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iOS 18: startRangingBeacons Stops When Display is Off in Background (Worked on iOS 17.2.1)
Issue Summary After calling startRangingBeacons, the didRangeBeacons delegate method does not receive iBeacon scan data when the device display is turned off in the background. Expected Behavior On iOS 17.2.1 (iPhone 14), beacon ranging continues in the background even when the display is turned off. The same behavior is expected on iOS 18, but it is not working as intended. Observed Behavior On iOS 18, once the display turns off, beacon ranging stops, and the didRangeBeacons method is not triggered until the display is turned back on. • Location permission is set to “Always Allow.” • Background Modes are correctly configured (Location Updates enabled). Steps to Reproduce Ensure location permission is set to Always Allow. Enable Background Modes → Location Updates in Xcode settings. Call startRangingBeacons(in:) in the app. Put the app in the background and turn off the display. Observe that didRangeBeacons is not triggered while the display is off. Additional Notes • The issue does not occur on iOS 17.2.1 (iPhone 14), where beacon ranging continues even with the display off. • This behavior change is observed on iOS 18 across multiple devices. Could you confirm if this is an intended change in behavior or a bug? If this is expected behavior, what alternative approach is recommended to maintain continuous beacon ranging when the display is off in the background?
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515
Feb ’25
Underground location (in subway) doesn't update properly
We (at the NYC MTA) are building a new subway/bus app and diving deep into location tracking on iOS. We’re encountering an issue with how Core Location functions in the subway, specifically regarding how long it takes to update a passenger’s location as they travel from station to station. As an example, please see this video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yaddkjyPEETvTEmClPAJ2wks8b-_whqB/view?usp=sharing The red dot is set manually (via a tap gesture) and represents the ground truth of where the phone actually is at that moment. The most critical moment to observe is when the train physically arrives at a station (i.e., when I can see the platform outside my window). At this moment, I update the red dot to the center of the station on the map. Similarly, I adjust the red dot when the train departs a station, placing it just outside the station in the direction of travel. The trip shown is from Rector St to 14 St. All times are in EST. I’d like to investigate this issue further since providing a seamless underground location experience is crucial for customers. As a point of comparison, Android phones exhibit near-perfect behavior, proving that this is technically feasible. We want to ensure the iOS experience is just as smooth.
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519
Feb ’25
Simulator Location Authorization Issue: Authorization Status Remains notDetermined After Denying and Changing in System Settings
Hello everyone, I'm encountering a strange location authorization issue in the iOS simulator, and I'm hoping someone can help me analyze it. Problem Description: When my app runs for the first time in the simulator, it requests location permissions. I select "Deny" for the authorization. Then, I go to the simulator's "Settings" -> "Privacy & Security" -> "Location Services" and enable location permissions for my app. However, when I return to the app, CLLocationManager.authorizationStatus still returns .notDetermined, and the authorization request pop-up does not appear again. This issue persists even after resetting the simulator settings multiple times. import CoreLocation @Observable final class LocationManager: NSObject, CLLocationManagerDelegate { var locationManager = CLLocationManager() var currentLocation: CLLocationCoordinate2D? override init() { super.init() locationManager.delegate = self } func locationManagerDidChangeAuthorization(_ manager: CLLocationManager) { let status = manager.authorizationStatus print("Authorize Status: \(status)") switch status { case .authorizedWhenInUse, .authorizedAlways: locationManager.startUpdatingLocation() case .denied, .restricted: stopLocation() case .notDetermined: locationManager.requestWhenInUseAuthorization() print("Location permission not determined.") @unknown default: break } } func requestLocation() { let status = locationManager.authorizationStatus if status == .authorizedWhenInUse || status == .authorizedAlways { locationManager.requestLocation() } else { locationManager.requestWhenInUseAuthorization() } } func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager, didUpdateLocations locations: [CLLocation]) { guard let newLocation = locations.first else { return } currentLocation = newLocation.coordinate print("Updated location: \(newLocation.coordinate)") } func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager, didFailWithError error: Error) { print("Location update failed with error: \(error.localizedDescription)") currentLocation = nil } func stopLocation() { locationManager.stopUpdatingLocation() print("Stopped updating location") } }
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520
Feb ’25
MapPolygon
I recently converted over my map from Mapbox Maps to MapKit Map. I have been able to add my polygons on the Map using MapPolygon. The issue I am having is being able to select the Polygon to be able to view information about the polygon. Has anyone been able to figure out a way to tap on the Polygon? I have tried selection but the Polygon doesn't recognize the tap. I would really appreciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction of how I can accomplish this.
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392
Feb ’25
Location Push Extension Cannot Wake after 10 mins
Hi team, I'm developing a feature that's collecting the device locations for home security app. We've been following https://developer.apple.com/documentation/corelocation/creating-a-location-push-service-extension apns-push-type set to location. apns-priority set to 5. during testing, we found that the device's notification extension cannot be triggered after device going into lock screen for 10 mins. Wonder should we set the priority to 10? Thanks!
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301
Feb ’25
The App Remembers Location Access Permission only for 24 Hours
We have a PWA app developed by our company. In order to distribute this app to users' iPhones, we put this PWA app inside an XCode app. That means we put a WebView in XCode to display the PWA URL. Everything works perfect, except for location access. The PWA app access the device location. When the first time the app acess location, it asks for user consent two times, by PWA app and by the XCode app. This is fine. When the user clicks Allow, the XCode app preserves the user choice and never asks again. However, the PWA app keeps on asking user permission every day. If we close the app open again, it will ask one more time. That means twice daily. But if we close and open the app for a third time, it will not ask. It remembers the user choice only for 24 hours. If we install the PWA app directly in iPhone (that means if we add the URL as bookmark in home screen), it is asking for location permission only once. However, when we put this app inside an XCode app it is asking every day. This affects the user experience, and as our users are not tech savvy, causing many issues. Is there a way to force the PWA app inside XCode app to remember the user choice? Any help is very much appreciated. Thanks,
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359
Mar ’25
How to update business information on Apple Maps Ukraine?
Hello everyone, I need help updating business information on Apple Maps for locations in Ukraine. Unfortunately, the usual methods, like "Report an Issue" in the Maps app or using Apple Business Connect, don’t seem to be working properly for Ukrainian businesses. Many locations have outdated or missing details, which is frustrating for both business owners and customers. Given the current situation, keeping information accurate is more important than ever. Has anyone successfully updated business listings in Ukraine recently? If so, could you share the process or any contacts that might help? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
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281
Mar ’25
Can I use ARGeoAnchor with simulated locations
I'm trying to evaluate if we can support AR navigation with MapKit. The feature is supposed to be available for users in US. I tried to run the sample on my iPhone: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/arkit/tracking-geographic-locations-in-ar?language=objc But I'm in a location that ARGeoTrackingConfiguration.checkAvailabilityWithCompletionHandler: always return false. I think ARGeoAnchor isn't supported in my location. I tried to use simulated locations by Adding a gpx file when launching the app. Enabling Xcode -> Debug -> Simulate Location -> New York, NY, US But the availability for ARGeoAnchor is still false. Is that possible for me to develop the ARGeoAnchor feature outside of the covered areas?
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83
Mar ’25
Notification Delivery Issues for Location Push Service Extension
We are currently testing the implementation of our Location Push Service Extension (LPSE) in both Ad Hoc and Release environments. We have encountered an issue where LPSE notifications, which were previously working correctly, suddenly fail to be delivered on some devices. After a period of several hours, the notifications resume arriving, but the issue remains intermittent. Notably, during these periods of suspected delivery restriction, regular push notifications (e.g., those using apns-push-type: alert) are delivered and displayed without any problem. [Detailed Situation] Test Environment and Scope We are testing LPSE after obtaining the necessary entitlements, in both Ad Hoc and Release environments. The issue is not observed on all test devices; only certain devices are affected. Observed Behavior Under normal circumstances, LPSE notifications are received and the extension is activated; however, on some devices the notifications suddenly stop arriving. During these periods, even when sending notifications with apns-push-type: location directly via the CloudKit Push Notification Console, no response is observed on the affected devices. The APNs server (api.push.apple.com) always returns a 200 OK response via HTTP/2, and our server-side logs and configurations (DNS resolution performed on every request, using the same JWT token for 59 minutes per session, communication via HTTP/2 with ALPN Protocol: h2) show no issues. Other app functionalities (network communication, UI responsiveness, etc.) work normally. Sending content When sending notifications from our server to APNs (api.push.apple.com), we use the following configuration (over HTTP/2): const payload = { aps: { 'content-available': 1 } }; const headers = { ':method': 'POST', ':path': /3/device/${apnsToken}, 'Authorization': bearer ${jwtToken}, 'apns-topic': 'ot.Here.location-query', 'apns-priority': '10', 'apns-push-type': 'location', 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }; We perform DNS resolution for every request, use the same JWT token for a 59-minute period per session, and communicate via HTTP/2 with ALPN Protocol: h2. Hypothesis on the Cause We suspect that due to an implementation issue, silent push notifications (using content-available: 1) were being sent every few minutes concurrently, which may have triggered an APNs delivery restriction (rate limiting). As a countermeasure, we have completely stopped sending silent pushes and any other background notifications aside from LPSE; however, the issue persists. Additionally, even after resetting affected devices, the delivery problem continues to occur. [Questions for Diagnosis] Given the above situation, is it reasonable to suspect that excessive silent push notifications have triggered an APNs delivery restriction? Does such a silent push restriction affect LPSE notifications (i.e., those sent with apns-push-type: location)? Do APNs delivery restrictions persist even after a device has been reset? Can a high volume of LPSE notifications alone (without silent pushes) also trigger a delivery restriction? → This is our primary concern since it poses a significant implementation challenge. Please let us know if any additional information is required for diagnosis.
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140
Mar ’25
Can a Location-Based Audio AR Experience Run in the Background on iOS?
Hi everyone! I’ve developed a location-based Audio AR app in Unity with FMOD & Resonance Audio and AirPods Pro Head-Tracking to create a ubiquitous augmented soundscape experience. Think of it as an audio version of Pokémon Go, but with a more precise location requirement to ensure spatial audio is placed correctly. I want this experience to run in the background on iOS, but from what I’ve gathered, it seems Unity doesn’t support this well. So, I’m considering developing a Swift version instead. Since this is primarily for research purposes, privacy concerns are not a major issue in my case. However, I’ve come across some potential challenges: Real-time precise location updates – Can iOS provide fully instantaneous, high-accuracy location updates in the background? Continuous real-time data processing – Can an app continuously process spatial audio, head-tracking, and location data while running in the background? I’m not sure if newer iOS versions have improved in these areas or if there are workarounds to achieve this. Would this kind of experience be feasible to run in the background on iOS? Any insights or pointers would be greatly appreciated! I’m very new to iOS development, so apologies if this is a basic question. Thanks in advance!
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95
Apr ’25
Unable to use altitude for our use case (NYC MTA)
We’re building a new subway/bus app at the MTA. Our system includes roughly 300 underground stations, around 150 elevated stations (i.e., above street level), and about 5 at-grade stations (i.e., at street level). We serve roughly 5 million riders a day. We’re diving deep into Core Location on iOS and have found that the altitude values returned from two fields we’re testing aren’t accurate enough for our use case: CLLocation.altitude CMAbsoluteAltitudeData.altitude We need to reliably distinguish whether a user is: At street level On an elevated platform (see attached picture) On any platform in an underground station — most have a single platform level, but some, like 59 St (see attached), have multiple platforms at different elevations. These levels typically differ by at least 15 feet, which should in theory be well within the precision range of a properly calibrated barometric pressure sensor. However, the absolute altitude values we’re seeing from these APIs are often inaccurate and inconsistent — not only compared to ground truth, but also across devices. For example, holding two phones side-by-side frequently yields altitude readings that differ by more than 15 feet. That level of variation makes the data unreliable for our needs. Please see the below photos for more context. URLs.md
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228
Apr ’25
I noticed that the Uber Driver app is able to get location in background without the permissions (How?)
The Uber Driver app is able to get background location and there’s no way to turn it off from settings. Unlike other apps where there’s always an option to turn off background location from settings. Is this a bug or special treatment for big companies? this matters to me because we’re in a similar business but our app has to request background permissions, explicitly. I am attaching both of the screenshots here for you to compare and see. Please note that I verified personally that Uber Driver app is able to get background location.
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2.1k
May ’25
Apple Maps URL scheme daddr=lat,long no longer working – regression?
Hello, I'm experiencing an issue with the Apple Maps URL scheme when using raw latitude and longitude coordinates in the daddr parameter. Until recently, using a URL like this worked reliably: https://maps.apple.com/?daddr=37.7749,-122.4194 This would open Apple Maps and show directions from the current location to the specified coordinates. However, on recent iOS versions, this URL no longer behaves as expected.
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164
May ’25
[iOS] Location data no longer updating consistently after updating the app from old version
I am developing an iOS app that uses CLLocationManager to collect location continuously in both foreground and background. But it has the following 4 issues and I don’t understand why: After a while of not using the app, I can not get location updates regularly. Even after that, I go into the app more often or even turn OFF and turn ON the permission again, but the problem still doesn’t improve until I reinstall the app. Previously, I used SilentLog SDK to collect location. Since the cost was quite high, we developed our own SDK that also handles location tracking. After updating the app from the old version using SilentLog SDK to the new version using my own SDK, I can not get location updates regularly. However, when I reinstalled the app, it worked perfectly. It seems that apps downloaded from TestFlight can get location more continuously than apps downloaded from the App Store We sometimes encounter this error in the logs: Error Domain=kCLErrorDomain Code=0 “(null)” I think my app was not terminated in the background because I still collect location but it is not as frequent. I want to know if Apple has any mechanism to prevent such apps from getting location data continuously? I use CLLocationManager with the following configuration: self.locationManager.distanceFilter = 20 self.locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBest self.locationManager.allowsBackgroundLocationUpdates = true self.locationManager.showsBackgroundLocationIndicator = false self.locationManager.pausesLocationUpdatesAutomatically = false I also filter the location updates using: guard let location = locations.last else { return } guard location.horizontalAccuracy <= 100 else { return } guard location.speedAccuracy >= 0 else { return } I use a background task to wake up the device every 15 minutes, and I also use silent push notifications in a similar manner. Each time the task is executed, I usually call stopLocation and then startLocation again. This happens quite frequently — will it have any impact or cause any issues?
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156
May ’25
CLLocationUpdates stops when user sleeps
I am using CLLocationUpdate.liveUpdates() to build a location sharing app. Most of the time it works fine, including in the background, giving acceptably frequent updates. However, soon after the user puts their phone away for the night, the updates stop coming. I've checked all the instance properties (.stationary, .locationUnavailable, etc.) but none of them are ever set to true, even for the last update before updates end. Is there some way to keep the updates coming through the night? I've included some relevant parts of my code here: func startLocationUpdates() { if self.manager.authorizationStatus == .notDetermined { self.manager.requestWhenInUseAuthorization() } Task { do { self.background = CLBackgroundActivitySession() self.session = CLServiceSession(authorization: CLServiceSession.AuthorizationRequirement.always) let updates = CLLocationUpdate.liveUpdates() for try await update in updates { if let loc = update.location { BackgroundServiceKt.onLocationUpdate(arg: loc) } // check all the instance properties } } catch { // error } return } } class AppDelegate: NSObject, UIApplicationDelegate { func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey : Any]? = nil) -> Bool { LocationsHandler.shared.startLocationUpdates() return true } }
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129
May ’25
How to re-enable entitlements after App Transfer? (Location Push Service Extension)
Hi Apple team and fellow developers, We previously had Location Push Service Extension enabled and working in production. After transferring the app to a new Apple Developer team, the production App ID was transferred, but the Location Push entitlement was not retained. We've also created a new App ID for development, and now need Location Push access enabled for both the transferred production ID and the new development ID. We’ve already submitted the Location Push Access form with all relevant details. Unfortunately, the App Transfer documentation didn’t make it clear that Location Push access would be lost, and now we’re blocked from making new builds — even for the existing production app. ❓ Questions: Is it possible to re-enable Location Push for a transferred App ID? What’s the expected timeline for entitlement approval? Can Apple staff confirm the request status or let us know if any further action is needed? Thanks in advance — this entitlement is critical for our app’s functionality and release pipeline. Best, Aidar
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91
May ’25
How to provide a driving destination to CarPlay, like Calendar
If I have, say a doctor appointment in the Calendar app, and I'm leaving to go to it, the address will appear in Apple Maps on CarPlay. Forgive if I'm getting the details wrong, but I believe if I bring up the Map, it will be available to tap on, so I can quickly go there. I think it may also show up on one on the car-play screens that shows a few different panels. The point is, I really like this feature, and want to do it in my app. In my iOS app, the user can order food from a restaurant, and pick it up. I'm not ready to make this app a "quick service" app, but I want to give the user an easy to get to her location. Since I just ordered food, this means that I'll need to leave fairly quickly to go to the location. The Calendar app is able to offer a location because of scheduling, I'd like to do the same.
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123
Jun ’25
How to create an intent that Apple Maps knows about?
I asked a question similar to this earlier, but I think this is probably the better question. I have a food-ordering app. When the user wants to pick up food, I'd like for Apple Maps to automatically display the location of the restaurant that the user is driving to. Calendar does something similar. If there is an event that is soon, the location in the calendar-event shows up in Apple Maps. I'd like to do the same thing. So, when the user makes an order, they'll need to drive to the location fairly quickly. So, I'd like to launch Apple Maps, see the location of the restaurant where I'm picking up food, and then get directions to it. Bonus points if this also works when I have CarPlay.
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99
Jun ’25
Re-enabling Background Location Services When Reconnecting to a Bluetooth Device
Hi all, We’re running into a challenge with our iOS app DriveSmarter, which uses background location updates when connected to a physical Bluetooth device (e.g., dash cam, radar detector). For battery efficiency, we disable location services in the background when no device is connected. The problem we’re now facing is: How can we programmatically re-enable location services when a Bluetooth device reconnects while the app is still in the background? From what I understand, Core Location doesn’t allow re-enabling background location updates unless the app returns to the foreground. But our core use case requires this to happen seamlessly in the background when the user starts driving and the device connects again. To clarify: We stop location updates when the device disconnects. We want to resume location updates only when the device reconnects, even if the app is still in the background. Manually bringing the app to the foreground is not a reliable or user-friendly option. So my questions: Is it possible to programmatically restart background location services upon a Bluetooth connection event while staying in the background? If not, are there any best practices or Apple-recommended alternatives to achieve a similar result? Any guidance, patterns, or creative solutions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance
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153
Jun ’25