Networking

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Explore the networking protocols and technologies used by the device to connect to Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth devices, and cellular data services.

Networking Documentation

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URLSession not working on iOS26/Xcode26
Hi, I’m trying out my app with Xcode 26, running on an iOS 26 simulator. I'm having issues with URLSessions, it crashes when I set the URLSessionConfiguration to default, and if I don’t use the URLSessionConfiguration, it crashes if I use URLSession.shared. When running in a real device, it doesn't crash, but any network request will hang and time out after a while. Is it a known issue in the latest beta versions?
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272
Jun ’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
Enhancing NEFilterPacketProvider with Process-Level Filtering
Our application currently uses NEFilterPacketProvider to filter network traffic based on Layer 4 rules (5-tuple: source IP, destination IP, source port, destination port, and protocol) on a packet-by-packet basis. We now want to extend this filtering to also consider the associated process—for example, allowing traffic from a specific source IP to a destination IP and port only if it's associated with a specific local process. That is, we’d like to make filtering decisions not just based on the 5-tuple, but also on the identity of the process either sending or receiving the traffic. We’ve looked into NEFilterSocketProvider, which does expose Layer 7 information such as process identifiers. However, it doesn’t seem to be tightly synchronized with the packet flow handled by NEFilterPacketProvider. As a result, there’s a risk that we might only get process information after the TCP handshake is complete, or before the socket is fully bound—at which point some of the 5-tuple fields (such as the local port) may still be unavailable. What we need is a way to correlate the 5-tuple with the relevant process name (either sender or receiver) at the time the first packet—e.g., a SYN packet—is about to be sent or received. Is there a recommended way to achieve this kind of early, process-aware filtering using NetworkExtension APIs?
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105
Jun ’25
Network Framework: LAN vs Wifi vs Peer to Peer Wifi Switching
I would like to understand the behaviour of Network framework when I have established a connection between 2 iOS devices which are connected through LAN and the same Wifi. Assumptions: Enabled includePeerToPeer. Devices are discovered and connected through Bonjour: When the connection establishes for the first time, does it automatically decide which interface to pick? I see some posts which point to Happy Eyeball algorithm but that seem to point more towards ipv4 vs ipv6 rather than Wifi vs LAN vs P2P. In the middle of a connection, if the established connection has issues, does the Network framework automatically switch to the best available interface? If not, I would assume the app will have to handle the switching in betterPathUpdateHandler callback? I’m curious what needs to be done here. Do I just create a new connection and hope that it picks the actual better path? The NWInterface.InterfaceType doesnt have a type for peer to peer wifi. Does that mean that when the interface actually switches to peer to peer, the InterfaceType will be other? It would be great if there is a workflow or example of how this needs to be handled with multiple available Interfaces.
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110
Oct ’25
NEFilterDataProvider Filtering Traffic to 127.0.0.1 Breaks Maven Build in IntelliJ IDEA
When filtering traffic to localhost (127.0.0.1), it causes Maven repository synchronization to fail in IntelliJ IDEA. However, Maven works correctly when local traffic is not filtered. I will provide a minimal code reproduction below. - (void)startFilterWithCompletionHandler:(void (^)(NSError *error))completionHandler { // Add code to initialize the filter NSMutableArray *rules = [NSMutableArray array]; NENetworkRule * rule = [[NENetworkRule alloc] initWithRemoteNetwork:nil remotePrefix:0 localNetwork:nil localPrefix:0 protocol:NENetworkRuleProtocolTCP direction:NETrafficDirectionAny]; [rules addObject:[[NEFilterRule alloc]initWithNetworkRule:rule action:NEFilterActionFilterData]]; rule = [[NENetworkRule alloc] initWithRemoteNetwork:nil remotePrefix:0 localNetwork:nil localPrefix:0 protocol:NENetworkRuleProtocolUDP direction:NETrafficDirectionAny]; [rules addObject:[[NEFilterRule alloc]initWithNetworkRule:rule action:NEFilterActionFilterData]]; NWHostEndpoint *hostEndpointIpv4 = [NWHostEndpoint endpointWithHostname:@"127.0.0.1" port:@"0"]; NENetworkRule *localHostRuleIpv4 = [[NENetworkRule alloc] initWithRemoteNetwork:hostEndpointIpv4 remotePrefix:32 localNetwork:hostEndpointIpv4 localPrefix:32 protocol:NENetworkRuleProtocolAny direction:NETrafficDirectionAny]; [rules addObject:[[NEFilterRule alloc]initWithNetworkRule:localHostRuleIpv4 action:NEFilterActionFilterData]]; NEFilterSettings *filterSetting = [[NEFilterSettings alloc] initWithRules:rules defaultAction:NEFilterActionAllow]; [self applySettings:filterSetting completionHandler:^(NSError * _Nullable error) { if (error) { NSLog(@"Failed to apply filter settring: %@", error.localizedDescription); } completionHandler(error); }]; } Maven Sync error: System Log: 默认 17:35:13.184509+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so 3bb6402f58a82e37 - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63166 fport 29735 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 默认 17:35:13.184510+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so d6dde374c8cb613b - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63165 fport 29735 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 默认 17:35:13.529546+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so cc915e74ba29f8cb - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63169 fport 39066 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 默认 17:35:13.529546+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so 2e15c3e54ebcc45 - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63168 fport 39066 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 默认 17:35:14.046094+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so 71f6d3a53472131f - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63172 fport 53241 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 默认 17:35:14.046145+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so c88a367c9717185b - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63171 fport 53241 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 Environment Details: Operating System: macOS 15.5 (Sequoia) IDE: IntelliJ IDEA 2025.1 Relevant Technology: NEFilterDataProvider (Network Extension) I have found reports of similar problems online: https://discussionschinese.apple.com/thread/255270330?sortBy=rank https://blog.csdn.net/weixin_42339552/article/details/137402307 They all seem to be caused by network extension。
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122
Oct ’25
Custom VPN - Bind interface to Cellular
I'm creating a custom VPN app which should only work on Cellular. Apart from cellular interface binding VPN is working fine. Even though I specified cellular interface like let cellularParams = NWParameters.udp cellularParams.requiredInterfaceType = .cellular It is going via Wifi when it is ON. I know this is the default iOS behaviour. How can I prevent this and route through cellular only even when Wifi is enabled on device?
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101
Jul ’25
Questions on Device Pairing with DeviceDiscoveryUI in Wi-Fi Aware
At WWDC 25, Dr. Swetank mentioned, “DeviceDiscoveryUI is for making connections between apps and from an app to another device. It supports pairing with both Apple and third-party devices.” I find the pairing process in DeviceDiscoveryUI via Wi-Fi Aware intriguing. I have two questions: Can we pair devices via Bluetooth first and then establish a Wi-Fi Aware connection? If I use DeviceDiscoveryUI, how should I write an Android program to correspond with it and achieve iPhone-Android pairing? The app is an official Apple app: https://aninterestingwebsite.com/documentation/wifiaware/building-peer-to-peer-apps.
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259
Jul ’25
Feedback NetworkListener: Endpoint, QUIC
Good morning, I have been playing with he new Networking framework released in beta, and i think its amazing how powerful and simple it is. However i have been tackling some issues with it, it seems that the NetworkListener does not allow us to configure a specific endpoint for any of the protocols, UDP, TCP (QUIC, TLS) Is this intended or just not missing features as of the Beta ? I figured out how to use bonjour to get a port (as i am brand new to using Networking on macOS and Swift) I get that the use of this is mainly as a client to connect to servers, but it would make more sense to have a high level abstraction of what already exist, wouldn't it be more intuitive to configure a NetworkEndpoint that contains either a Bonjour Service or an endpoint with configured port that we can then configure on the Listener, instead of doing .service(...) ?
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267
Sep ’25
Local Network permission appears to be ignored after reboot, even though it was granted
We have a Java application built for macOS. On the first launch, the application prompts the user to allow local network access. We've correctly added the NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription key to the Info.plist, and the provided description appears in the system prompt. After the user grants permission, the application can successfully connect to a local server using its hostname. However, the issue arises after the system is rebooted. When the application is launched again, macOS does not prompt for local network access a second time—which is expected, as the permission was already granted. Despite this, the application is unable to connect to the local server. It appears the previously granted permission is being ignored after a reboot. A temporary workaround is to manually toggle the Local Network permission off and back on via System Settings > Privacy & Security, which restores connectivity—until the next reboot. This behavior is highly disruptive, both for us and for a significant number of our users. We can reproduce this on multiple systems... The issues started from macOS Sequoia 15.0 By opening the application bundle using "Show Package Contents," we can launch the application via "JavaAppLauncher" without any issues. Once started, the application is able to connect to our server over the local network. This seems to bypass the granted permissions? "JavaAppLauncher" is also been used in our Info.plist file Removing the following plist in Recovery Mode seems to resolve the issue rm "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Library/Preferences/com.apple.networkextension.plist" Is this safe to do?
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66
Jul ’25
[iPadOS 26] EACCES (Permission Denied) on UDP Broadcast despite Multicast Networking Entitlement
My application (using a nested framework for networking) was working correctly on iPadOS 18, but failed to perform a UDP broadcast operation after upgrading the device to iPadOS 26. The low-level console logs consistently show a "Permission denied" error. Symptoms & Error Message: When attempting to send a UDP broadcast packet using NWConnection (or a similar low-level socket call within the framework), the connection fails immediately with the following error logged in the console: nw_socket_service_writes_block_invoke [C2:1] sendmsg(fd 6, 124 bytes) [13: Permission denied] (Error code 13 corresponds to EACCES). Verification Steps (What I have checked): Multicast Networking Entitlement is Approved and Applied: The necessary entitlement (com.apple.developer.networking.multicast) was granted by Apple. The Provisioning Profile used for signing the Host App Target has been regenerated and explicitly includes "Multicast Networking" capability (see attached screenshot). I confirmed that Entitlements cannot be added directly to the Framework Target, only the Host App Target, which is the expected behavior. Local Network Privacy is Configured: The Host App's Info.plist contains the NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription key with a clear usage string. Crucially, the Local Network Access alert does not reliably appear when the Broadcast function is first called (despite a full reinstall after OS upgrade). Even when Local Network Access is manually enabled in Settings, the Broadcast still fails with EACCES. Code Implementation: The Broadcast is attempted using NWConnection to the host 255.255.255.255 on a specific port. Request: Since all required entitlements and profiles are correct, and the failure is a low-level EACCES on a newly updated OS version, I suspect this may be a regression bug in the iPadOS 26 security sandbox when validating the Multicast Networking Entitlement against a low-level socket call (like sendmsg). Has anyone else encountered this specific Permission denied error on iPadOS 26 with a valid Multicast Entitlement, and is there a known workaround aside from switching to mDNS/Bonjour?
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262
Oct ’25
Local Network permission appears to be ignored after reboot, even though it was granted
We have a Java application built for macOS. On the first launch, the application prompts the user to allow local network access. We've correctly added the NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription key to the Info.plist, and the provided description appears in the system prompt. After the user grants permission, the application can successfully connect to a local server using its hostname. However, the issue arises after the system is rebooted. When the application is launched again, macOS does not prompt for local network access a second time—which is expected, as the permission was already granted. Despite this, the application is unable to connect to the local server. It appears the previously granted permission is being ignored after a reboot. A temporary workaround is to manually toggle the Local Network permission off and back on via System Settings > Privacy & Security, which restores connectivity—until the next reboot. This behavior is highly disruptive, both for us and for a significant number of our users. We can reproduce this on multiple systems... The issues started from macOS Sequoia 15.0 By opening the application bundle using "Show Package Contents," we can launch the application via "JavaAppLauncher" without any issues. Once started, the application is able to connect to our server over the local network. This seems to bypass the granted permissions? "JavaAppLauncher" is also been used in our Info.plist file
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145
Jul ’25
NEFilterManager saveToPreferences fails with "permission denied" on TestFlight build
I'm working on enabling a content filter in my iOS app using NEFilterManager and NEFilterProviderConfiguration. The setup works perfectly in debug builds when running via Xcode, but fails on TestFlight builds with the following error: **Failed to save filter settings: permission denied ** **Here is my current implementation: ** (void)startContentFilter { NSUserDefaults *userDefaults = [NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults]; [userDefaults synchronize]; [[NEFilterManager sharedManager] loadFromPreferencesWithCompletionHandler:^(NSError * _Nullable error) { dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{ if (error) { NSLog(@"Failed to load filter: %@", error.localizedDescription); [self showAlertWithTitle:@"Error" message:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"Failed to load content filter: %@", error.localizedDescription]]; return; } NEFilterProviderConfiguration *filterConfig = [[NEFilterProviderConfiguration alloc] init]; filterConfig.filterSockets = YES; filterConfig.filterBrowsers = YES; NEFilterManager *manager = [NEFilterManager sharedManager]; manager.providerConfiguration = filterConfig; manager.enabled = YES; [manager saveToPreferencesWithCompletionHandler:^(NSError * _Nullable error) { dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{ if (error) { NSLog(@"Failed to save filter settings: %@", error.localizedDescription); [self showAlertWithTitle:@"Error" message:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"Failed to save filter settings: %@", error.localizedDescription]]; } else { NSLog(@"Content filter enabled successfully!"); [self showAlertWithTitle:@"Success" message:@"Content filter enabled successfully!"]; } }); }]; }); }]; } **What I've tried: ** Ensured the com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension entitlement is set in both the app and system extension. The Network extension target includes content-filter-provider. Tested only on physical devices. App works in development build, but not from TestFlight. **My questions: ** Why does saveToPreferencesWithCompletionHandler fail with “permission denied” on TestFlight? Are there special entitlements required for using NEFilterManager in production/TestFlight builds? Is MDM (Mobile Device Management) required to deploy apps using content filters? Has anyone successfully implemented NEFilterProviderConfiguration in production, and if so, how?
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248
Jun ’25
Iphone 16 is not connecting to WiFi7 AP with MLO Suiteb encryption
Issue summary: Iphone 16 is not connecting to WiFi7 AP with MLO Suiteb encryption. Furuno AP(EW750) is sending EAPOL M1 message, but Iphone16 is not responding with EAPOL M2 message, Hence Iphone16 is unable to connect to Qualcomm based AP with MLO suiteb encryption. Issue impact: All the Iphone16 users cannot connect to WiFi7 AP with MLO suiteb encryption globally. Predominantly, Iphone users tend to connect to more secured wifi networks using WPA3 suiteb encryption, hence many of the iphone users will experience the connectivity issue significantly. Topology: AP Hardware: Furuno WiFi7 AP(EW770) The Furuno WiFi7 AP uses Miami IPQ5332 with waikiki radio QCN9274 AP software: SPF12.2 CSU3 IPhone16 software: (18.3.1 or 18.5 ) Iphone16 wifi capabilities: 802.11 b/a/g/n/ac/ax/be Radius server details: Radius server: Laptop running with Ubuntu Radius package: 3.0.26dfsggit20220223.1.00ed0241fa-0ubuntu3.4 Version: 3.0.26 Steps: Power on the Wi-Fi 7 Access Point with the Miami chipset, and flash it with the SPF 12.2 CSU3 image. Enable both 5 GHz and 6 GHz radios on the AP. Enable MLO (Multi-Link Operation) in 6Ghz &amp; 5Ghz, set MLD address different from radio address and configure Suite-B (192-bit) encryption On the Linux laptop, set up the RADIUS server with EAP-TLS authentication method. Once the above steps are completed, take the iPhone 16 and follow the steps below to install the RADIUS client certificates on the device. On the sniffer laptop, switch the Wi-Fi adapter to monitor mode, configure the required channel, and begin packet capture. Check SSID is broadcasting, then connect the iPhone 16 to . Verify if the client (iPhone 16) connects to the SSID using WPA3-Enterprise, MLO, and Suite-B encryption by checking the wireless capture on both the AP and iPhone sides. Support needed from Apple team: We would request Apple team to analyse and enable the IPhone16 users to connect to advanced security WPA3 Suiteb by resolving the issue. Below is our analysis and observation for your reference. As per IEEE, MLD mac address can be set to the same or different from radio address, Iphone16 is not accepting EAPOL M1 message if source address(MLD) is different from radio address. IPhone16 is accepting EAPOL M1 if the source address(MLD) is set to the same as the radio address and responds with M2 message IPhone16 is not accepting EAPOL M1 if source address(MLD) set to different from radio address and fails to respond with M2 message
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173
Aug ’25
How to keep API requests running in background using URLSession in Swift?
I'm developing an iOS application in Swift that performs API calls using URLSession.shared. The requests work correctly when the app is in the foreground. However, when the app transitions to the background (for example, when the user switches to another app), the ongoing API calls are either paused or do not complete as expected. What I’ve tried: Using URLSession.shared.dataTask(with:) to initiate the API requests Observing application lifecycle events like applicationDidEnterBackground, but haven't found a reliable solution to allow requests to complete when backgrounded Goal: I want certain API requests to continue running or be allowed to complete even if the app enters the background. Question: What is the correct approach to allow API calls to continue running or complete when the app moves to the background? Should I be using a background URLSessionConfiguration instead of URLSession.shared? If so, how should it be properly configured and used in this scenario?
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222
Oct ’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
How can a Network Extension notify or trigger tasks in the main app when it’s backgrounded or killed?
I’m developing a iOS VPN app, and I need to execute a task in the main app even when it’s in the background or killed state. I know the Network Extension continues running during those times. Is there a way for the extension to immediately notify the app or trigger a task on the app side?
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104
Sep ’25
Unable to update app with PacketTunnelProvider running
Hi there, I am working on an app that configures a PacketTunnelProvider to establish a VPN connection. Unfortunately, while a VPN connection is established, I am unable to update the app via testflight. Downloading other app updates works fine. I noticed that after I receive the alert that updating failed, the vpn badge appears at the top of my screen (the same ux that occurs when the connection is first established). So it's almost like it tried to close the tunnel, and seeing that the app update failed it restablishes the tunnel. I am unsure of why I would not be able to update my app. Maybe stopTunnel is not being called with NEProviderStopReason.appUpdate?
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65
Jun ’25
URLSession not working on iOS26/Xcode26
Hi, I’m trying out my app with Xcode 26, running on an iOS 26 simulator. I'm having issues with URLSessions, it crashes when I set the URLSessionConfiguration to default, and if I don’t use the URLSessionConfiguration, it crashes if I use URLSession.shared. When running in a real device, it doesn't crash, but any network request will hang and time out after a while. Is it a known issue in the latest beta versions?
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272
Activity
Jun ’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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1
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67
Activity
Aug ’25
Enhancing NEFilterPacketProvider with Process-Level Filtering
Our application currently uses NEFilterPacketProvider to filter network traffic based on Layer 4 rules (5-tuple: source IP, destination IP, source port, destination port, and protocol) on a packet-by-packet basis. We now want to extend this filtering to also consider the associated process—for example, allowing traffic from a specific source IP to a destination IP and port only if it's associated with a specific local process. That is, we’d like to make filtering decisions not just based on the 5-tuple, but also on the identity of the process either sending or receiving the traffic. We’ve looked into NEFilterSocketProvider, which does expose Layer 7 information such as process identifiers. However, it doesn’t seem to be tightly synchronized with the packet flow handled by NEFilterPacketProvider. As a result, there’s a risk that we might only get process information after the TCP handshake is complete, or before the socket is fully bound—at which point some of the 5-tuple fields (such as the local port) may still be unavailable. What we need is a way to correlate the 5-tuple with the relevant process name (either sender or receiver) at the time the first packet—e.g., a SYN packet—is about to be sent or received. Is there a recommended way to achieve this kind of early, process-aware filtering using NetworkExtension APIs?
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1
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105
Activity
Jun ’25
Network Framework: LAN vs Wifi vs Peer to Peer Wifi Switching
I would like to understand the behaviour of Network framework when I have established a connection between 2 iOS devices which are connected through LAN and the same Wifi. Assumptions: Enabled includePeerToPeer. Devices are discovered and connected through Bonjour: When the connection establishes for the first time, does it automatically decide which interface to pick? I see some posts which point to Happy Eyeball algorithm but that seem to point more towards ipv4 vs ipv6 rather than Wifi vs LAN vs P2P. In the middle of a connection, if the established connection has issues, does the Network framework automatically switch to the best available interface? If not, I would assume the app will have to handle the switching in betterPathUpdateHandler callback? I’m curious what needs to be done here. Do I just create a new connection and hope that it picks the actual better path? The NWInterface.InterfaceType doesnt have a type for peer to peer wifi. Does that mean that when the interface actually switches to peer to peer, the InterfaceType will be other? It would be great if there is a workflow or example of how this needs to be handled with multiple available Interfaces.
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1
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110
Activity
Oct ’25
NEFilterDataProvider Filtering Traffic to 127.0.0.1 Breaks Maven Build in IntelliJ IDEA
When filtering traffic to localhost (127.0.0.1), it causes Maven repository synchronization to fail in IntelliJ IDEA. However, Maven works correctly when local traffic is not filtered. I will provide a minimal code reproduction below. - (void)startFilterWithCompletionHandler:(void (^)(NSError *error))completionHandler { // Add code to initialize the filter NSMutableArray *rules = [NSMutableArray array]; NENetworkRule * rule = [[NENetworkRule alloc] initWithRemoteNetwork:nil remotePrefix:0 localNetwork:nil localPrefix:0 protocol:NENetworkRuleProtocolTCP direction:NETrafficDirectionAny]; [rules addObject:[[NEFilterRule alloc]initWithNetworkRule:rule action:NEFilterActionFilterData]]; rule = [[NENetworkRule alloc] initWithRemoteNetwork:nil remotePrefix:0 localNetwork:nil localPrefix:0 protocol:NENetworkRuleProtocolUDP direction:NETrafficDirectionAny]; [rules addObject:[[NEFilterRule alloc]initWithNetworkRule:rule action:NEFilterActionFilterData]]; NWHostEndpoint *hostEndpointIpv4 = [NWHostEndpoint endpointWithHostname:@"127.0.0.1" port:@"0"]; NENetworkRule *localHostRuleIpv4 = [[NENetworkRule alloc] initWithRemoteNetwork:hostEndpointIpv4 remotePrefix:32 localNetwork:hostEndpointIpv4 localPrefix:32 protocol:NENetworkRuleProtocolAny direction:NETrafficDirectionAny]; [rules addObject:[[NEFilterRule alloc]initWithNetworkRule:localHostRuleIpv4 action:NEFilterActionFilterData]]; NEFilterSettings *filterSetting = [[NEFilterSettings alloc] initWithRules:rules defaultAction:NEFilterActionAllow]; [self applySettings:filterSetting completionHandler:^(NSError * _Nullable error) { if (error) { NSLog(@"Failed to apply filter settring: %@", error.localizedDescription); } completionHandler(error); }]; } Maven Sync error: System Log: 默认 17:35:13.184509+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so 3bb6402f58a82e37 - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63166 fport 29735 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 默认 17:35:13.184510+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so d6dde374c8cb613b - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63165 fport 29735 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 默认 17:35:13.529546+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so cc915e74ba29f8cb - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63169 fport 39066 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 默认 17:35:13.529546+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so 2e15c3e54ebcc45 - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63168 fport 39066 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 默认 17:35:14.046094+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so 71f6d3a53472131f - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63172 fport 53241 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 默认 17:35:14.046145+0800 kernel cfil_inp_log:6179 <CFIL: outbound TCP data dropped for pre-existing un-filtered flow>: [41046 idea] <TCP out so c88a367c9717185b - flags 0x800840 0x80> lport 63171 fport 53241 laddr 127.0.0.1 faddr 127.0.0.1 Environment Details: Operating System: macOS 15.5 (Sequoia) IDE: IntelliJ IDEA 2025.1 Relevant Technology: NEFilterDataProvider (Network Extension) I have found reports of similar problems online: https://discussionschinese.apple.com/thread/255270330?sortBy=rank https://blog.csdn.net/weixin_42339552/article/details/137402307 They all seem to be caused by network extension。
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1
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122
Activity
Oct ’25
Custom VPN - Bind interface to Cellular
I'm creating a custom VPN app which should only work on Cellular. Apart from cellular interface binding VPN is working fine. Even though I specified cellular interface like let cellularParams = NWParameters.udp cellularParams.requiredInterfaceType = .cellular It is going via Wifi when it is ON. I know this is the default iOS behaviour. How can I prevent this and route through cellular only even when Wifi is enabled on device?
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1
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101
Activity
Jul ’25
Official Wi-Fi Aware demo pairing error
This is the log on the publisher side. Publisher discovered the subscriber, but could not pair. Follow up is sent with response rejected
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1
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146
Activity
Jul ’25
Questions on Device Pairing with DeviceDiscoveryUI in Wi-Fi Aware
At WWDC 25, Dr. Swetank mentioned, “DeviceDiscoveryUI is for making connections between apps and from an app to another device. It supports pairing with both Apple and third-party devices.” I find the pairing process in DeviceDiscoveryUI via Wi-Fi Aware intriguing. I have two questions: Can we pair devices via Bluetooth first and then establish a Wi-Fi Aware connection? If I use DeviceDiscoveryUI, how should I write an Android program to correspond with it and achieve iPhone-Android pairing? The app is an official Apple app: https://aninterestingwebsite.com/documentation/wifiaware/building-peer-to-peer-apps.
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259
Activity
Jul ’25
Feedback NetworkListener: Endpoint, QUIC
Good morning, I have been playing with he new Networking framework released in beta, and i think its amazing how powerful and simple it is. However i have been tackling some issues with it, it seems that the NetworkListener does not allow us to configure a specific endpoint for any of the protocols, UDP, TCP (QUIC, TLS) Is this intended or just not missing features as of the Beta ? I figured out how to use bonjour to get a port (as i am brand new to using Networking on macOS and Swift) I get that the use of this is mainly as a client to connect to servers, but it would make more sense to have a high level abstraction of what already exist, wouldn't it be more intuitive to configure a NetworkEndpoint that contains either a Bonjour Service or an endpoint with configured port that we can then configure on the Listener, instead of doing .service(...) ?
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267
Activity
Sep ’25
Local Network permission appears to be ignored after reboot, even though it was granted
We have a Java application built for macOS. On the first launch, the application prompts the user to allow local network access. We've correctly added the NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription key to the Info.plist, and the provided description appears in the system prompt. After the user grants permission, the application can successfully connect to a local server using its hostname. However, the issue arises after the system is rebooted. When the application is launched again, macOS does not prompt for local network access a second time—which is expected, as the permission was already granted. Despite this, the application is unable to connect to the local server. It appears the previously granted permission is being ignored after a reboot. A temporary workaround is to manually toggle the Local Network permission off and back on via System Settings > Privacy & Security, which restores connectivity—until the next reboot. This behavior is highly disruptive, both for us and for a significant number of our users. We can reproduce this on multiple systems... The issues started from macOS Sequoia 15.0 By opening the application bundle using "Show Package Contents," we can launch the application via "JavaAppLauncher" without any issues. Once started, the application is able to connect to our server over the local network. This seems to bypass the granted permissions? "JavaAppLauncher" is also been used in our Info.plist file Removing the following plist in Recovery Mode seems to resolve the issue rm "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Library/Preferences/com.apple.networkextension.plist" Is this safe to do?
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66
Activity
Jul ’25
[iPadOS 26] EACCES (Permission Denied) on UDP Broadcast despite Multicast Networking Entitlement
My application (using a nested framework for networking) was working correctly on iPadOS 18, but failed to perform a UDP broadcast operation after upgrading the device to iPadOS 26. The low-level console logs consistently show a "Permission denied" error. Symptoms & Error Message: When attempting to send a UDP broadcast packet using NWConnection (or a similar low-level socket call within the framework), the connection fails immediately with the following error logged in the console: nw_socket_service_writes_block_invoke [C2:1] sendmsg(fd 6, 124 bytes) [13: Permission denied] (Error code 13 corresponds to EACCES). Verification Steps (What I have checked): Multicast Networking Entitlement is Approved and Applied: The necessary entitlement (com.apple.developer.networking.multicast) was granted by Apple. The Provisioning Profile used for signing the Host App Target has been regenerated and explicitly includes "Multicast Networking" capability (see attached screenshot). I confirmed that Entitlements cannot be added directly to the Framework Target, only the Host App Target, which is the expected behavior. Local Network Privacy is Configured: The Host App's Info.plist contains the NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription key with a clear usage string. Crucially, the Local Network Access alert does not reliably appear when the Broadcast function is first called (despite a full reinstall after OS upgrade). Even when Local Network Access is manually enabled in Settings, the Broadcast still fails with EACCES. Code Implementation: The Broadcast is attempted using NWConnection to the host 255.255.255.255 on a specific port. Request: Since all required entitlements and profiles are correct, and the failure is a low-level EACCES on a newly updated OS version, I suspect this may be a regression bug in the iPadOS 26 security sandbox when validating the Multicast Networking Entitlement against a low-level socket call (like sendmsg). Has anyone else encountered this specific Permission denied error on iPadOS 26 with a valid Multicast Entitlement, and is there a known workaround aside from switching to mDNS/Bonjour?
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262
Activity
Oct ’25
Local Network permission appears to be ignored after reboot, even though it was granted
We have a Java application built for macOS. On the first launch, the application prompts the user to allow local network access. We've correctly added the NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription key to the Info.plist, and the provided description appears in the system prompt. After the user grants permission, the application can successfully connect to a local server using its hostname. However, the issue arises after the system is rebooted. When the application is launched again, macOS does not prompt for local network access a second time—which is expected, as the permission was already granted. Despite this, the application is unable to connect to the local server. It appears the previously granted permission is being ignored after a reboot. A temporary workaround is to manually toggle the Local Network permission off and back on via System Settings > Privacy & Security, which restores connectivity—until the next reboot. This behavior is highly disruptive, both for us and for a significant number of our users. We can reproduce this on multiple systems... The issues started from macOS Sequoia 15.0 By opening the application bundle using "Show Package Contents," we can launch the application via "JavaAppLauncher" without any issues. Once started, the application is able to connect to our server over the local network. This seems to bypass the granted permissions? "JavaAppLauncher" is also been used in our Info.plist file
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145
Activity
Jul ’25
NEFilterManager saveToPreferences fails with "permission denied" on TestFlight build
I'm working on enabling a content filter in my iOS app using NEFilterManager and NEFilterProviderConfiguration. The setup works perfectly in debug builds when running via Xcode, but fails on TestFlight builds with the following error: **Failed to save filter settings: permission denied ** **Here is my current implementation: ** (void)startContentFilter { NSUserDefaults *userDefaults = [NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults]; [userDefaults synchronize]; [[NEFilterManager sharedManager] loadFromPreferencesWithCompletionHandler:^(NSError * _Nullable error) { dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{ if (error) { NSLog(@"Failed to load filter: %@", error.localizedDescription); [self showAlertWithTitle:@"Error" message:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"Failed to load content filter: %@", error.localizedDescription]]; return; } NEFilterProviderConfiguration *filterConfig = [[NEFilterProviderConfiguration alloc] init]; filterConfig.filterSockets = YES; filterConfig.filterBrowsers = YES; NEFilterManager *manager = [NEFilterManager sharedManager]; manager.providerConfiguration = filterConfig; manager.enabled = YES; [manager saveToPreferencesWithCompletionHandler:^(NSError * _Nullable error) { dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{ if (error) { NSLog(@"Failed to save filter settings: %@", error.localizedDescription); [self showAlertWithTitle:@"Error" message:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"Failed to save filter settings: %@", error.localizedDescription]]; } else { NSLog(@"Content filter enabled successfully!"); [self showAlertWithTitle:@"Success" message:@"Content filter enabled successfully!"]; } }); }]; }); }]; } **What I've tried: ** Ensured the com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension entitlement is set in both the app and system extension. The Network extension target includes content-filter-provider. Tested only on physical devices. App works in development build, but not from TestFlight. **My questions: ** Why does saveToPreferencesWithCompletionHandler fail with “permission denied” on TestFlight? Are there special entitlements required for using NEFilterManager in production/TestFlight builds? Is MDM (Mobile Device Management) required to deploy apps using content filters? Has anyone successfully implemented NEFilterProviderConfiguration in production, and if so, how?
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248
Activity
Jun ’25
After updating to Xcode26, the current SSID can no longer be retrieved
fetchCurrent(completionHandler:) https://aninterestingwebsite.com/documentation/networkextension/nehotspotnetwork/fetchcurrent(completionhandler:) The same code works fine in Xcode 16, but when I run the same project in Xcode 26, it doesn't work
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102
Activity
Oct ’25
Iphone 16 is not connecting to WiFi7 AP with MLO Suiteb encryption
Issue summary: Iphone 16 is not connecting to WiFi7 AP with MLO Suiteb encryption. Furuno AP(EW750) is sending EAPOL M1 message, but Iphone16 is not responding with EAPOL M2 message, Hence Iphone16 is unable to connect to Qualcomm based AP with MLO suiteb encryption. Issue impact: All the Iphone16 users cannot connect to WiFi7 AP with MLO suiteb encryption globally. Predominantly, Iphone users tend to connect to more secured wifi networks using WPA3 suiteb encryption, hence many of the iphone users will experience the connectivity issue significantly. Topology: AP Hardware: Furuno WiFi7 AP(EW770) The Furuno WiFi7 AP uses Miami IPQ5332 with waikiki radio QCN9274 AP software: SPF12.2 CSU3 IPhone16 software: (18.3.1 or 18.5 ) Iphone16 wifi capabilities: 802.11 b/a/g/n/ac/ax/be Radius server details: Radius server: Laptop running with Ubuntu Radius package: 3.0.26dfsggit20220223.1.00ed0241fa-0ubuntu3.4 Version: 3.0.26 Steps: Power on the Wi-Fi 7 Access Point with the Miami chipset, and flash it with the SPF 12.2 CSU3 image. Enable both 5 GHz and 6 GHz radios on the AP. Enable MLO (Multi-Link Operation) in 6Ghz &amp; 5Ghz, set MLD address different from radio address and configure Suite-B (192-bit) encryption On the Linux laptop, set up the RADIUS server with EAP-TLS authentication method. Once the above steps are completed, take the iPhone 16 and follow the steps below to install the RADIUS client certificates on the device. On the sniffer laptop, switch the Wi-Fi adapter to monitor mode, configure the required channel, and begin packet capture. Check SSID is broadcasting, then connect the iPhone 16 to . Verify if the client (iPhone 16) connects to the SSID using WPA3-Enterprise, MLO, and Suite-B encryption by checking the wireless capture on both the AP and iPhone sides. Support needed from Apple team: We would request Apple team to analyse and enable the IPhone16 users to connect to advanced security WPA3 Suiteb by resolving the issue. Below is our analysis and observation for your reference. As per IEEE, MLD mac address can be set to the same or different from radio address, Iphone16 is not accepting EAPOL M1 message if source address(MLD) is different from radio address. IPhone16 is accepting EAPOL M1 if the source address(MLD) is set to the same as the radio address and responds with M2 message IPhone16 is not accepting EAPOL M1 if source address(MLD) set to different from radio address and fails to respond with M2 message
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173
Activity
Aug ’25
How to keep API requests running in background using URLSession in Swift?
I'm developing an iOS application in Swift that performs API calls using URLSession.shared. The requests work correctly when the app is in the foreground. However, when the app transitions to the background (for example, when the user switches to another app), the ongoing API calls are either paused or do not complete as expected. What I’ve tried: Using URLSession.shared.dataTask(with:) to initiate the API requests Observing application lifecycle events like applicationDidEnterBackground, but haven't found a reliable solution to allow requests to complete when backgrounded Goal: I want certain API requests to continue running or be allowed to complete even if the app enters the background. Question: What is the correct approach to allow API calls to continue running or complete when the app moves to the background? Should I be using a background URLSessionConfiguration instead of URLSession.shared? If so, how should it be properly configured and used in this scenario?
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222
Activity
Oct ’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
In the Network Extensions section, the Packet Tunnel section is not displayed
Configure the App ID in the Apple Developer Portal. In the Network Extensions section, the Packet Tunnel section is not displayed How to proceed with the configuration of App ID. In the Network Extensions section: Display the Packet Tunnel section Our account is a China region account
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110
Activity
Oct ’25
How can a Network Extension notify or trigger tasks in the main app when it’s backgrounded or killed?
I’m developing a iOS VPN app, and I need to execute a task in the main app even when it’s in the background or killed state. I know the Network Extension continues running during those times. Is there a way for the extension to immediately notify the app or trigger a task on the app side?
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104
Activity
Sep ’25
Unable to update app with PacketTunnelProvider running
Hi there, I am working on an app that configures a PacketTunnelProvider to establish a VPN connection. Unfortunately, while a VPN connection is established, I am unable to update the app via testflight. Downloading other app updates works fine. I noticed that after I receive the alert that updating failed, the vpn badge appears at the top of my screen (the same ux that occurs when the connection is first established). So it's almost like it tried to close the tunnel, and seeing that the app update failed it restablishes the tunnel. I am unsure of why I would not be able to update my app. Maybe stopTunnel is not being called with NEProviderStopReason.appUpdate?
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65
Activity
Jun ’25