We have an application which is written in Swift, which activates network extension (Transparent Proxy). We want to use MDM deployment for this network system extension. Our Transparent Proxy module is a system extension, which is exposing an app proxy provider interface (We are using NETransparentProxyProvider class and in extension’s Info.plist we use com.apple.networkextension.app-proxy key.) We don’t have any remote server setup to forward the traffic, instead we open a connection with a certain localhost:port to redirect the traffic which is received in our transparent proxy. We have another module that listens to the particular localhost:port to process the traffic further. As per https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/vpn/transparentproxy documentation, we noticed that we can use the VPN payload with app-proxy as Provider Type for Transparent Proxy. We were able to install the profile created via Jamf Pro and also while in stalling our product the Transparent Proxy gets mapped with the one which is installed via profile. However after that the network is broken and hence unable to browse anything. We are suspecting the remote server filed is causing this. So we tried creating the custom profile without remote server address for VPN payload, but we are unable to install the profile. It throws below error: 2025-02-11 16:43:55.193348+0530 0x2f880 Error 0x0 6815 0 mdmclient: (NetworkExtension) [com.apple.networkextension:] Failed to save configuration DGWebProxy because it is invalid: Error Domain=NEConfigurationErrorDomain Code=2 "configuration is invalid: Missing server address" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=configuration is invalid: Missing server address}
2025-02-11 16:43:55.193376+0530 0x2f880 Error 0x0 6815 0 mdmclient: (NetworkExtension) [com.apple.networkextension:] NEProfileIngestion Error occurred when saving configuration 'DGWebProxy': configuration is invalid: configuration is invalid: Missing server address 
2025-02-11 16:43:55.196159+0530 0x2f880 Error 0x0 6815 7 mdmclient: [com.apple.ManagedClient:CPDomainPlugIn] [ERROR] [0:MDMDaemon:CPDomainPlugIn:<0x2f880>] <<<<< PlugIn: InstallPayload [NEProfileIngestionPlugin] Error: Error Domain=ConfigProfilePluginDomain Code=-319 "The ‘VPN Service’ payload could not be installed. The VPN service could not be created." UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=The ‘VPN Service’ payload could not be installed. The VPN service could not be created.} <<<<<
2025-02-11 16:43:55.196826+0530 0x2f880 Error 0x0 6815 7 mdmclient: [com.apple.ManagedClient:MDMDaemon] [ERROR] [0:MDMDaemon:<0x2f880>] [CE] PlugIn_InstallPayload ==> Error Domain=ConfigProfilePluginDomain Code=-319 "The ‘VPN Service’ payload could not be installed. The VPN service could not be created." UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=The ‘VPN Service’ payload could not be installed. The VPN service could not be created.} Can we create MDM profile for Transparent Proxy without remote server address?

I am writing to seek clarification on two technical issues related to iOS frameworks (CoreBluetooth and NetworkExtension). These observations are critical for optimizing our app's performance, and I would appreciate any official guidance or documentation references. CoreBluetooth Scanning Frequency and Cycle Issue: We noticed inconsistent BLE device discovery times (ranging from 0.5s to 1.5s) despite the peripheral advertising at 2Hz (500ms interval). Questions: Does iOS regulate the BLE scan interval or duty cycle internally? If yes, what factors affect this behavior (e.g., foreground/background state, connected devices)? Are there recommended practices to reduce discovery latency for peripherals with fixed advertising intervals? Is there a way to configure scan parameters (e.g., scan window/interval) programmatically, similar to Android's BluetoothLeScanner? Test Context: Device: iPhone 13 mini (iOS 17.6.1) Code: CBCentralManager.scanForPeripherals(withServices: nil, options: [CBCentralManagerScanOptionAllowDuplicatesKey: true]) NEHotspotConfigurationManager Workflow and Latency Issue: Using NEHotspotConfigurationManager.shared.apply(_:) to connect to Wi-Fi occasionally takes up to 8 seconds to complete. Questions: What is the internal workflow of the apply method? Does it include user permission checks, SSID scanning, authentication, or IP assignment steps? Are there known scenarios where this method would block for extended periods (e.g., waiting for user interaction, network timeouts)? Is the latency related to system-level retries or radio coexistence with other wireless activities (e.g., Bluetooth)? Test Context: Configuration: NEHotspotConfiguration(ssid: "TestSSID") Behavior: Delay occurs even when the Wi-Fi network is in range and credentials are correct.

Hi! We are planning to build an app for a research project that collects sensitive information (such as symptoms, photos and audio). We don't want to store this data locally on the phone or within the app but rather have it securely transferred to a safe SFTP server. Is it possible to implement this i iOS, and if so, does anyone have any recommendations on how to do this?

Hi everyone, I'm building a health-focused iOS and watchOS app that uses WatchConnectivity to sync real-time heart rate and core body temperature data from iPhone to Apple Watch. While the HealthKit integration works correctly on the iPhone side, I'm facing persistent issues with WatchConnectivity — the data either doesn't arrive on the Watch, or session(_:didReceiveMessage:) never gets triggered. Here's the setup: On iPhone: Using WCSession.default.sendMessage(_:replyHandler:errorHandler:) to send real-time values every few seconds. On Apple Watch: Implemented WCSessionDelegate, and session(_:didReceiveMessage:) is supposed to update the UI. Both apps have WCSession.isSupported() checks, activate the session, and assign delegates correctly. The session state shows isPaired = true and isWatchAppInstalled = true. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are on, both devices are unlocked and nearby. Despite all this, the Watch never receives messages in real-time. Sometimes, data comes through in bulk much later or not at all. I've double-checked Info.plist configurations and made sure background modes include "Uses Bluetooth LE accessories" and "Background fetch" where appropriate. I would really appreciate guidance on: Best practices for reliable, low-latency message delivery with WatchConnectivity. Debugging steps or sample code to validate message transmission and reception. Any pitfalls related to UI updates from the delegate method. Happy to share further details. Thanks in advance!

In our iOS networking related app for the app store (with network extension using packet tunnel provider), we are supposed to read the list of nameservers for the network. We use res_ninit function. This function returns only 3 items (but in reality the network has more dns servers. In my case 5. Some ipv4 and some ipv6) Looking at the header file at iOS 18.2 -> user/include/resolve.h, it shows that the __res_state struct has a maximum limit of 3 for the nsaddr_list array. It seems that the reason the res_ninit function returns only 3 values is because of this. For our code to work correctly, it needs to know all the dns servers, but we only get partial results. Is there any other api that can get us all the dns servers ?

We're experiencing an issue with Local Network Permission. When trying to connect to a socket, the Local Network Permission alert pops up. To trigger the permission request at the start of the app, we used the following code to ask for permission and receive a callback on whether it's granted. However, this approach doesn't always trigger the permission alert, or it gets automatically dismissed after 30 seconds, only to reappear later. What could be causing this inconsistent behavior? func checkLocalNetworkPermission(_ completed: Optional&lt;(Bool) -&gt; Void&gt; = .none) { DispatchQueue.global(qos: .userInitiated).async { let hostName = ProcessInfo.processInfo.hostName let isGranted = hostName.contains(".local") if let completed { DispatchQueue.main.async { completed(isGranted) } } } }

Hi, I observed some unexpected behavior and hope that someone can enlighten me as to what this is about: mDNSResponder prepends IP / network based default search domains that are checked before any other search domain. E.g. 0.1.168.192.in-addr.arpa. would be used for an interface with an address in the the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet. This is done for any configured non-link-local IP address. I tried to find any mention of an approach like this in RFCs but couldn't spot anything. Please note that this is indeed a search domain and different from reverse-DNS lookups. Example output of tcpdump for ping devtest: 10:02:13.850802 IP (tos 0x0, ttl 64, id 43461, offset 0, flags [none], proto UDP (17), length 92) 192.168.1.2.52319 &gt; 192.168.1.1.53: 54890+ [1au] A? devtest.0.1.168.192.in-addr.arpa. (64) I was able to identify the code that adds those default IP subnet based search domains but failed to spot any indication as to what this is about: https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/mDNSResponder/blob/d5029b5/mDNSMacOSX/mDNSMacOSX.c#L4171-L4211 Does anyone here have an ideas as to what this might be about?

Hey! We are investigating a problem pf rules being ignored by some processes. Despite blocking all traffic, some outgoing unicast packets can be seen in tcpdump. Issue is present in MacOS 15.0.0 - 15.3.1 (Newest at the time of writing). I tested MacOS 14.7.4 and pf rules there behaved as expected. Steps to reproduce the issue: $ cat pf.conf block all $ sudo pfctl -e -F all -f ./pf.conf Password: pfctl: Use of -f option, could result in flushing of rules present in the main ruleset added by the system at startup. See /etc/pf.conf for further details. No ALTQ support in kernel ALTQ related functions disabled rules cleared nat cleared dummynet cleared 0 tables deleted. 196 states cleared source tracking entries cleared pf: statistics cleared pf: interface flags reset pfctl: pf already enabled After executing these commands MacOS 14 will block all outgoing unicast traffic, and on MacOS 15 data can be sent to arbitrary addresses: $ ifconfig en0 en0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 options=6460<TSO4,TSO6,CHANNEL_IO,PARTIAL_CSUM,ZEROINVERT_CSUM> ether b6:5e:a5:c5:1e:db inet6 fe80::1090:9c8:4325:329a%en0 prefixlen 64 secured scopeid 0xe inet 192.168.50.144 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.50.255 nd6 options=201<PERFORMNUD,DAD> media: autoselect status: active $ sudo tcpdump -k A -i any -n src 192.168.50.144 tcpdump: data link type PKTAP tcpdump: verbose output suppressed, use -v[v]... for full protocol decode listening on any, link-type PKTAP (Apple DLT_PKTAP), snapshot length 524288 bytes 12:05:12.673472 (en0, proc com.apple.geod:1286:, svc BE, out, ch, flowid 0x0, ttag 0x0, dlt 0x1, cmpgc 0x0) IP 192.168.50.144.52012 > 17.253.15.196.443: Flags [P.], seq 1888882378:1888882402, ack 3554898220, win 2048, options [nop,nop,TS val 2752050055 ecr 1291585385], length 24 12:05:13.793937 (en0, proc com.apple.WebKit:974:, eproc Safari:804:, svc BE, out, ch, flowid 0x0, ttag 0x0, dlt 0x1, cmpgc 0x0) IP 192.168.50.144.52024 > 3.65.102.105.443: Flags [P.], seq 2011312019:2011312073, ack 673002582, win 2048, options [nop,nop,TS val 777228223 ecr 484269939], length 54 Was there any change in the way pfctl is used or is this a bug? This issue affects negatively privacy features of our product.

Hi everyone, I’m developing an app called FindMyNet that allows users to find the best internet provider based on their postal code (CAP). The app is built with Xcode and the macOS simulator. I’ve set up a FastAPI backend that communicates with an Excel database containing internet provider data for each postal code. Unfortunately, when I try to run the app, I encounter an error that prevents me from retrieving data from the database and displaying the correct provider. Task <6B5C86B6-181A-4235-AE68-23AAF6645683>.<1> finished with error [1] Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=1 "Operation not permitted" UserInfo={_NSURLErrorFailingURLSessionTaskErrorKey=LocalDataTask <6B5C86B6-181A-4235-AE68-23AAF6645683>.<1>, _kCFStreamErrorDomainKey=1, _kCFStreamErrorCodeKey=1, _NSURLErrorRelatedURLSessionTaskErrorKey=( "LocalDataTask <6B5C86B6-181A-4235-AE68-23AAF6645683>.<1>" ), _NSURLErrorNWPathKey=satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: en0[802.11], ipv4, dns, uses wifi} Problem description: • The FastAPI backend is running on a Raspberry Pi and communicates with the app via an HTTP request. • When I enter a postal code, the app should return the best provider for that region, but I only get a 500 error. • I’ve verified that the FastAPI server is running, but it seems there’s an issue with communication between the app and the server. Steps taken so far: • I’ve checked the logs on the FastAPI server, but there are no obvious errors. • I’ve manually tested the API using Postman, and it works fine, so the issue seems to be app-side. Support request: I’d like to understand better what could be causing this error and if anyone has had similar experiences. Any advice on diagnosing the problem or solutions for resolving it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi everyone, I’m currently developing a macOS app that is distributed via a DMG file on our website. The app includes an App Extension (appex) for Network Extension functionality. I’m wondering if distributing via DMG on the web requires the app extension to be implemented as a System Extension instead of an App Extension. Is it necessary to migrate to System Extension for web-based DMG distribution, or can I continue using App Extension as is? Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

We have an iPad application that utilizes Multipeer Connectivity to enable local communication between devices running a copy of our app. Until recently, we were able to test this functionality in the Xcode simulator without any issues. We could easily set up multiple simulators and have them all communicate with each other. However, recently, either due to an upgrade to Xcode or MacOS, this functionality ceased working in the simulator. Surprisingly, it still functions perfectly on physical devices. If we reboot the development computer and launch the simulator immediately after the reboot (without building and sending from Xcode, but running the existing code on the device), the issue resolves. However, the moment we generate a new build and send it to the simulator from Xcode, the multipeer functionality stops working again in the simulator. The simulators won’t reconnect until a reboot of the physical Mac hardware hosting the simulator. We’ve tried the usual troubleshooting steps, such as downgrading Xcode, deleting simulators and recreating them, cleaning the build folder, and deleting derived data, but unfortunately, none of these solutions have worked. The next step is to attempt to use a previous version of MacOS (15.3) and see if that helps, but I’d prefer to avoid this if possible. Does anyone have any obvious suggestions or troubleshooting steps that might help us identify the cause of this issue?

Hi, I developed a network extension program on macOS. I tried to update the program by changing the version number. My update process was to first turn off network filtering via "NEFilterManager.sharedManager.enabled = NO", and then use "[OSSystemExtensionRequest activationRequestForExtension:bundleid queue:dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_HIGH, 0)];" to let the system replace the old network extension program. However, sometimes the old network extension process will become a zombie process like pid=86621 in the figure. As long as the zombie process exists, the network cannot be used. After about 10 minutes, it will be cleared and the network will be available. Restarting Wi-Fi can also clear the zombie process immediately. Why is this? How to avoid this problem?

WiFi and Bluetooth are both enabled on Mac and iPhone, neither device is connected to a network Running MultipeerConnectivity on the Mac as Advertiser and iPhone as Browser, the invitation is sent from the phone and accepted by the mac, but the connection is then dropped. This doesn’t happen when the Advertiser is another iOS device. STEPS TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM We have created a small sample project that demonstrates the problem. It can be found at: https://github.com/eidria/Multipeer-Progress-Demo.git. It contains both a Mac app and a iOS app. Run the Mac app and start Advertising Run iOS app and start Browsing The iOS app automatically issues an invitation to the browser (Mac) which accepts. Shortly after the connection is dropped.

Hello, I am in a very similar situation as described in the thread: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/655183 Context: I am working on an app that receives data from a hardware device through its Wifi network, and the hardware is not connected to the internet. Now, I would need to call some API while still connected to hardware so I would need to use the cellular data. As mentioned on the thread, I can achieve this via Network framework, using the requiredInterfaceType property. But Is there any other way I can achieve this? I can also do some suggestion on the hardware if that's helpful. Thank you!

Hi, I’m trying out my app with Xcode 26, running on an iOS 26 simulator. I'm having issues with URLSessions, it crashes when I set the URLSessionConfiguration to default, and if I don’t use the URLSessionConfiguration, it crashes if I use URLSession.shared. When running in a real device, it doesn't crash, but any network request will hang and time out after a while. Is it a known issue in the latest beta versions?

Could anyone teach me how to ask iOS 18 to have a prompt during set-up process of a new APP if user accidentally turns off Local Network ?

Hello all, Does anyone know how long it will take Apple to approve multicast entitlement approval after the Apple form is submitted? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you Allyson

We are currently working on a zero-configuration networking compliant device thru avahi-daemon. Our Device want to have multiple Instance name for different services. Example InstanceA._ipps._tcp.local. InstanceA._ipp._tcp.local. InstanceB._ipps._tcp.local. InstanceB._ipp._tcp.local. Will BCT confuse this as multiple device connected in the network and cause it to fail? Does Bonjour only allows only a Single Instance name with multiple services?

I was wondering which is the preferred way to send a lot of data from sensors of the apple watch to server. It is preferred to send small chucks to iphone and then to server or directly send bulk data to server from watch. How does it affect battery and resources from watch ? Are there any triggers that I can use to ensure best data stream. I need to send at least once a day. Can I do it in background or do I need the user to have my app in the foreground ? Thank you in advance

I am unable to apply for Multicast Entitlement at https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/networking-multicast The reason for this is unclear. I have paid for a developer account and believe I'm up to date with all agreements.