I regularly see questions, both here on the Apple Developer Forums and in my Day Job™ at DTS, that are caused by a fundamental misunderstanding of how background execution works on iOS. These come in many different variants, for example: How do I keep my app running continuously in the background? If I schedule a timer, how do I get it to fire when the screen is locked? How do I run code in the background every 15 minutes? How do I set up a network server that runs in the background? How can my app provide an IPC service to another one of my apps while it’s in the background? How can I resume my app in the background if it’s been ‘force quit’ by the user? The short answer to all of these is You can’t. iOS puts strict limits on background execution. Its default behaviour is to suspend your app shortly after the user has moved it to the background; this suspension prevents the process from running any code. There’s no general-purpose mechanism for: Running code continuously in the background Running code at some specific time in the background Running code periodically at a guaranteed interval Resuming in the background in response to a network or IPC request [1] However, iOS does provide a wide range of special-purpose mechanisms for accomplishing specific user goals. For example: If you’re building a music player, use the audio background mode to continue playing after the user has moved your app to the background. If you’re building a timer app, check out the AlarmKit framework. On older systems, use a local notification to notify the user when your timer has expired. If you’re building a video player app, use AVFoundation’s download support. Keep in mind that the above is just a short list of examples. There are many other special-purpose background execution mechanisms, so you should search the documentation for something appropriate to your needs. IMPORTANT Each of these mechanisms fulfils a specific purpose. Do not attempt to use them for some other purpose. Before using a background API, read clause 2.5.4 of the App Review Guidelines. Additionally, iOS provides some general-purpose mechanisms for background execution: To resume your app in the background in response to an event on your server, use a background notification (aka a ‘silent’ push). For more information, see Pushing background updates to your App. To request a small amount of background execution time to refresh your UI, use the BGAppRefreshTaskRequest class. To request extended background execution time, typically delivered overnight when the user is asleep, use the BGProcessingTaskRequest class. To continue user-visible work after the user has left your app, use the BGContinuedProcessingTask class. To prevent your app from being suspended for a short period of time so that you can complete some user task, use a UIApplication background task. For more information on this, see UIApplication Background Task Notes. To download or upload a large HTTP resource, use an URLSession background session. All of these mechanisms prevent you from abusing them to run arbitrary code in the background. As an example, consider the URLSession resume rate limiter. For more information about these limitations, and background execution in general, I strongly recommend that you watch WWDC 2020 Session 10063 Background execution demystified [2]. It’s an excellent resource. Specifically, this talk addresses a common misconception about the app refresh mechanism (BGAppRefreshTaskRequest and the older background fetch API). Folks assume that app refresh will provide regular background execution time. That’s not the case. The system applies a range of heuristics to decide which apps get app refresh time and when. This is a complex issue, one that I’m not going to try to summarise here, but the take-home message is that, if you expect that the app refresh mechanism will grant you background execution time, say, every 15 minutes, you’ll be disappointed. In fact, there are common scenarios where it won’t grant you any background execution time at all! Watch the talk for the details. [1] iOS 26 introduced support for general-purpose IPC, in the form of enhanced security helper extensions. However, these can only be invoked by the container app, and that means there’s no background execution benefit. [2] Sadly the video is currently not available from Apple. I’ve left the link in place just in case it comes back. When the user ‘force quits’ an app by swiping up in the multitasking UI, iOS interprets that to mean that the user doesn’t want the app running at all. So: If the app is running, iOS terminates it. iOS also sets a flag that prevents the app from being launched in the background. That flag gets cleared when the user next launches the app manually. This gesture is a clear statement of user intent; there’s no documented way for your app to override the user’s choice. Note In some circumstances iOS will not honour this flag. The exact cases where this happens are not documented and have changed over time. Finally, if you have questions about background execution that aren’t covered by the resources listed here, please open a new thread on the forums with the details. Put it in a reasonable subtopic and tag it appropriately for the technology you’re using; if nothing specific springs to mind, use Background Tasks. Also, make sure to include details about the specific problem you’re trying to solve because, when it comes to background execution, the devil really is in the details. Share and Enjoy — Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com" Change history: 2026-01-09 Added a reference to AlarmKit. Added a reference to BGContinuedProcessingTask. Add a footnote about IPC and another one about WWDC 2020 Session 10063. Made other minor editorial changes. 2024-03-21 Added a discussion of ‘force quit’. 2023-05-11 Added a paragraph that explains a common misconception about the app refresh mechanism. Made other minor editorial changes. 2021-08-12 Added more entries to the common questions list, this time related to networking and IPC. Made minor editorial changes. 2021-07-26 Extended the statement about what’s not possible to include “running code periodically at a guaranteed interval”. 2021-07-22 First posted.

We have an app in Swift that uses push notifications. It has a deployment target of iOS 15.0 I originally audited our app for iOS 26 by building it with Xcode 26 beta 3. At that point, all was well. Our implementation of application:didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken was called. But when rebuilding the app with beta 4, 5 and now 6, that function is no longer being called. I created a simple test case by creating a default iOS app project, then performing these additional steps: Set bundle ID to our app's ID Add the Push Notifications capability Add in application:didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken: with a print("HERE") just to set a breakpoint. Added the following code inside application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions: along with setting a breakpoint on the registerForRemoteNotifications line: UNUserNotificationCenter.current().requestAuthorization(options: [.badge, .alert, .sound]) { granted, _ in DispatchQueue.main.async { UIApplication.shared.registerForRemoteNotifications() } } Building and running with Xcode 26 beta 6 (17A5305f) generates these two different outcomes based upon the OS running in the Simulator: iPhone 16 Pro simulator running iOS 18.4 - both breakpoints are reached iPhone 16 Pro simulator running iOS 26 - only the breakpoint on UIApplication.shared.registerForRemoteNotifications is reached. Assuming this is a bug in iOS 26. Or, is there something additional we now need to do to get push notifications working?

We recently developed the provisional permission for our app, but we have noticed that is not working as expected in iOS 16 (We have tested only there). Currently we request the permissions like this: UNUserNotificationCenter.current().requestAuthorization(options: [.alert, .badge, .sound, .provisional]) { [weak self] _, _ in // here we register for pushes in case authorizationStatus is provisional or authorised } What happens is we do get the 1st notification with the keep CTA - once tapped we see that there pops an action: "Deliver Immediately", but even though the user selects that, we still see under setting the pushes are marked as "Deliver Quietly". In addition to this the sound and bage still stay as toggled off - and the lock screen and banner as well stay off. Basically, nothing changes after the user selects "Deliver Immediately"

On iOS 26.2 (23C55), DeviceActivityMonitor.eventDidReachThreshold fires intermittently for a daily schedule (00:00–23:59) even when iOS Screen Time shows 0 minutes for the selected apps that day. This causes premature shielding via ManagedSettings. Environment: iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 26.2 (23C55). Event selection: 2 apps. Threshold: 30 minutes. Multiple TestFlight users report the same behavior across various app selections and thresholds. Intermittent (~50% of days); sometimes multiple days in a row. Not observed in testing prior to iOS 26.2. Evidence: sysdiagnose + Screen Time screenshots (with 0 screen time on selected apps) + unified logs show UsageTrackingAgent notifying the extension that “unproductive from activity daily reached its threshold,” followed immediately by ManagedSettings shield being applied (extension reacting to the callback). Filed Feedback Assistant: FB21450954. Questions: Are others seeing this on 26.2? Does it correlate with restarting monitoring at interval boundaries or includesPastActivity settings?

Hello! I am attempting to add Subscriptions to an App that Is already published on the App Store. I cannot get Xcode to actually sync what is in my App Store Connect. When adding the Storekit configuration file, I go through the automatic linking process and select the proper bundleID. The configuration file says 'Synced @ [CurrentTime]' however there are no subscriptions listed in there. I have attempted deleting the file several times, creating a new subscription group. With no success. Do I need to publish the subscriptions without the features first? Upon attempting to write the supporting code that will enable these features within the app, I cannot get Xcode to identify that I have these subscriptions. I have also tried pushing these to TestFlight, still with no success. Thank you.

I am facing a problem of payment using credit card. I tried several banks and cards without any result. I also used one of the card I have successfully paid another account. Heeeeelp

I have a simple app that uses SwiftUI and SwiftData to maintain a database. The app runs on multiple iPhones and iPads and correctly synchronises across those platforms. So I am correct setting Background Modes and Remote Notifications. I have also correctly setup my Model Configuration and ModelContainer (Otherwise I would expect syncing to fail completely). The problem arises when I run on a Mac (M1 or M3) either using Mac Designed for iPad or Mac Catalyst. This can be debugging in Xcode or running the built app. Then the app does not reflect changes made in the iPhone or iPad apps unless I follow a specific sequence. Leave the app, (e.g click on a Finder window), then come back to the app (i.e click on the app again). Now the app will show the changes made on the iPhone/iPad. It looks like the app on the Mac is not processing remote notifications when in the background - it only performs them when the app has just become active. It also looks like the Mac is not performing these sync operations when the app is active. I have tried waiting 30 minutes and still the sync doesn't happen unless I leave the app and come back to it. I am using the same development CloudKit container in all cases

We are integrating Apple’s DeclaredAgeRange SDK. To comply with relevant regulatory requirements, our understanding is as follows: The app is only required to obtain the declared age range for users located in Texas. For users outside of Texas, we should not proactively request age range information. Accordingly, we would like to confirm the following: Are we required to present the age range request prompt to all users in the United States? If yes, we are concerned that this may significantly impact the overall user experience. If it is permissible to request age range only for Texas users, how can we reliably determine whether a user is located in Texas on the client side? For example, does Apple provide an API or recommended method for accurately identifying a user’s region (specifically Texas)?

Dear Team, Hope You are dong good! Problem Description:- We are facing a huge delay in receiving IOS Push notifications on concerned devices. Found System.Timeout.Exception Error in IOS Logs(Screenshot & Recent Logs attached) Found a network delay between service installed servers & APNS(Apple Push Notification Service) Destination URL & Ports using in Push Notification service:- api.push.apple.com api.development.push.apple.com Destination Port-443 Also Found the error(TCP reset From server) between source(service installed server) & Destination (Apple Push Notification Service)-Screenshot attached Please have a look around the above  points & requesting advice regarding the below:- How to resolve this delay in reaching IOS push Notifications in concerned devices? Should we call more URL’s from services? If yes please provide URL’s/Ports to be opened from services ? Awaiting your Replies, Thanks,

I'm trying to implement Unwanted SMS and Calls reporting in an app I'm doing in my idle time. If I place a UITextField or UITextView inside a ILClassificationUIExtensionViewController, every time I select on such control the extension crashes without any logs. The closet idea I have on why it crashes it has something to do with iOS requesting the dictation feature. I'm using the latest (beta 8 at the time) iOS 16.0 beta on my iPhone 13 pro. Attaching my code here if you want to try for yourself: github

When we use AppIntents to configure WidgetKit complications, the description we provide in IntentRecommendation is ignored after applying a .watchface file that includes those intent configurations. In the Watch app, under Complications, the labels shown next to each slot do not match the actual complications on the face—they appear to be the first strings returned by recommendations() rather than the selected intent configuration. Steps to Reproduce Create an AppIntent used by a WidgetKit complication (e.g., .accessoryRectangular). Provide multiple intent recommendations with distinct descriptions: struct SampleIntent: AppIntent { static var title: LocalizedStringResource = "Sample" static var description = IntentDescription("Sample data") @Parameter(title: "Mode") var mode: String static func recommendations() -> [IntentRecommendation<Self>] { [ .init(intent: .init(mode: "A"), description: "Complication A"), .init(intent: .init(mode: "B"), description: "Complication B"), .init(intent: .init(mode: "C"), description: "Complication C") ] } func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { .result() } } Add two of these complications to a Modular Duo face (or any face that supports multiple slots), each with different intent configurations (e.g., A in one slot, B in another). Export/share the face to a .watchface file and apply it on another device. Open the Watch app → the chosen face → Complications. Expected Each slot’s label in Complications reflects the specific intent configuration on the face (e.g., “Complication A”, “Complication B”), matching what the complication actually renders. Actual The labels under Complications do not match the visible complications. Instead, the strings shown look like the first N items from recommendations(), regardless of which configurations are used in each slot. Notes The complications themselves render correctly on-watch; the issue is the names/labels displayed in the Watch app UI after applying a .watchface. Filed Feedback: FB20915258

My team is preparing for iOS 18, and wanted to add intents using assistant schemas that are iOS 18 and above restricted. We noticed that the result builder for AppShortcuts added support for limitedAvailabilityCondition from iOS 17.4 so we marked the whole struct as available from it. The app compiles but writing a check like below inside appShortcuts property a crash will happen in iOS 17.5 runtime. (Removing the #available) is solving this problem. if #available(iOS 18, *) { AppShortcut( intent: SearchDonut(), phrases: [ "Search for a donut in \(.applicationName)" ], shortTitle: "search", systemImageName: "magnifyingglass" ) } We tried out putting the os check above and returning shortcuts in arrays and that both compiles and runs but then AppShortcuts.strings sends warnings that the phrases are not used (This phrase is not used in any App Shortcut or as a Negative Phrase.) because the script that extracts the phrases somehow fails to perform when shortcuts are written like below: static var appShortcuts: [AppShortcut] { if #available(iOS 18.0, *) { return [ AppShortcut( intent: CreateDonutIntent(), phrases: [ "Create Donut in \(.applicationName)", ], shortTitle: "Create Donut", systemImageName: "pencil" ) ] } else { return [ AppShortcut( intent: CreateDonutIntent(), phrases: [ "Create Donut in \(.applicationName)", ], shortTitle: "Create Donut", systemImageName: "pencil" ) ] } } This is very problematic because we can't test out on TF with external users new intents dedicated for iOS 18. We filed a radar under FB15010828

We are currently using Live Activities in our app and supporting both of the following use cases: Starting a Live Activity directly from the app using ActivityKit APIs. Starting a Live Activity from the backend using the start token. In the first case (initiated from the app), the OS generates an update token, and we are able to continuously update the Live Activity via our backend—even if the user has not explicitly provided "Allow" or "Always Allow" consent from the lock screen. This works as expected. In the second case (initiated from the backend), if the user does provide consent ("Allow" or "Always Allow") from the lock screen, we receive the update token and can continue updating the Live Activity. However, if the user does not provide consent, the OS does not provide the update token, and we are unable to send further updates. Question: Is it possible to receive the update token from the OS when the Live Activity is started from the backend, without the user explicitly providing "Allow" or "Always Allow" consent from the lock screen? We would appreciate any clarification or official documentation related to this behavior. Thank you!

In iOS 26.4 beta 4, the receipt returned by StoreKit payments via [[NSBundle mainBundle] appStoreReceiptURL] corresponds to the previous transaction; the content only becomes correct after restarting the app.

Recently I've been working on a demo project called iLibrary. The main goal was to learn more about CloudKit and SwiftData. After a while I noticed that there were some hangs/freezes when running the app in debug mode. I first tried this with Xcode 15.4 and iOS 17.5. Here the hang only appears at the beginning, but only for a few seconds. But when I exit debug mode, there are no more hangs. With Xcode 16 beta 4 and iOS 18 it looks completely different. In this case, the hangs and freezes are always present, whether in debug mode or not. And it's not just at the beginning, it's throughout the app. I'm aware that this is still a beta, but I still find this weird. And when I profile this I see that the main thread gets quite overloaded. Interestingly, my app doesn't have that many operations going on. So I guess something with the sync of SwiftData or my CloudKitManger where I fetch some records from the public database is not running fine. Lastly, I wanted to delete the iCloud app data. So I went to Settings and tried to delete it, but it didn't work. Is this normal? Does anyone have any idea what this could be? Or has anyone encountered this problem as well? I'd appreciate any support. My project: https://github.com/romanindermuehle/iLibrary

0 CoreText TDecorationRun::CalculateGlyphIntersections(CGAffineTransform, TRun const&, double, double, std::__1::function<void (double, double)> const&) const + 1704 1 CoreText TDecorationRun::CalculateGlyphIntersections(CGAffineTransform, TRun const&, double, double, std::__1::function<void (double, double)> const&) const + 1440 2 CoreText void TDecorationRun::DrawDecorationRun<(anonymous namespace)::TRunAdapter>(CGContext*, (anonymous namespace)::TRunAdapter, (anonymous namespace)::TRunAdapter, double)::'lambda'(CGPoint, CGPoint)::operator()(CGPoint, CGPoint) const + 508 3 CoreText TDecorator::DrawDecoration(TLineDrawContext const&, TLine const&, TInlineVector<DecorationOverride, 30ul> const*) + 2356 4 CoreText TLine::DrawUnderlines(CGContext*) const + 104 5 CoreText TLine::DrawGlyphs(CGContext*) const + 292

在iOS26.4中，新的交易完成后[NSBundle mainBundle] appStoreReceiptURL 获取的是历史票据，未给出新的票据

We are implementing a feature that uses PKPassLibrary.requestAutomaticPassPresentationSuppression to prevent the Wallet from appearing when unlocking a lock. We have already completed the approval process for the entitlement to enable Pass Presentation Suppression. In most cases, our code snippet works as expected, and the result is .success. However, we are also encountering other results, such as .denied, .alreadyPresenting, and .cancelled or .notSupported, which cause the Wallet to appear for users. Here's the code snippet we're using: PKPassLibrary.requestAutomaticPassPresentationSuppression { result in logger.log( .info, "PKPassLibrary suppression result: \(result.description)", LogContext.homeFeature ) } I would appreciate clarification on the following points: What's the meaning of each result type (.denied, .alreadyPresenting, .cancelled, .notSupported) beyond what is mentioned in the documentation? The documentation here does not provide additional details. What is the recommended handling for these specific result states? Should we be taking different actions or retries based on each case? Thank you very much for your help. Best, Ramiro.

I have universal links configured for my iOS app which work as expected when the app is installed. When the app is not installed the universal link will go to the browser as expected. What I want to do is redirect to the app store, allow the user to install the app, then redirect them to the initial universal link. Redirecting them to the app store isn't the hard part I can achieve that from the webpage, however I don't know how to save a reference to that initial link to redirect them once they instal the app. What I want the flow to be for a user who doesn't have the app is: visit a universal link (example.com/UUID) redirect to the app store and install the app open the app and redirect to example.com/UUID I've seen some ways people are doing this with the clipboard but I don't love that solution, I also don't want to use a 3rd party service if I can avoid it - how are the 3rd party services making this happen?

Hello! I make use of the new iOS 15.4 SKAdNetwork.updatePostbackConversionValue feature: SKAdNetwork.updatePostbackConversionValue(0) { error in                 if let error = error {                     print(error.localizedDescription)                 }             } I am not sure why, but I always see this error message in the console: SKAdNetwork: Error while updating conversion value: Error Domain=SKANErrorDomain Code=10 "(null)" The operation couldn’t be completed. (SKANErrorDomain error 10.) Any idea what’s going on there? What does Error Code 10 mean? Couldn't find anything in the documentation about that so far. I have the NSAdvertisingAttributionReportEndpoint key with domain (https://api2.branch.io/v1/skadnetwork/advertiser_app) in my .plist.