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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.

Networking Documentation

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Getting a basic URL Filter to work
I haven’t been able to get this to work at any level! I’m running into multiple issues, any light shed on any of these would be nice: I can’t implement a bloom filter that produces the same output as can be found in the SimpleURLFilter sample project, after following the textual description of it that’s available in the documentation. No clue what my implementation is doing wrong, and because of the nature of hashing, there is no way to know. Specifically: The web is full of implementations of FNV-1a and MurmurHash3, and they all produce different hashes for the same input. Can we get the proper hashes for some sample strings, so we know which is the “correct” one? Similarly, different implementations use different encodings for the strings to hash. Which should we use here? The formulas for numberOfBits and numberOfHashes give Doubles and assign them to Ints. It seems we should do this conversing by rounding them, is this correct? Can we get a sample correct value for the combined hash, so we can verify our implementations against it? Or ignoring all of the above, can we have the actual code instead of a textual description of it? 😓 I managed to get Settings to register my first attempt at this extension in beta 1. Now, in beta 2, any other project (including the sample code) will redirect to Settings, show the Allow/Deny message box, I tap Allow, and then nothing happens. This must be a bug, right? Whenever I try to enable the only extension that Settings accepted (by setting its isEnabled to true), its status goes to .stopped and the error is, of course, .unknown. How do I debug this? While the extension is .stopped, ALL URL LOADS are blocked on the device. Is this to be expected? (shouldFailClosed is set to false) Is there any way to manually reload the bloom filter? My app ships blocklist updates with background push, so it would be wasteful to fetch the filter at a fixed interval. If so, can we opt out of the periodic fetch altogether? I initially believed the API to be near useless because I didn’t know of its “fuzzy matching” capabilities, which I’ve discovered by accident in a forum post. It’d be nice if those were documented somewhere! Thanks!!
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macOS Sequoia No Route to Host on first request. Retries work.
My app has local network permission on macOS Sequoia and works in most cases. I've noticed that after unlocking my MacBook Pro, the very first request will regularly fail with a No Route to Host. A simple retry resolves the issue, but I would have expected the very first request to succeed. Is this is a known issue on macOS Sequoia or by design? I'd prefer not to add a retry for this particular request as the app is a network utility.
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1.9k
Apr ’25
Can't update VPN app when includeAllNetworks is set to true
If the includeAllNetworks flag to true, we cannot update our app via Xcode, TestFlight or the AppStore. In the AppStore and TestFlight cases, it seems that the packet tunnel process is stopped before the new app is downloaded - once the packet tunnel process is stopped, it can’t be started again via Settings/VPN profiles, nor can it be started via the app.
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108
Jun ’25
Transparent proxy crash on macOS 15.5
Hello! I develop transparent proxy based application, and I'm receiving a lot of crash reports from macOS 15.5 for crash in __88-[NEExtensionAppProxyProviderContext setInitialFlowDivertControlSocket:extraValidation:]_block_invoke.90 when stopping. Even very old versions of my software started crashing on macOS 15.5. I checked my extension that it correctly calls setTunnelNetworkSettings:nil on proxy stop, but crash is still here. Does anybody else have this problem? Do you know any workaround for it?
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107
Jun ’25
How to implement server-side authentication for text filtering requests??
If an app has a text filtering extension and associated server that the iPhone OS communicates with, then how can that communication be authenticated? In other words, how can the server verify that the request is valid and coming from the iPhone and not from some spoofer? If somebody reverse engineers the associated domain urls our of the app's info.plist or entitlement files and calls the server url directly, then how can the server detect this has occurred and the request is not coming from the iPhone OS of a handset on which the app is installed?
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Jan ’25
Add "local network access" permission for macOS 15 runners
Hi, We have an issue (https://github.com/actions/runner-images/issues/10924) raised by a user requesting to add 'local network access' permission for macOS 15 and macOS 15-arm64 image runners. Apple introduced a new LNP policy with macOS Sequoia that is not controlled by TCC or MDM. Could you please guide us on how to add 'local network access' permission for macOS 15 and macOS 15-arm64 image runners? Thanks.
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1.4k
Mar ’25
Extracting IP with swift on visionOS
Hey everyone, I’m developing an app for visionOS where I need to display the Apple Vision Pro’s current IP address. For this I’m using the following code, which works for iOS, macOS, and visionOS in the simulator. Only on a real Apple Vision Pro it’s unable to extract an IP. Could it be that visionOS currently doesn’t allow this? Have any of you had the same experience and found a workaround? var address: String = "no ip" var ifaddr: UnsafeMutablePointer<ifaddrs>? = nil if getifaddrs(&ifaddr) == 0 { var ptr = ifaddr while ptr != nil { defer { ptr = ptr?.pointee.ifa_next } let interface = ptr?.pointee let addrFamily = interface?.ifa_addr.pointee.sa_family if addrFamily == UInt8(AF_INET) { if let name: Optional<String> = String(cString: (interface?.ifa_name)!), name == "en0" { var hostname = [CChar](repeating: 0, count: Int(NI_MAXHOST)) getnameinfo(interface?.ifa_addr, socklen_t((interface?.ifa_addr.pointee.sa_len)!), &hostname, socklen_t(hostname.count), nil, socklen_t(0), NI_NUMERICHOST) address = String(cString: hostname) } } } freeifaddrs(ifaddr) } return address } Thanks in advance for any insights or tips! Best Regards, David
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Jun ’25
After iOS 18,can not connect to Lot devices hotpot
when my iPhone15 pro max upgrade to iOS18.1.1,it can not connect to hotPot of my lot device(os android5.1) any more and my iPhone12(iOS 18.1.1) has no issues. Both the 15 pro max and the iPhone12 works well with another device (OS android 10.0). had tried: 1.Forget Network (and re-add your desired Wifi network), 2.Reset Network Settings (under Settings/General/Transfer or Reset iPhone) 3.Turn Airplane Mode On then Off after a few seconds 4.Restart the iPhone. 5.Rest all setting 6.Disable VPN 7.close the the settings from rotating my WiFi address Did anyone have similar issues?
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Dec ’24
Need help on MDM Profile for Transparent Proxy
We have an application which is written in Swift, which activates two network extensions (Content Filter, Transparent Proxy). We want to use MDM deployment for these network system extensions. For Content Filter, we already have Jamf Profile which has Web Content Filter payload and it works fine. 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. We are unable to find the appropriate payload in any of the Profile Editor applications like Apple Configurator, iMazing Profile Editor and Jamf Pro that correctly describes our setup. 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. Here are the list of issues encountered with different MDM solutions. **AppleConfigurator: ** We were able to install the profile created via Apple Configurator. However when we install our product (which has the above mentioned system extensions), the Transparent Proxy added by our product fails to map with the installed profile. User has to provide the credentials and follow the steps while installing the extension via the product. Attached the screenshot of "Network-&gt;Filters" screen and the profile for reference. Profile Created using Apple Configurator iMazing Profile Editor: Unable to install the profile created using iMazing Profile Editor. Attached the screenshot of error and the profile for reference: Profile Created Using iMazing Profile Editor Jamf Pro: 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. Attached the profile for reference. Profile Created using Jamf Pro What should be the correct profile payload to use for our Transparent Proxy?
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Feb ’25
NEFilterDataProvider + NEFilterControlProvider not catching in-app requests
Goal : Block all outbound connections to a static list of hosts (both In-app requests and WKWebView/Safari). App & both extensions have Network Extension entitlement with content-filter-provider and filter-control-provider What’s working: Safari and WKWebView requests matching the block list are dropped. What’s broken: In-app traffic never reaches the Data Provider—those requests always succeed. Setup: • NEFilterProviderConfiguration with both Data & Control providers, filterBrowsers = true, filterSockets = true • Data Provider implements handleNewFlow for socket/browser flows • Control Provider implements handleNewFlow for browser flows • Enabled via saveToPreferences() and toggled ON in Settings
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Jun ’25
Network Framework peer to peer limitations
Hi all, We've been exploring the capabilities of the Network.framework for peer-to-peer communication and have run into some behavior that we haven't been able to fully explain with the existing documentation. In our tests, we’re working with 12 iOS devices, all disconnected from Wi-Fi to force communication over Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL). While using the Network.framework to create peer-to-peer connections, we observed that the number of connected peers never exceeded 8, despite all 12 devices being active and configured identically. Some questions we’re hoping to get clarification or discussion on: Is there a known upper limit to the number of peer-to-peer connections supported via AWDL? Are there conditions under which the framework or system limits or throttles visible peers? Does AWDL behavior vary by hardware model, iOS version, or backgrounding state of the app? Is there any official documentation or guidance around peer discovery or connection limits when using NWBrowser and NWConnection in a peer-to-peer context? We’d appreciate any insights from the Apple engineering team or other developers who have worked with larger peer groups using Network.framework in peer-to-peer mode.
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May ’25
First update to NWBrowser is always ready, irrespective of Local Networking privacy status
I'm trying to detect the state of Local Network privacy on macOS Sequoia via NWBrowser, as recommended in https://developer.apple.com/documentation/technotes/tn3179-understanding-local-network-privacy Regardless of the state of Local Network privacy - undetermined, allowed or denied, NWBrowser receives an update indicating that its in the ready state. Scanning does not seem to trigger the Local Network privacy alert for me - I have to use the other recommended method to trigger the prompt. Enabling or disabling Local Network privacy does not seem to send any updates for NWBrowser. https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/666431 seems related, and implies that they did receive further updates to NWBrowser. Filed as FB16077972
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753
Jan ’25
Crash in URLConnectionLoader::loadWithWhatToDo
There are multiple report of crashes on URLConnectionLoader::loadWithWhatToDo. The crashed thread in the stack traces pointing to calls inside CFNetwork which seems to be internal library in iOS. The crash has happened quite a while already (but we cannot detect when the crash started to occur) and impacted multiple iOS versions recorded from iOS 15.4 to 18.4.1 that was recorded in Xcode crash report organizer so far. Unfortunately, we have no idea on how to reproduce it yet but the crash keeps on increasing and affect more on iOS 18 users (which makes sense because many people updated their iOS to the newer version) and we haven’t found any clue on what actually happened and how to fix it on the crash reports. What we understand is it seems to come from a network request that happened to trigger the crash but we need more information on what (condition) actually cause it and how to solve it. Hereby, I attach sample crash report for both iOS 15 and 18. I also have submitted a report (that include more crash reports) with number: FB17775979. Will appreciate any insight regarding this issue and any resolution that we can do to avoid it. iOS 15.crash iOS 18.crash
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Aug ’25
TCP/IP Connection Reset --- request Timeout
send a request and it returns with timeout Integration Team are Using Fortigate as a firewall and NGINX for some reasons so we use VPN TO Access , requests always succeed but at once it failed with timeout in randomize request not specific one we are using URLSession as a network layer when I retry the same failed request again, it success the request cannot connect apigee Sec Team concern { app session hits the security gateway with lots of SYN step to try to initiate a new session and doesn’t wait for (SYN-ACK / ACK) steps to happen to make sure the connection initiated correctly and gateway consider it flooding attack }
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May ’25
joinAccessoryHotspot does not fail if wrong passphrase is provided
I am trying to connect to an accessory's WiFi network using the below code and I always see the message "connection succeded" even if I provide an incorrect passphrase. I tried with different accessories and see the same behavior. hotspotConfigurationManager.joinAccessoryHotspot(accessory, passphrase: passphrase) { error in if let error = error { print("connection failed: \(error.localizedDescription)") } else { print("connection succeeded") } }
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Apr ’25
Missing flows for content filter on macOS 15 Sequoia
We use as content filter in our app to monitor flows, we gather data about the flow and block flows deemed suspicious. Our content filter is activated/deactivated by a UI app but the flows are reported via XPC to a separate daemon process for analysis. As of macOS 15, we are seeing cases where flows are missing or flows are not received at all by the content filter. The behaviour is not consistent, some devices seem to receive flows normally but others don't. It appears Intel devices are much less prone to showing the problem, whereas Arm devices routinely exhibit missing flows. On macOS 14 or earlier, there is no sign of missing flows. Testing on earlier beta versions of macOS 15 did not appear to show the problem, however I can't rule out if issue was present but it wasn't spotted. Experimenting with simple examples of using a content filter (e.g. QNE2FilterMac) does not appear to reproduce the issue. Questions, What has changed between macOS 14 and 15 that could be the cause of the lack of flows? Is our approach to using an app activated content filter reporting to a daemon connected via XPC unsupported?
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Aug ’25
Local Push Connectivity - Unreliable Connection
Hi! My project has the Local Push Connectivity entitlement for a feature we have requiring us to send low-latency critical notifications over a local, private Wi-Fi network. We have our NEAppPushProvider creating a SSE connection using the Network framework with our hardware running a server. The server sends a keep-alive message every second. On an iPhone 16 with iOS 18+, the connection is reliable and remains stable for hours, regardless of whether the iOS app is in the foreground, background, or killed. One of our QA engineers has been testing on an iPhone 13 running iOS 16, and has notice shortly after locking the phone, specifically when not connected to power the device seems to turn off the Wi-Fi radio. So when the server sends a notification, it is not received. About 30s later, it seems to be back on. This happens on regular intervals. When looking at our log data, the provider does seem to be getting stopped, then restarted shortly after. The reason code is NEProviderStopReasonNoNetworkAvailable, which further validates that the network is getting dropped by the device in regular intervals. My questions are: Were there possibly silent changes to the framework between iOS versions that could be the reason we're seeing inconsistent behavior? Is there a connection type we could use, instead of SSE, that would prevent the device from disconnecting and reconnecting to the Wi-Fi network? Is there an alternative approach to allow us to maintain a persistent network connection with the extension or app?
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262
Jul ’25
Characteristics of a service are lost after successful discovery
My code makes an iPhone use the CBCentralManager to talk to devices peripherals over core bluetooth. After attempting a connect to a peripheral device, I get a didConnect callback on CBCentralManagerDelegate. After this I initiate discovery of services using: peripheral.discoverServices([CBUUID(nsuuid: serviceUUID)]) Since I am only interested in discovering my service of interest and not the others to speed up time to the actual sending of data. This also gives me the didDiscoverServices callback without error prints in which I do the following: guard let services = peripheral.services, !services.isEmpty else { print("Empty services") centralManager.cancelPeripheralConnection(peripheral) return } And for next steps if let serviceOfInterest = services.first(where: {$0.uuid == CBUUID(nsuuid: serviceUUID)}) { //double check for service we want initiateDiscoverCharacteristics(peripheral: peripheral, service: serviceOfInterest) } Below is what initiateDiscoverCharacteristics() does. I basically only tries to discover certain characteristics of the selected service: peripheral.discoverCharacteristics( [CBUUID(nsuuid: readUUID), CBUUID(nsuuid: writeUUID)], for: serviceOfInterest) For this also we get the didDiscoverCharacteristicsFor callback without error prints. Here in this callback however we were not doing the serviceOfInterest check to see that we are getting the callback for the service we expect, since our understanding was that we will get didDiscoverCharacteristicsFor callback for the characteristics on the serviceOfInterest because that is what peripheral.discoverCharacteristics() was initiated for. When we go ahead to write some data/subscribe for notify/read data we have 2 guard statements for services and characteristics of a particular service. The first guard below passes: if(peripheral.services == nil) { print("services yet to be discovered \(peripheral.identifier.uuidString)") return } However the second guard below fails: let serviceOfInterest = peripheral.services?.first(where: {$0.uuid == CBUUID(nsuuid: serviceUUID}) if((serviceOfInterest?.characteristics == nil) || (serviceOfInterest?.characteristics == [])) { print("characteristics yet to be discovered \(peripheral.identifier.uuidString)") return } First of all, does the iPhone go ahead and discover other characteristics and services separately even when we explicitly mention the service and the characteristics it should discover? Now if you say yes and that it maybe the reason of our bug because we didn't do a check for serviceOfInterest in didDiscoverCharacteristicsFor callback, then I have another question. Why don't we get a second/third print in didDiscoverCharacteristicsFor callback signifying that more characteristics were discovered? The peripheral device just disconnects after a set timeout (peripheral device used in our testing does this if we are not communicating with it for a certain amount of time). This issue is extremely rare. We have seen it only twice in our customer base. Both the instances were on the same iPhone 15 Pro. Once a few months back and once recently. Currently, this iPhone is having iOS version 18.1.1 running on it.
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258
Feb ’25
App does not wake up in the background when using AccessorySetupKit and Bluetooth background modes
I'm building a bluetooth device that is connected to my app. The device I'm building will be connected to the phone as much as possible, and when the user leaves the device's range and then comes back later, I expect the OS to wake the app up when it reconnects in the background using the CoreBluetooth willRestoreState wake up method. Using just CoreBluetooth for pairing, I've confirmed that the phone will reconnect to the device while in the background and the app gets woken up when that happens. I'm hoping to use ASK for pairing instead as it's a much nicer user experience. When I initiate and confirm pairing via ASK, I can see that it's connected and paired successfully and I see my device and app connected as I expect. But when the device goes away, and the app has been in the background, and then I come in range of the phone, the device never reconnects automatically in Bluetooth settings. When I manually tap the device in settings to connect, it does connect, but I don't think my app gets woken up and restored as I don't see the requests I expect happening when it's in the background. Does ASK support scanning for peripherals via CoreBluetooth while in the background, or automatic reconnection? I assumed that when my app is launched, I activate the ASAccessorySession session, and the .activated callback will fire, but I'm not seeing that happen.
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377
Dec ’24