiftUI).
**Android Reference (Working Behavior) : **
val dns = DnsOverHttps.Builder()
.client(OkHttpClient())
.url("https://cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query".toHttpUrl()) .bootstrapDnsHosts(InetAddress.getByName("1.1.1.1")).build()
OkHttpClient.Builder().dns(dns).build()
**Attempted iOS Approach **
I attempted the following approach :
Resolve the domain to an IP address programmatically (using DNS over HTTPS)
Connect directly to the resolved IP address
Set the original domain in the Host HTTP header
**DNS Resolution via DoH : **
func resolveDomain(domain: String) async throws -> String {
guard let url = URL(
string: "https://cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query?name=\(domain)&type=A"
) else {
throw URLError(.badURL)
}
var request = URLRequest(url: url)
request.setValue("application/dns-json", forHTTPHeaderField: "accept")
let (data, _) = try await URLSession.shared.data(for: request)
let response = try JSONDecoder().decode(DNSResponse.self, from: data)
guard let ip = response.Answer?.first?.data else {
throw URLError(.cannotFindHost)
}
return ip
}
**API Call Using Resolved IP : **
func callAPIUsingCustomDNS() async throws {
let ip = try await resolveDomain(domain: "example.com")
guard let url = URL(string: "https://\(ip)") else {
throw URLError(.badURL)
}
let configuration = URLSessionConfiguration.ephemeral
let session = URLSession(
configuration: configuration,
delegate: CustomURLSessionDelegate(originalHost: "example.com"),
delegateQueue: .main
)
var request = URLRequest(url: url)
request.setValue("example.com", forHTTPHeaderField: "Host")
let (_, response) = try await session.data(for: request)
print("Success: \(response)")
}
**Problem Encountered **
When connecting via the IP address, the TLS handshake fails with the following error:
Error Domain=NSURLErrorDomain Code=-1200
"A TLS error caused the secure connection to fail."
This appears to happen because iOS sends the IP address as the Server Name Indication (SNI) during the TLS handshake, while the server’s certificate is issued for the domain name.
**Custom URLSessionDelegate Attempt : **
class CustomURLSessionDelegate: NSObject, URLSessionDelegate {
let originalHost: String
init(originalHost: String) {
self.originalHost = originalHost
}
func urlSession(
_ session: URLSession,
didReceive challenge: URLAuthenticationChallenge,
completionHandler: @escaping (URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition, URLCredential?) -> Void
) {
guard challenge.protectionSpace.authenticationMethod == NSURLAuthenticationMethodServerTrust,
let serverTrust = challenge.protectionSpace.serverTrust else {
completionHandler(.performDefaultHandling, nil)
return
}
let sslPolicy = SecPolicyCreateSSL(true, originalHost as CFString)
let basicPolicy = SecPolicyCreateBasicX509()
SecTrustSetPolicies(serverTrust, [sslPolicy, basicPolicy] as CFArray)
var error: CFError?
if SecTrustEvaluateWithError(serverTrust, &error) {
completionHandler(.useCredential, URLCredential(trust: serverTrust))
} else {
completionHandler(.cancelAuthenticationChallenge, nil)
}
}
}
However, TLS validation still fails because the SNI remains the IP address, not the domain.
I would appreciate guidance on the supported and App Store–compliant way to handle ISP-specific DNS resolution issues on iOS. If custom DNS or SNI configuration is not supported, what alternative architectural approaches are recommended by Apple?
Hello,
I have an app that was using the iOS 18 Network Framework APIs. It used Peer to Peer, QUIC and Bonjour. It was all working as expected. I wanted to upgrade to the new iOS 26 Network Framework APIs (NetworkBrowser, NetworkListener, NetworkConnection...).
I have things working (multiple devices can discover each other, connection to each other and send messages to each other) but my app crashes when I go to toggle of all the networking stuff.
In the iOS 18 Network Framework API NWConnection had a .cancel() function I could use to tell the other side the connection was done.
I dont see a cancel function for NetworkConnection.
My question is - how do I properly close down a NetworkConnection and also properly tell the other side the connection is done.
On my iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max devices, running iOS 26.0, 26.0.1, and 26.1, Wi-Fi raw socket communication works flawlessly. Even after keeping the connection active for over 40 minutes, there are no disconnections during data transmission.
However, on the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro, the raw socket connection drops within 20 seconds. Once it disconnects, the socket cannot reconnect unless the Wi-Fi module itself is reset.
I believe this issue is caused by a bug in the iPhone 17 series’ communication module. I have looked into many cases, and it appears to be related to a bug in the N1 chipset.
Are there any possible solutions or workarounds for this issue?
For important background information, read Extra-ordinary Networking before reading this.
Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"
Network Interface APIs
Most developers don’t need to interact directly with network interfaces. If you do, read this post for a summary of the APIs available to you.
Before you read this, read Network Interface Concepts.
Interface List
The standard way to get a list of interfaces and their addresses is getifaddrs. To learn more about this API, see its man page.
A network interface has four fundamental attributes:
A set of flags — These are packed into a CUnsignedInt. The flags bits are declared in <net/if.h>, starting with IFF_UP.
An interface type — See Network Interface Type, below.
An interface index — Valid indexes are greater than 0.
A BSD interface name. For example, an Ethernet interface might be called en0. The interface name is shared between multiple network interfaces running over a given hardware interface. For example, IPv4 and IPv6 running over that Ethernet interface will both have the name en0.
WARNING BSD interface names are not considered API. There’s no guarantee, for example, that an iPhone’s Wi-Fi interface is en0.
You can map between the last two using if_indextoname and if_nametoindex. See the if_indextoname man page for details.
An interface may also have address information. If present, this always includes the interface address (ifa_addr) and the network mask (ifa_netmask). In addition:
Broadcast-capable interfaces (IFF_BROADCAST) have a broadcast address (ifa_broadaddr, which is an alias for ifa_dstaddr).
Point-to-point interfaces (IFF_POINTOPOINT) have a destination address (ifa_dstaddr).
Calling getifaddrs from Swift is a bit tricky. For an example of this, see QSocket: Interfaces.
IP Address List
Once you have getifaddrs working, it’s relatively easy to manipulate the results to build a list of just IP addresses, a list of IP addresses for each interface, and so on. QSocket: Interfaces has some Swift snippets that show this.
Interface List Updates
The interface list can change over time. Hardware interfaces can be added and removed, network interfaces come up and go down, and their addresses can change. It’s best to avoid caching information from getifaddrs. If thats unavoidable, use the kNotifySCNetworkChange Darwin notification to update your cache. For information about registering for Darwin notifications, see the notify man page (in section 3).
This notification just tells you that something has changed. It’s up to you to fetch the new interface list and adjust your cache accordingly.
You’ll find that this notification is sometimes posted numerous times in rapid succession. To avoid unnecessary thrashing, debounce it.
While the Darwin notification API is easy to call from Swift, Swift does not import kNotifySCNetworkChange. To fix that, define that value yourself, calling a C function to get the value:
var kNotifySCNetworkChange: UnsafePointer<CChar> {
networkChangeNotifyKey()
}
Here’s what that C function looks like:
extern const char * networkChangeNotifyKey(void) {
return kNotifySCNetworkChange;
}
Network Interface Type
There are two ways to think about a network interface’s type. Historically there were a wide variety of weird and wonderful types of network interfaces. The following code gets this legacy value for a specific BSD interface name:
func legacyTypeForInterfaceNamed(_ name: String) -> UInt8? {
var addrList: UnsafeMutablePointer<ifaddrs>? = nil
let err = getifaddrs(&addrList)
// In theory we could check `errno` here but, honestly, what are gonna
// do with that info?
guard
err >= 0,
let first = addrList
else { return nil }
defer { freeifaddrs(addrList) }
return sequence(first: first, next: { $0.pointee.ifa_next })
.compactMap { addr in
guard
let nameC = addr.pointee.ifa_name,
name == String(cString: nameC),
let sa = addr.pointee.ifa_addr,
sa.pointee.sa_family == AF_LINK,
let data = addr.pointee.ifa_data
else { return nil }
return data.assumingMemoryBound(to: if_data.self).pointee.ifi_type
}
.first
}
The values are defined in <net/if_types.h>, starting with IFT_OTHER.
However, this value is rarely useful because many interfaces ‘look like’ Ethernet and thus have a type of IFT_ETHER.
Network framework has the concept of an interface’s functional type. This is an indication of how the interface fits into the system. There are two ways to get an interface’s functional type:
If you’re using Network framework and have an NWInterface value, get the type property.
If not, call ioctl with a SIOCGIFFUNCTIONALTYPE request. The return values are defined in <net/if.h>, starting with IFRTYPE_FUNCTIONAL_UNKNOWN.
Swift does not import SIOCGIFFUNCTIONALTYPE, so it’s best to write this code in a C:
extern uint32_t functionalTypeForInterfaceNamed(const char * name) {
int fd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM, 0);
if (fd < 0) { return IFRTYPE_FUNCTIONAL_UNKNOWN; }
struct ifreq ifr = {};
strlcpy(ifr.ifr_name, name, sizeof(ifr.ifr_name));
bool success = ioctl(fd, SIOCGIFFUNCTIONALTYPE, &ifr) >= 0;
int junk = close(fd);
assert(junk == 0);
if ( ! success ) { return IFRTYPE_FUNCTIONAL_UNKNOWN; }
return ifr.ifr_ifru.ifru_functional_type;
}
Finally, TN3158 Resolving Xcode 15 device connection issues documents the SIOCGIFDIRECTLINK flag as a specific way to identify the network interfaces uses by Xcode for device connection traffic.
Revision History
2025-12-10 Added info about SIOCGIFDIRECTLINK.
2023-07-19 First posted.
Hi Team,
We have a requirement for device-to-device communication using the Multipeer Connectivity framework without requiring Wi-
Fi connectivity.
Current Status:
Multipeer communication works successfully when Wi-Fi is enabled
Connection fails when using Bluetooth-only (Wi-Fi disabled, in Airplane Mode)
Concern:
We've found forum suggesting that Multipeer Connectivity over Bluetooth-only has been restricted since iOS 11, despite
Apple's documentation stating support for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth transports.
Request:
Could you please confirm:
Whether Bluetooth-only Multipeer Connectivity is officially supported in current iOS versions( iOS 18.0+)?
If there are specific configurations or entitlements required for Bluetooth-only operation?
Any known limitations or alternative approaches for offline device-to-device communication?
This clarification will help us determine the appropriate implementation strategy for our offline communication
requirements.
Thank you.
Summary
NetworkConnection<WebSocket> in iOS 26 Network framework throws POSIXErrorCode(rawValue: 22): Invalid argument when receiving WebSocket ping (opcode 9) or pong (opcode 10) control frames. This prevents proper WebSocket keep-alive functionality.
Environment
iOS 26.0 (Simulator)
macOS 26.1
Xcode 26.0
Note: This issue was initially discovered on iOS 26 Simulator. The same behavior was confirmed on macOS 26, suggesting a shared bug in the Network framework. The attached sample code is for macOS for easier reproduction.
Description
When using the new NetworkConnection<WebSocket> API introduced in iOS 26 or macOS 26, the receive() method throws EINVAL error whenever a ping or pong control frame is received from the server.
This is a critical issue because:
WebSocket servers commonly send ping frames to keep connections alive
Clients send ping frames to verify connection health
The receive callback never receives the ping/pong frame - the error occurs before the frame reaches user code
Steps to Reproduce
Create a WebSocket connection to any server that supports ping/pong (e.g., wss://echo.websocket.org):
import Foundation
import Network
// MARK: - WebSocket Ping/Pong EINVAL Bug Reproduction
// This sample demonstrates that NetworkConnection<WebSocket> throws EINVAL
// when receiving ping or pong control frames.
@main
struct WebSocketPingPongBug {
static func main() async {
print("=== WebSocket Ping/Pong EINVAL Bug Reproduction ===\n")
do {
try await testPingPong()
} catch {
print("Test failed with error: \(error)")
}
}
static func testPingPong() async throws {
let host = "echo.websocket.org"
let port: UInt16 = 443
print("Connecting to wss://\(host)...")
let endpoint = NWEndpoint.hostPort(
host: NWEndpoint.Host(host),
port: NWEndpoint.Port(rawValue: port)!
)
try await withNetworkConnection(to: endpoint, using: {
WebSocket {
TLS {
TCP()
}
}
}) { connection in
print("Connected!\n")
// Start receive loop in background
let receiveTask = Task {
var messageCount = 0
while !Task.isCancelled {
do {
let (data, metadata) = try await connection.receive()
messageCount += 1
print("[\(messageCount)] Received frame - opcode: \(metadata.opcode)")
if let text = String(data: data, encoding: .utf8) {
print("[\(messageCount)] Content: \(text)")
} else {
print("[\(messageCount)] Binary data: \(data.count) bytes")
}
} catch let error as NWError {
if case .posix(let code) = error, code == .EINVAL {
print("❌ EINVAL error occurred! (POSIXErrorCode 22: Invalid argument)")
print(" This is the bug - ping/pong frame caused EINVAL")
// Continue to demonstrate workaround
continue
}
print("Receive error: \(error)")
break
} catch {
print("Receive error: \(error)")
break
}
}
}
// Wait for initial message from server
try await Task.sleep(for: .seconds(2))
// Test 1: Send text message (should work)
print("\n--- Test 1: Sending text message ---")
try await connection.send("Hello, WebSocket!")
print("✅ Text message sent")
try await Task.sleep(for: .seconds(1))
// Test 2: Send ping (pong response will cause EINVAL)
print("\n--- Test 2: Sending ping frame ---")
print("Expecting EINVAL when pong is received...")
let pingMetadata = NWProtocolWebSocket.Metadata(opcode: .ping)
try await connection.ping(Data()) {
pingMetadata
}
print("✅ Ping sent, waiting for pong...")
// Wait for pong response
try await Task.sleep(for: .seconds(2))
// Cleanup
receiveTask.cancel()
print("\n=== Test Complete ===")
print("If you saw 'EINVAL error occurred!' above, the bug is reproduced.")
}
}
}
The receive() call fails with error when pong arrives:
❌ EINVAL error occurred! (POSIXErrorCode 22: Invalid argument)
Test Results
Scenario
Result
Send/receive text (opcode 1)
✅ OK
Client sends ping, receives pong
❌ EINVAL on pong receive
Expected Behavior
The receive() method should successfully return ping and pong frames, or at minimum, handle them internally without throwing an error. The autoReplyPing option should allow automatic pong responses without disrupting the receive loop.
Actual Behavior
When a ping or pong control frame is received:
The receive() method throws NWError.posix(.EINVAL)
The frame never reaches user code (no opcode check is possible)
The connection remains valid, but the receive loop is interrupted
Workaround
Catch the EINVAL error and restart the receive loop:
while !Task.isCancelled {
do {
let received = try await connection.receive()
// Process message
} catch let error as NWError {
if case .posix(let code) = error, code == .EINVAL {
// Control frame caused EINVAL, continue receiving
continue
}
throw error
}
}
This workaround allows continued operation but:
Cannot distinguish between ping-related EINVAL and other EINVAL errors
Cannot access the ping/pong frame content
Cannot implement custom ping/pong handling
Impact
WebSocket connections to servers that send periodic pings will experience repeated EINVAL errors
Applications must implement workarounds that may mask other legitimate errors
Additional Information
Packet capture confirms ping/pong frames are correctly transmitted at the network level
The error occurs in the Network framework's internal processing, before reaching user code
Recent our APP performance online has revealed significant degradation in cellular network SRTT (Smoothed Round-Trip Time) on the latest iPhone models (iPhone 18.1, 18.2, and 18.3) relative to previous generation devices. IDC network transmission SRTT P50 increased by 10.64%, P95 increased by 103.41%; CDN network transmission SRTT P50 increased by 12.66%, P95 increased by 81.08%.
Detailed Performance Metrics:
1. Network Transmission SRTT Degradation
Following optimization of our APP's network library, iOS network transmission SRTT showed improvement from mid-August through mid-September. However, starting September 16, cellular network SRTT metrics began to degrade (SRTT increased). This degradation affects both IDC and CDN routes. WiFi network performance remains unaffected.
2. Excluding iOS 26.x Version Data
After data filtering, we discovered that the increase in iOS cellular network transmission SRTT was caused by data samples from iOS 26.x versions. When excluding iOS 26.x version data, network transmission SRTT shows no growth.
3. Comparative Analysis: iOS 26.x vs. iOS < 26.0
network transmission SRTT shows:
IDC (Internet Data Center) Links: P50 latency: 10.64% increase / P95 latency: 103.41% increase
CDN (Content Delivery Network) Links: P50 latency: 12.66% increase / P95 latency: 81.08% increase
4. Device-Model Analysis: iOS 26.x SRTT Degradation Scope
Granular analysis of iOS 26.x samples across different device models reveals that network SRTT degradation is not universal but rather specific to certain iPhone models.
These measurements indicate a substantial regression in
network performance across both data center and content
delivery pathways.
In iOS AP-mode onboarding for IOT devices, why does the iPhone sometimes stay stuck on the device Wi-Fi (no internet) and fail to route packets to the device’s local IP, even though SSID is correct?
Sub-questions to include:
• Is this an iOS Wi-Fi auto-join priority issue?
• Can AP networks become “sticky” after multiple joins?
• How does iOS choose the active routing interface when Wi-Fi has no gateway?
• Why does the packet never reach the device even though NWPath shows WiFi = satisfied?
We are facing a DNS resolution issue with a specific ISP, where our domain name does not resolve correctly using the system DNS. However, the same domain works as expected when a custom DNS resolver is used.
On Android, this is straightforward to handle by configuring a custom DNS implementation using OkHttp / Retrofit. I am trying to implement a functionally equivalent solution in native iOS (Swift / SwiftUI).
Android Reference (Working Behavior) :
val dns = DnsOverHttps.Builder()
.client(OkHttpClient())
.url("https://cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query".toHttpUrl())
.bootstrapDnsHosts(InetAddress.getByName("1.1.1.1"))
.build()
OkHttpClient.Builder()
.dns(dns)
.build()
Attempted iOS Approach
I attempted the following approach :
Resolve the domain to an IP address programmatically (using DNS over HTTPS)
Connect directly to the resolved IP address
Set the original domain in the Host HTTP header
DNS Resolution via DoH :
func resolveDomain(domain: String) async throws -> String {
guard let url = URL(
string: "https://cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query?name=\(domain)&type=A"
) else {
throw URLError(.badURL)
}
var request = URLRequest(url: url)
request.setValue("application/dns-json", forHTTPHeaderField: "accept")
let (data, _) = try await URLSession.shared.data(for: request)
let response = try JSONDecoder().decode(DNSResponse.self, from: data)
guard let ip = response.Answer?.first?.data else {
throw URLError(.cannotFindHost)
}
return ip
}
API Call Using Resolved IP :
func callAPIUsingCustomDNS() async throws {
let ip = try await resolveDomain(domain: "example.com")
guard let url = URL(string: "https://(ip)") else {
throw URLError(.badURL)
}
let configuration = URLSessionConfiguration.ephemeral
let session = URLSession(
configuration: configuration,
delegate: CustomURLSessionDelegate(originalHost: "example.com"),
delegateQueue: .main
)
var request = URLRequest(url: url)
request.setValue("example.com", forHTTPHeaderField: "Host")
let (_, response) = try await session.data(for: request)
print("Success: (response)")
}
Problem Encountered
When connecting via the IP address, the TLS handshake fails with the following error:
Error Domain=NSURLErrorDomain Code=-1200
"A TLS error caused the secure connection to fail."
This appears to happen because iOS sends the IP address as the Server Name Indication (SNI) during the TLS handshake, while the server’s certificate is issued for the domain name.
Custom URLSessionDelegate Attempt :
class CustomURLSessionDelegate: NSObject, URLSessionDelegate {
let originalHost: String
init(originalHost: String) {
self.originalHost = originalHost
}
func urlSession(
_ session: URLSession,
didReceive challenge: URLAuthenticationChallenge,
completionHandler: @escaping (URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition, URLCredential?) -> Void
) {
guard challenge.protectionSpace.authenticationMethod == NSURLAuthenticationMethodServerTrust,
let serverTrust = challenge.protectionSpace.serverTrust else {
completionHandler(.performDefaultHandling, nil)
return
}
let sslPolicy = SecPolicyCreateSSL(true, originalHost as CFString)
let basicPolicy = SecPolicyCreateBasicX509()
SecTrustSetPolicies(serverTrust, [sslPolicy, basicPolicy] as CFArray)
var error: CFError?
if SecTrustEvaluateWithError(serverTrust, &error) {
completionHandler(.useCredential, URLCredential(trust: serverTrust))
} else {
completionHandler(.cancelAuthenticationChallenge, nil)
}
}
}
However, TLS validation still fails because the SNI remains the IP address, not the domain.
I would appreciate guidance on the supported and App Store–compliant way to handle ISP-specific DNS resolution issues on iOS. If custom DNS or SNI configuration is not supported, what alternative architectural approaches are recommended by Apple?
Hi Team,
I have a Network Extension application and UI frontend for it.
The UI frontend talks to the Network Extension using XPC, as provided by NEMachServiceName.
On M2 machine,
The application and XPC connection works fine on clean installation.
But, when the application is upgraded, the XPC connection keeps failing.
Upgrade steps:
PreInstall script kills the running processes, both UI and Network Extension
Let installation continue
PostInstall script to launch the application after installation complete.
Following code is successful to the point of resume from UI application
NSXPCInterface *exportedInterface = [NSXPCInterface interfaceWithProtocol:@protocol(IPCUIObject)];
newConnection.exportedInterface = exportedInterface;
newConnection.exportedObject = delegate;
NSXPCInterface *remoteObjectInterface = [NSXPCInterface interfaceWithProtocol:@protocol(IPCExtObject)];
newConnection.remoteObjectInterface = remoteObjectInterface;
self.currentConnection = newConnection;
[newConnection resume];
But it fails to get the object
id<IPCExtObject> providerProxy = [self.currentConnection remoteObjectProxyWithErrorHandler:^(NSError *registerError) {
}];
Please note, this only fails for M2. For M1, this exact code is running fine.
Additionally, if I uninstall the application by dropping it in Trash and then installing the newer version, then too, the application works fine.