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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.

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Pair iOS Central with MacOS Peripheral for encrypted characteristic
Is this even possible? Instead of any pairing dialog appearing, my central code get the "Authentication is insufficient" error when reading the characteristic. My peripheral (in the macOS app) code uses the .notifyEncryptionRequired property and uses .readEncryptionRequired and .writeEncryptionRequired permissions. No descriptors are set, but I think they get added automatically since this characteristic notifies. 2900 and 2902 descriptors are set by the peripheral/CoreBluetooth. If the Mac and iPhone are using the same Apple ID does that affect pairing?
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91
Feb ’26
URL Filter and Content Filter Providers
Hello, I have a few questions regarding URL Filter (iOS 26) and Content Filter Providers. URL Filter According to the WWDC26 video, URL Filter appears to be available for both consumer and enterprise deployments. This seems consistent with the classic Network Extension Provider Deployment documentation (TN3134 – August 2025), where no specific deployment restriction is mentioned. However, a more recent document (Apple Platform Deployment, September 2025) indicates the following for URL Filter: “Requires supervision on iPhone, iPad and Mac” (with a green checkmark). 👉 My question: Is URL Filter actually available for consumer use on non-supervised iPhones (deployed on Testflight and AppStore), or is supervision now required? Content Filter Providers From past experience, I remember that Content Filter Providers were only available on supervised devices. Based on the current documentation, I am questioning their usability in a consumer context, i.e. on non-supervised iPhones. In the Network Extension Provider Deployment documentation, it is stated that this is a Network Extension and that, since iOS 16, it is a “per-app on managed device” restriction. In the more recent Apple Platform Deployment document, it states for iPhone and iPad: “App needs to be installed on the user’s iOS and iPadOS device and deletion can be prevented if the device is supervised.” 👉 My understanding: Supervised device: The Content Filter Provider is installed via a host application that controls enabling/disabling the filter, and the host app can be prevented from being removed thanks to supervision. Non-supervised device: The Content Filter Provider is also installed via a host application that controls enabling/disabling the filter, but the app can be removed by the user, which would remove the filter. 👉 My question: Can Content Filter Providers be used in a consumer context on non-supervised iPhones (deployed on Testflight and AppStore), accepting that the user can uninstall the host app (and therefore remove the filter)? Thank you in advance for your feedback. Sources: TN3134 => TN3134: Network Extension provider deployment | Apple Developer Documentation Apple Platform Deployment / Filter content for Apple devices => https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/deployment/dep1129ff8d2/1/web/1.0
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81
Jan ’26
iOS26 captive portal detection changes?
Hi all, I work on a smart product that, for setup, uses a captive portal to allow users to connect and configure the device. It emits a WiFi network and runs a captive portal - an HTTP server operates at 10.0.0.1, and a DNS server responds to all requests with 10.0.0.1 to direct "any and all" request to the server. When iOS devices connect, they send a request to captive.apple.com/hotspot-detect.html; if it returns success, that means they're on the internet; if not, the typical behavior in the past has been to assume you're connected to a captive portal and display what's being served. I serve any requests to /hotspot-detect.html with my captive portal page (index.html). This has worked reliably on iOS18 for a long time (user selects my products WiFi network, iOS detects portal and opens it). But almost everyone who's now trying with iOS26 is having the "automatic pop up" behavior fail - usually it says "Error opening page - Hotspot login cannot open the page because the network connection was lost." However, if opening safari and navigating to any URL (or 10.0.0.1) the portal loads - it's just the iOS auto-detect and open that's not working iOS18 always succeeds; iOS26 always fails. Anybody have any idea what changes may have been introduced in iOS26 on this front, or anything I can do to help prompt or coax iOS26 into loading the portal? It typically starts reading, but then stops mid-read.
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352
Oct ’25
The network expansion process will become a zombie process and the network will be unusable.
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?
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118
Jun ’25
OS 26.0 mDNSResponder suppresses DNS queries ("blocked by policy") for some devices until reboot
Hello, Since the release of iOS 26.0, we are seeing DNS traffic being blocked from within our NEPacketTunnelExtension on some devices. We have not isolated exact reproduction steps, but DNS resolves successfully for a period of time after enabling "iCloud Private Relay" (varying from 1-day to 2-weeks), until it then fails as MDNSResponder then returns: mDNSResponder [Q37046] DetermineUnicastQuerySuppression: Query suppressed for <mask.hash: 'REDACTED'> Addr (blocked by policy) DNS resolution continues to fail for all domains with the above until the device is rebooted. The Packet Tunnel intentionally does not have a DNS server set and this occurs for traffic from the Extension yet off-tunnel, which needs resolution from the system DNS server (and this configuration works perfectly for a period of time before being "blocked by policy"). The following do not resolve the issue once DNS queries are being "blocked by policy" on affected devices: disconnecting then reconnecting the vpn; toggling airplane mode for 10+ seconds; switching connection between WiFi & cellular data; disabling iCloud Private Relay. We have currently only seen this on unmanaged devices running iOS 26.0 or 26.1 beta and with iCloud Private Relay enabled. We did not see this issue on iOS 16,17 nor 18. We also have not yet seen this when iCloud Private Relay is disabled nor on iOS 26.0.1, however we cannot confirm whether they too are also affected. Is there a known a bug with iOS 26.0 & 26.1 Beta 1 that could cause this? How can we prevent DNS requests from NEPacketTunnelExtension being sporadically "blocked by policy" until the device is rebooted? Many thanks in advance.
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119
Oct ’25
iOS not launching my app network extension, it seemingly isn't crashing it either
My personal project is a bit further along however after not being able to get this to work in my app I fell back to a much simpler/proven implementation out there. There is this project on GitHub with a guide that implements a barebones app extension with packet tunneling. I figure this can give us common ground. After changing the bundle and group identifiers to all end with -Caleb and or match up I tried running the app. The app extension does not work whatsoever and seemingly for reasons that are similar to my personal project. If I pull up the console and filter for the subsystem (com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel) I see the following. First you see installd installing it 0x16ba5f000 -[MIUninstaller _uninstallBundleWithIdentity:linkedToChildren:waitForDeletion:uninstallReason:temporaryReference:deleteDataContainers:wasLastReference:error:]: Destroying container com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel with persona 54D15361-A614-4E0D-931A-0953CDB50CE8 at /private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/PluginKitPlugin/2D0AE485-BB56-4E3E-B59E-48424CD4FD65 And then installd says this (No idea what it means) 0x16b9d3000 -[MIInstallationJournalEntry _refreshUUIDForContainer:withError:]: Data container for com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel is now at /private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/PluginKitPlugin/2D0AE485-BB56-4E3E-B59E-48424CD4FD65 Concerningly runningboardd seems to immediately try and stop it? Executing termination request for: <RBSProcessPredicate <RBSProcessBundleIdentifiersPredicate| {( "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb", "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel" )}>> [app<com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb(54D15361-A614-4E0D-931A-0953CDB50CE8)>:1054] Terminating with context: <RBSTerminateContext| explanation:installcoordinationd app:[com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb/54D15361-A614-4E0D-931A-0953CDB50CE8] uuid:963149FA-F712-460B-9B5C-5CE1C309B2FC isPlaceholder:Y reportType:None maxTerminationResistance:Absolute attrs:[ <RBSPreventLaunchLimitation| <RBSProcessPredicate <RBSProcessBundleIdentifiersPredicate| {( "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb", "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel" )}>> allow:(null)> ]> Then runningboardd leaves a cryptic message Acquiring assertion targeting system from originator [osservice<com.apple.installcoordinationd>:244] with description <RBSAssertionDescriptor| "installcoordinationd app:[com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb/54D15361-A614-4E0D-931A-0953CDB50CE8] uuid:963149FA-F712-460B-9B5C-5CE1C309B2FC isPlaceholder:Y" ID:33-244-5222 target:system attributes:[ <RBSPreventLaunchLimitation| <RBSProcessPredicate <RBSProcessBundleIdentifiersPredicate| {( "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb", "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel" )}>> allow:(null)> ]> And that seems to be all I have to go off of.... If I widen my search a bit I can see backboardd saying things like Connection removed: IOHIDEventSystemConnection uuid:57E97E5D-8CDE-467B-81CA-36A93C7684AD pid:1054 process:vpn-client type:Passive entitlements:0x0 caller:BackBoardServices: <redacted> + 280 attributes:{ HighFrequency = 1; bundleID = "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb"; pid = 1054; } state:0x1 events:119 mask:0x800 dropped:0 dropStatus:0 droppedMask:0x0 lastDroppedTime:NONE Or Removing client connection <BKHIDClientConnection: 0xbf9828cd0; IOHIDEventSystemConnectionRef: 0xbf96d9600; vpid: 1054(vAF7); taskPort: 0x5D777; bundleID: com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb> for client: IOHIDEventSystemConnection uuid:57E97E5D-8CDE-467B-81CA-36A93C7684AD pid:1054 process:vpn-client type:Passive entitlements:0x0 caller:BackBoardServices: <redacted> + 280 attributes:{ HighFrequency = 1; bundleID = "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb"; pid = 1054; } state:0x1 events:119 mask:0x800 dropped:0 dropStatus:0 droppedMask:0x0 lastDroppedTime:NONE source:HID There's really nothing in the sysdiagnose either. No crash no nothing. I am stumped. Any idea what might be going wrong for me here? Has something about the way app extensions or sandbox rules work changed in later OSes?
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206
Apr ’25
Understanding when the push provider calls stop() with the noNetworkAvailable reason
I have 3 phones iPhone 14 iOS 18.3 iPhone Xr iOS 18.5 iPhone Xr iOS 18.4.1 My app has a network extension, and I've noticed each phone having their connectivity interupted by calls on the push provider, calling stop with the noNetworkAvailable reason. The point of confusion is that each phone seems to get it's interuption at different times. For example one will get an interuption at 1:00, while the others is fine, while at 3:00 another will get an interuption, while the others are fine. This is confusing since a "no network available" seems to imply a problem with the router, or access point, but if that were the case, one would believe it should affect all the phones on the wifi. I don't see less interuptions on the iPhone14 vs the iPhone Xr. Do you believe the iOS version is affecting the performance? Could you please give me some insight, as to what could be going on inside these phones? P.S. I also see an error pop up when using NWConnection, this is inside the App. The state update handler will sometimes return the state, waiting(POSIX(.ENETDOWN)) Is there any relation to what's going on in the extension?
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92
Jun ’25
iOS doesn’t switch back to home router + socket connect failure in AP mode
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?
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153
Dec ’25
How to add more cipher suites
I want to add more cipher suites. I use NWConnection to make a connection. Before I use sec_protocol_options_append_tls_ciphersuite method to add more cipher suites, I found that Apple provided 20 cipher suites shown in the client hello packet. But after I added three more cipher suites, I found that nothing changed, and still original 20 cipher suites shown in the client hello packet when I made a new connection. The following is the code about connection. I want to add three more cipher suites: tls_ciphersuite_t.ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256, tls_ciphersuite_t.ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384, tls_ciphersuite_t.ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384 Can you give me some advice about how to add more cipher suites? Thanks. By the way, I working on a MacOS app. Xcode version: 16 MacOS version: 15.6
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191
Dec ’25
NetworkFramework and UDP Broadcast Mode (2025)
So it seems the NetworkFramework is still not able to support Broastcast Mode am I correct? As soon as I switch broadcast mode to On in my game I receive console messages instead of receiving data. nw_path_evaluator_create_flow_inner failed NECP_CLIENT_ACTION_ADD_FLOW (null) evaluator parameters: udp, definite, server, attribution: developer, reuse local address, context: Default Network Context (private), proc: 2702288D-96FB-37DD-8610-A68CC526EA0F, local address: 0.0.0.0:20778 nw_path_evaluator_create_flow_inner NECP_CLIENT_ACTION_ADD_FLOW 1FB68D7E-7C9B-47B2-B6AC-E5710CD9C9CD [17: File exists] nw_endpoint_flow_setup_channel [C2 192.168.178.221:52716 initial channel-flow (satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: en0[802.11], ipv4, ipv6, dns, uses wifi)] failed to request add nexus flow nw_endpoint_flow_failed_with_error [C2 192.168.178.221:52716 initial channel-flow (satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: en0[802.11], ipv4, ipv6, dns, uses wifi)] already failing, returning nw_endpoint_handler_create_from_protocol_listener [C2 192.168.178.221:52716 failed channel-flow (satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: en0[802.11], ipv4, ipv6, dns, uses wifi)] nw_endpoint_flow_pre_attach_protocols nw_connection_create_from_protocol_on_nw_queue [C2] Failed to create connection from listener nw_ip_channel_inbox_handle_new_flow nw_connection_create_from_protocol_on_nw_queue failed I won't be able to receive data which is a real shame, so I guess I am stuck with the lower level code: // Enable broadcast var enableBroadcast: Int32 = 1 if setsockopt(socketDescriptor, SOL_SOCKET, SO_BROADCAST, &enableBroadcast, socklen_t(MemoryLayout<Int32>.size)) == -1 { let errorMessage = String(cString: strerror(errno)) throw UDPSocketError.cannotEnableBroadcast(errorMessage) }
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158
Apr ’25
Deprecation of NENetworkRule and NE
Question: Best Practice for NEFilterRule and NENetworkRule Initializers with Deprecated NEHostEndpoint? Hi all, I'm looking for guidance on the right way to construct an NEFilterRule that takes a NENetworkRule parameter. Reading the latest documentation, it looks like: All initializers for NENetworkRule that accept an NEHostEndpoint are now deprecated, including initWithDestinationHost:protocol: and those using the various *Network:prefix: forms. NEHostEndpoint itself is also deprecated; Apple recommends using the nw_endpoint_t type from the Network framework instead. However, NEFilterRule still requires a NENetworkRule for its initializer (docs). With all NENetworkRule initializers that take NEHostEndpoint deprecated, it’s unclear what the recommended way is to create a NENetworkRule (and thus an NEFilterRule) that matches host/domain or network traffic. What’s the proper way to construct these objects now—should we create the endpoints using nw_endpoint_t and use new/undocumented initializers, or is there an updated approach that’s considered best practice? Helpful doc links for reference: NEFilterRule docs NENetworkRule docs NWHostEndpoint (now deprecated)
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Jul ’25
Port 5000 blocked by ControlCenter on M4 Pro Mac (403 from browser/Postman)
I'm running a Node.js server on my MacBook with Apple M4 Pro chip, macOS Sequoia 15.4, and Node.js v23.10.0. The server starts normally on port 5000 and logs show that it's listening correctly. However, when I try to access it via browser or Postman (http://localhost:5000/api/...), I get a 403 Forbidden error. After checking with lsof -i :5000, I noticed that the ControlCenter process is listening on port 5000 under the name commplex-main. Interestingly, this doesn't happen on M3 Pro machines. On those devices, Node.js runs fine on port 5000 and can be accessed from Postman and browsers. Is port 5000 now internally reserved by macOS or used by some system-level service in Sequoia or Apple Silicon (M4 Pro)? Should I avoid using this port going forward? Any official clarification would be appreciated.
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125
Apr ’25
DMG Distribution for macOS App with App Extension — Should I Use System Extension Instead?
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!
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67
Aug ’25
Is there any API or entitlement to scan available Wi-Fi networks on iOS (Xcode 15 / iOS 17+)?
Hello, I’m developing an iOS app with Xcode (Objective-C / Swift), and I would like to know if there is any supported way to retrieve a list of nearby Wi-Fi networks (their SSID and signal strength). I know that NEHotspotConfigurationManager allows to configure a specific network, and the Access WiFi Information entitlement allows getting the current connected network. But is there any API (public, private, or special entitlement) that allows scanning nearby Wi-Fi networks — even for limited purposes like configuration of IoT equipment, or MFi devices? I have seen some apps doing this in the past (probably via private API), but I want to know what is the current official solution. Thanks a lot!
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129
Jun ’25
[iOS 26] [Satellite] Inconsistent network path reporting during Satellite-to-LTE transitions causes Status Bar and App UI mismatch
Satellite Communication framework, experiences a failure in receiving network path updates when a device transitions from Satellite to a fringe LTE area. The iOS Status Bar correctly updates to show "LTE," but our application does not receive the corresponding network path update (e.g., via NWPathMonitor). This leaves our app UI locked in "Satellite Mode," while the user sees "LTE" in the status bar, causing critical user confusion. Feedback: FB20976940
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127
Nov ’25
Add VPN Configuration dialog
We have a VPN application and we were required by the review team to change the text in the "Add VPN Configuration" dialog due to guideline 5.4.0 Legal: VPN Apps: make it clear to the user what data is being collected and how it will be used in the permission request. It appears that showing that information in the view preceding the VPN configuration adding attempt is no longer enough. However we haven't found any changes in the API allowing to change the text in the mentioned dialog. Is there a technical possibility to change the text in the add VPN configuration dialog? Thank you
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114
Oct ’25
in-addr.arpa default search domains
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?
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787
Apr ’25
URL Filter OHTTP Gateway
Hello team, We are using below example https://github.com/apple/pir-service-example as a starting point to setup PIR server for our backend, but I am not really understanding what else we need in this example to configure OHTTP gateway. Any help will be appreciated.
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2d
Pair iOS Central with MacOS Peripheral for encrypted characteristic
Is this even possible? Instead of any pairing dialog appearing, my central code get the "Authentication is insufficient" error when reading the characteristic. My peripheral (in the macOS app) code uses the .notifyEncryptionRequired property and uses .readEncryptionRequired and .writeEncryptionRequired permissions. No descriptors are set, but I think they get added automatically since this characteristic notifies. 2900 and 2902 descriptors are set by the peripheral/CoreBluetooth. If the Mac and iPhone are using the same Apple ID does that affect pairing?
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91
Activity
Feb ’26
URL Filter and Content Filter Providers
Hello, I have a few questions regarding URL Filter (iOS 26) and Content Filter Providers. URL Filter According to the WWDC26 video, URL Filter appears to be available for both consumer and enterprise deployments. This seems consistent with the classic Network Extension Provider Deployment documentation (TN3134 – August 2025), where no specific deployment restriction is mentioned. However, a more recent document (Apple Platform Deployment, September 2025) indicates the following for URL Filter: “Requires supervision on iPhone, iPad and Mac” (with a green checkmark). 👉 My question: Is URL Filter actually available for consumer use on non-supervised iPhones (deployed on Testflight and AppStore), or is supervision now required? Content Filter Providers From past experience, I remember that Content Filter Providers were only available on supervised devices. Based on the current documentation, I am questioning their usability in a consumer context, i.e. on non-supervised iPhones. In the Network Extension Provider Deployment documentation, it is stated that this is a Network Extension and that, since iOS 16, it is a “per-app on managed device” restriction. In the more recent Apple Platform Deployment document, it states for iPhone and iPad: “App needs to be installed on the user’s iOS and iPadOS device and deletion can be prevented if the device is supervised.” 👉 My understanding: Supervised device: The Content Filter Provider is installed via a host application that controls enabling/disabling the filter, and the host app can be prevented from being removed thanks to supervision. Non-supervised device: The Content Filter Provider is also installed via a host application that controls enabling/disabling the filter, but the app can be removed by the user, which would remove the filter. 👉 My question: Can Content Filter Providers be used in a consumer context on non-supervised iPhones (deployed on Testflight and AppStore), accepting that the user can uninstall the host app (and therefore remove the filter)? Thank you in advance for your feedback. Sources: TN3134 => TN3134: Network Extension provider deployment | Apple Developer Documentation Apple Platform Deployment / Filter content for Apple devices => https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/deployment/dep1129ff8d2/1/web/1.0
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2
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81
Activity
Jan ’26
iOS26 captive portal detection changes?
Hi all, I work on a smart product that, for setup, uses a captive portal to allow users to connect and configure the device. It emits a WiFi network and runs a captive portal - an HTTP server operates at 10.0.0.1, and a DNS server responds to all requests with 10.0.0.1 to direct "any and all" request to the server. When iOS devices connect, they send a request to captive.apple.com/hotspot-detect.html; if it returns success, that means they're on the internet; if not, the typical behavior in the past has been to assume you're connected to a captive portal and display what's being served. I serve any requests to /hotspot-detect.html with my captive portal page (index.html). This has worked reliably on iOS18 for a long time (user selects my products WiFi network, iOS detects portal and opens it). But almost everyone who's now trying with iOS26 is having the "automatic pop up" behavior fail - usually it says "Error opening page - Hotspot login cannot open the page because the network connection was lost." However, if opening safari and navigating to any URL (or 10.0.0.1) the portal loads - it's just the iOS auto-detect and open that's not working iOS18 always succeeds; iOS26 always fails. Anybody have any idea what changes may have been introduced in iOS26 on this front, or anything I can do to help prompt or coax iOS26 into loading the portal? It typically starts reading, but then stops mid-read.
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352
Activity
Oct ’25
The network expansion process will become a zombie process and the network will be unusable.
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?
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118
Activity
Jun ’25
OS 26.0 mDNSResponder suppresses DNS queries ("blocked by policy") for some devices until reboot
Hello, Since the release of iOS 26.0, we are seeing DNS traffic being blocked from within our NEPacketTunnelExtension on some devices. We have not isolated exact reproduction steps, but DNS resolves successfully for a period of time after enabling "iCloud Private Relay" (varying from 1-day to 2-weeks), until it then fails as MDNSResponder then returns: mDNSResponder [Q37046] DetermineUnicastQuerySuppression: Query suppressed for <mask.hash: 'REDACTED'> Addr (blocked by policy) DNS resolution continues to fail for all domains with the above until the device is rebooted. The Packet Tunnel intentionally does not have a DNS server set and this occurs for traffic from the Extension yet off-tunnel, which needs resolution from the system DNS server (and this configuration works perfectly for a period of time before being "blocked by policy"). The following do not resolve the issue once DNS queries are being "blocked by policy" on affected devices: disconnecting then reconnecting the vpn; toggling airplane mode for 10+ seconds; switching connection between WiFi & cellular data; disabling iCloud Private Relay. We have currently only seen this on unmanaged devices running iOS 26.0 or 26.1 beta and with iCloud Private Relay enabled. We did not see this issue on iOS 16,17 nor 18. We also have not yet seen this when iCloud Private Relay is disabled nor on iOS 26.0.1, however we cannot confirm whether they too are also affected. Is there a known a bug with iOS 26.0 & 26.1 Beta 1 that could cause this? How can we prevent DNS requests from NEPacketTunnelExtension being sporadically "blocked by policy" until the device is rebooted? Many thanks in advance.
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119
Activity
Oct ’25
iOS not launching my app network extension, it seemingly isn't crashing it either
My personal project is a bit further along however after not being able to get this to work in my app I fell back to a much simpler/proven implementation out there. There is this project on GitHub with a guide that implements a barebones app extension with packet tunneling. I figure this can give us common ground. After changing the bundle and group identifiers to all end with -Caleb and or match up I tried running the app. The app extension does not work whatsoever and seemingly for reasons that are similar to my personal project. If I pull up the console and filter for the subsystem (com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel) I see the following. First you see installd installing it 0x16ba5f000 -[MIUninstaller _uninstallBundleWithIdentity:linkedToChildren:waitForDeletion:uninstallReason:temporaryReference:deleteDataContainers:wasLastReference:error:]: Destroying container com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel with persona 54D15361-A614-4E0D-931A-0953CDB50CE8 at /private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/PluginKitPlugin/2D0AE485-BB56-4E3E-B59E-48424CD4FD65 And then installd says this (No idea what it means) 0x16b9d3000 -[MIInstallationJournalEntry _refreshUUIDForContainer:withError:]: Data container for com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel is now at /private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/PluginKitPlugin/2D0AE485-BB56-4E3E-B59E-48424CD4FD65 Concerningly runningboardd seems to immediately try and stop it? Executing termination request for: <RBSProcessPredicate <RBSProcessBundleIdentifiersPredicate| {( "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb", "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel" )}>> [app<com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb(54D15361-A614-4E0D-931A-0953CDB50CE8)>:1054] Terminating with context: <RBSTerminateContext| explanation:installcoordinationd app:[com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb/54D15361-A614-4E0D-931A-0953CDB50CE8] uuid:963149FA-F712-460B-9B5C-5CE1C309B2FC isPlaceholder:Y reportType:None maxTerminationResistance:Absolute attrs:[ <RBSPreventLaunchLimitation| <RBSProcessPredicate <RBSProcessBundleIdentifiersPredicate| {( "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb", "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel" )}>> allow:(null)> ]> Then runningboardd leaves a cryptic message Acquiring assertion targeting system from originator [osservice<com.apple.installcoordinationd>:244] with description <RBSAssertionDescriptor| "installcoordinationd app:[com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb/54D15361-A614-4E0D-931A-0953CDB50CE8] uuid:963149FA-F712-460B-9B5C-5CE1C309B2FC isPlaceholder:Y" ID:33-244-5222 target:system attributes:[ <RBSPreventLaunchLimitation| <RBSProcessPredicate <RBSProcessBundleIdentifiersPredicate| {( "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb", "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb.vpn-tunnel" )}>> allow:(null)> ]> And that seems to be all I have to go off of.... If I widen my search a bit I can see backboardd saying things like Connection removed: IOHIDEventSystemConnection uuid:57E97E5D-8CDE-467B-81CA-36A93C7684AD pid:1054 process:vpn-client type:Passive entitlements:0x0 caller:BackBoardServices: <redacted> + 280 attributes:{ HighFrequency = 1; bundleID = "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb"; pid = 1054; } state:0x1 events:119 mask:0x800 dropped:0 dropStatus:0 droppedMask:0x0 lastDroppedTime:NONE Or Removing client connection <BKHIDClientConnection: 0xbf9828cd0; IOHIDEventSystemConnectionRef: 0xbf96d9600; vpid: 1054(vAF7); taskPort: 0x5D777; bundleID: com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb> for client: IOHIDEventSystemConnection uuid:57E97E5D-8CDE-467B-81CA-36A93C7684AD pid:1054 process:vpn-client type:Passive entitlements:0x0 caller:BackBoardServices: <redacted> + 280 attributes:{ HighFrequency = 1; bundleID = "com.github.kean.vpn-client-caleb"; pid = 1054; } state:0x1 events:119 mask:0x800 dropped:0 dropStatus:0 droppedMask:0x0 lastDroppedTime:NONE source:HID There's really nothing in the sysdiagnose either. No crash no nothing. I am stumped. Any idea what might be going wrong for me here? Has something about the way app extensions or sandbox rules work changed in later OSes?
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206
Activity
Apr ’25
Understanding when the push provider calls stop() with the noNetworkAvailable reason
I have 3 phones iPhone 14 iOS 18.3 iPhone Xr iOS 18.5 iPhone Xr iOS 18.4.1 My app has a network extension, and I've noticed each phone having their connectivity interupted by calls on the push provider, calling stop with the noNetworkAvailable reason. The point of confusion is that each phone seems to get it's interuption at different times. For example one will get an interuption at 1:00, while the others is fine, while at 3:00 another will get an interuption, while the others are fine. This is confusing since a "no network available" seems to imply a problem with the router, or access point, but if that were the case, one would believe it should affect all the phones on the wifi. I don't see less interuptions on the iPhone14 vs the iPhone Xr. Do you believe the iOS version is affecting the performance? Could you please give me some insight, as to what could be going on inside these phones? P.S. I also see an error pop up when using NWConnection, this is inside the App. The state update handler will sometimes return the state, waiting(POSIX(.ENETDOWN)) Is there any relation to what's going on in the extension?
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92
Activity
Jun ’25
iOS doesn’t switch back to home router + socket connect failure in AP mode
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?
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153
Activity
Dec ’25
How to add more cipher suites
I want to add more cipher suites. I use NWConnection to make a connection. Before I use sec_protocol_options_append_tls_ciphersuite method to add more cipher suites, I found that Apple provided 20 cipher suites shown in the client hello packet. But after I added three more cipher suites, I found that nothing changed, and still original 20 cipher suites shown in the client hello packet when I made a new connection. The following is the code about connection. I want to add three more cipher suites: tls_ciphersuite_t.ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256, tls_ciphersuite_t.ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384, tls_ciphersuite_t.ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384 Can you give me some advice about how to add more cipher suites? Thanks. By the way, I working on a MacOS app. Xcode version: 16 MacOS version: 15.6
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191
Activity
Dec ’25
NetworkFramework and UDP Broadcast Mode (2025)
So it seems the NetworkFramework is still not able to support Broastcast Mode am I correct? As soon as I switch broadcast mode to On in my game I receive console messages instead of receiving data. nw_path_evaluator_create_flow_inner failed NECP_CLIENT_ACTION_ADD_FLOW (null) evaluator parameters: udp, definite, server, attribution: developer, reuse local address, context: Default Network Context (private), proc: 2702288D-96FB-37DD-8610-A68CC526EA0F, local address: 0.0.0.0:20778 nw_path_evaluator_create_flow_inner NECP_CLIENT_ACTION_ADD_FLOW 1FB68D7E-7C9B-47B2-B6AC-E5710CD9C9CD [17: File exists] nw_endpoint_flow_setup_channel [C2 192.168.178.221:52716 initial channel-flow (satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: en0[802.11], ipv4, ipv6, dns, uses wifi)] failed to request add nexus flow nw_endpoint_flow_failed_with_error [C2 192.168.178.221:52716 initial channel-flow (satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: en0[802.11], ipv4, ipv6, dns, uses wifi)] already failing, returning nw_endpoint_handler_create_from_protocol_listener [C2 192.168.178.221:52716 failed channel-flow (satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: en0[802.11], ipv4, ipv6, dns, uses wifi)] nw_endpoint_flow_pre_attach_protocols nw_connection_create_from_protocol_on_nw_queue [C2] Failed to create connection from listener nw_ip_channel_inbox_handle_new_flow nw_connection_create_from_protocol_on_nw_queue failed I won't be able to receive data which is a real shame, so I guess I am stuck with the lower level code: // Enable broadcast var enableBroadcast: Int32 = 1 if setsockopt(socketDescriptor, SOL_SOCKET, SO_BROADCAST, &enableBroadcast, socklen_t(MemoryLayout<Int32>.size)) == -1 { let errorMessage = String(cString: strerror(errno)) throw UDPSocketError.cannotEnableBroadcast(errorMessage) }
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158
Activity
Apr ’25
Deprecation of NENetworkRule and NE
Question: Best Practice for NEFilterRule and NENetworkRule Initializers with Deprecated NEHostEndpoint? Hi all, I'm looking for guidance on the right way to construct an NEFilterRule that takes a NENetworkRule parameter. Reading the latest documentation, it looks like: All initializers for NENetworkRule that accept an NEHostEndpoint are now deprecated, including initWithDestinationHost:protocol: and those using the various *Network:prefix: forms. NEHostEndpoint itself is also deprecated; Apple recommends using the nw_endpoint_t type from the Network framework instead. However, NEFilterRule still requires a NENetworkRule for its initializer (docs). With all NENetworkRule initializers that take NEHostEndpoint deprecated, it’s unclear what the recommended way is to create a NENetworkRule (and thus an NEFilterRule) that matches host/domain or network traffic. What’s the proper way to construct these objects now—should we create the endpoints using nw_endpoint_t and use new/undocumented initializers, or is there an updated approach that’s considered best practice? Helpful doc links for reference: NEFilterRule docs NENetworkRule docs NWHostEndpoint (now deprecated)
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71
Activity
Jul ’25
Port 5000 blocked by ControlCenter on M4 Pro Mac (403 from browser/Postman)
I'm running a Node.js server on my MacBook with Apple M4 Pro chip, macOS Sequoia 15.4, and Node.js v23.10.0. The server starts normally on port 5000 and logs show that it's listening correctly. However, when I try to access it via browser or Postman (http://localhost:5000/api/...), I get a 403 Forbidden error. After checking with lsof -i :5000, I noticed that the ControlCenter process is listening on port 5000 under the name commplex-main. Interestingly, this doesn't happen on M3 Pro machines. On those devices, Node.js runs fine on port 5000 and can be accessed from Postman and browsers. Is port 5000 now internally reserved by macOS or used by some system-level service in Sequoia or Apple Silicon (M4 Pro)? Should I avoid using this port going forward? Any official clarification would be appreciated.
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125
Activity
Apr ’25
DMG Distribution for macOS App with App Extension — Should I Use System Extension Instead?
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!
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67
Activity
Aug ’25
Is there any API or entitlement to scan available Wi-Fi networks on iOS (Xcode 15 / iOS 17+)?
Hello, I’m developing an iOS app with Xcode (Objective-C / Swift), and I would like to know if there is any supported way to retrieve a list of nearby Wi-Fi networks (their SSID and signal strength). I know that NEHotspotConfigurationManager allows to configure a specific network, and the Access WiFi Information entitlement allows getting the current connected network. But is there any API (public, private, or special entitlement) that allows scanning nearby Wi-Fi networks — even for limited purposes like configuration of IoT equipment, or MFi devices? I have seen some apps doing this in the past (probably via private API), but I want to know what is the current official solution. Thanks a lot!
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129
Activity
Jun ’25
Local network permission working in Debug but not in TestFligh
I am developing a React Native app that uses UDP broadcast and device discovery over the local Wi-Fi network (similar to 4Stream). In Debug mode everything works, but after uploading to TestFlight the local network communication stops working. I have already added the following to Info.plist:
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237
Activity
Nov ’25
NAT64 test network in latest versions of MacOS
I want to create a NAT64/DNS64 test network as shown here, but I cannot figure out how to do it in the latest versions of MacOS. Is this still available and how can I access the "Create NAT64 Network" checkbox?
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227
Activity
Jul ’25
[iOS 26] [Satellite] Inconsistent network path reporting during Satellite-to-LTE transitions causes Status Bar and App UI mismatch
Satellite Communication framework, experiences a failure in receiving network path updates when a device transitions from Satellite to a fringe LTE area. The iOS Status Bar correctly updates to show "LTE," but our application does not receive the corresponding network path update (e.g., via NWPathMonitor). This leaves our app UI locked in "Satellite Mode," while the user sees "LTE" in the status bar, causing critical user confusion. Feedback: FB20976940
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127
Activity
Nov ’25
Add VPN Configuration dialog
We have a VPN application and we were required by the review team to change the text in the "Add VPN Configuration" dialog due to guideline 5.4.0 Legal: VPN Apps: make it clear to the user what data is being collected and how it will be used in the permission request. It appears that showing that information in the view preceding the VPN configuration adding attempt is no longer enough. However we haven't found any changes in the API allowing to change the text in the mentioned dialog. Is there a technical possibility to change the text in the add VPN configuration dialog? Thank you
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114
Activity
Oct ’25
in-addr.arpa default search domains
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?
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787
Activity
Apr ’25