At WWDC 2015 Apple announced two major enhancements to the Network Extension framework: Network Extension providers — These are app extensions that let you insert your code at various points within the networking stack, including: Packet tunnels via NEPacketTunnelProvider App proxies via NEAppProxyProvider Content filters via NEFilterDataProvider and NEFilterControlProvider Hotspot Helper (NEHotspotHelper) — This allows you to create an app that assists the user in navigating a hotspot (a Wi-Fi network where the user must interact with the network in order to get access to the wider Internet). Originally, using any of these facilities required authorisation from Apple. Specifically, you had to apply for, and be granted access to, a managed capability. In Nov 2016 this policy changed for Network Extension providers. Any developer can now use the Network Extension provider capability like they would any other capability. There is one exception to this rule: Network Extension app push providers, introduced by iOS 14 in 2020, still requires that Apple authorise the use of a managed capability. To apply for that, follow the link in Local push connectivity. Also, the situation with Hotspot Helpers remains the same: Using a Hotspot Helper, requires that Apple authorise that use via a managed capability. To apply for that, follow the link in Hotspot helper. IMPORTANT Pay attention to this quote from the documentation: NEHotspotHelper is only useful for hotspot integration. There are both technical and business restrictions that prevent it from being used for other tasks, such as accessory integration or Wi-Fi based location. The rest of this document answers some frequently asked questions about the Nov 2016 change. #1 — Has there been any change to the OS itself? No, this change only affects the process by which you get the capabilities you need in order to use existing Network Extension framework facilities. Previously these were managed capabilities, meaning their use was authorised by Apple. Now, except for app push providers and Hotspot Helper, you can enable the necessary capabilities using Xcode’s Signing & Capabilities editor or the Developer website. IMPORTANT Some Network Extension providers have other restrictions on their use. For example, a content filter can only be used on a supervised device. These restrictions are unchanged. See TN3134 Network Extension provider deployment for the details. #2 — How exactly do I enable the Network Extension provider capability? In the Signing & Capabilities editor, add the Network Extensions capability and then check the box that matches the provider you’re creating. In the Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles section of the Developer website, when you add or edit an App ID, you’ll see a new capability listed, Network Extensions. Enable that capability in your App ID and then regenerate the provisioning profiles based on that App ID. A newly generated profile will include the com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension entitlement in its allowlist; this is an array with an entry for each of the supported Network Extension providers. To confirm that this is present, dump the profile as shown below. $ security cms -D -i NETest.mobileprovision … <plist version="1.0"> <dict> … <key>Entitlements</key> <dict> <key>com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension</key> <array> <string>packet-tunnel-provider</string> <string>content-filter-provider</string> <string>app-proxy-provider</string> … and so on … </array> … </dict> … </dict> </plist> #3 — I normally use Xcode’s Signing & Capabilities editor to manage my entitlements. Do I have to use the Developer website for this? No. Xcode 11 and later support this capability in the Signing & Capabilities tab of the target editor (r. 28568128 ). #4 — Can I still use Xcode’s “Automatically manage signing” option? Yes. Once you modify your App ID to add the Network Extension provider capability, Xcode’s automatic code signing support will include the entitlement in the allowlist of any profiles that it generates based on that App ID. #5 — What should I do if I previously applied for the Network Extension provider managed capability and I’m still waiting for a reply? Consider your current application cancelled, and use the new process described above. #6 — What should I do if I previously applied for the Hotspot Helper managed capability and I’m still waiting for a reply? Apple will continue to process Hotspot Helper managed capability requests and respond to you in due course. #7 — What if I previously applied for both Network Extension provider and Hotspot Helper managed capabilities? Apple will ignore your request for the Network Extension provider managed capability and process it as if you’d only asked for the Hotspot Helper managed capability. #8 — On the Mac, can Developer ID apps host Network Extension providers? Yes, but there are some caveats: This only works on macOS 10.15 or later. Your Network Extension provider must be packaged as a system extension, not an app extension. You must use the *-systemextension values for the Network Extension entitlement (com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension). For more on this, see Exporting a Developer ID Network Extension. #9 — After moving to the new process, my app no longer has access to the com.apple.managed.vpn.shared keychain access group. How can I regain that access? Access to this keychain access group requires another managed capability. If you need that, please open a DTS code-level support request and we’ll take things from there. IMPORTANT This capability is only necessary if your VPN supports configuration via a configuration profile and needs to access credentials from that profile (as discussed in the Profile Configuration section of the NETunnelProviderManager Reference). Many VPN apps don’t need this facility. If you were previously granted the Network Extension managed capability (via the process in place before Nov 2016), make sure you mention that; restoring your access to the com.apple.managed.vpn.shared keychain access group should be straightforward in that case. Share and Enjoy — Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com" Revision History 2025-11-11 Removed the discussion of TSI assets because those are no longer a thing. 2025-09-12 Adopted the code-level support request terminology. Made other minor editorial changes. 2023-01-11 Added a discussion of Network Extension app push providers. Added a link to Exporting a Developer ID Network Extension. Added a link to TN3134. Made significant editorial changes. 2020-02-27 Fixed the formatting. Updated FAQ#3. Made minor editorial changes. 2020-02-16 Updated FAQ#8 to account for recent changes. Updated FAQ#3 to account for recent Xcode changes. Made other editorial changes. 2016-01-25 Added FAQ#9. 2016-01-6 Added FAQ#8. 2016-11-11 Added FAQ#5, FAQ#6 and FAQ#7. 2016-11-11 First posted.

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.

Hi everyone 👋 As a network engineer and indie iOS developer, I couldn’t find a lightweight mobile tool that fully supports IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack diagnostics — so I built NetToolbox -All-In-One Utility for engineers, DevOps, and developers. Here are its core features that solve real mobile networking pain points: One-Click Full Diagnostics: Integrates ping, traceroute, and multi-type DNS queries (A/AAAA/CNAME) — no need to switch between apps IPv4/IPv6 Dual-Stack Support: Seamlessly works in IPv6-only networks, with the ability to test connectivity differences between dual-stack environments LAN Device Scanning: Quickly identifies all devices on the same network segment and checks port availability Offline Functionality: Diagnostic logic is stored locally, enabling LAN troubleshooting without an internet connection Lightweight Design: 5MB install size, no storage bloat, and low power consumption during operation Dark Mode Support: Tailored for developers who work late at night During development, I leveraged Apple Intelligence alongside Claude Code and Gemini 3 to accelerate the process, optimize iOS native networking stack adaptation and local storage logic, and significantly boost development efficiency. I’d love to hear from the community: What must-have features are missing from mobile network diagnostic tools? Do you have experience optimizing iOS workflows with Apple Intelligence? 👉 You can try the app here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nettoolbox-all-in-one-utility/id6757392404 Feedback is highly appreciated — I’ll keep iterating to make it better! 🚀

When connecting to my M1 mac mini over ssh, certain programs are often unable to reach network destinations in the corporate LAN, although they can usually reach external addresses like www.apple.com. For example, a java program attempting to download from teamcity.dev.corp.com:8111 often fails like: java.net.NoRouteToHostException: No route to host Running the exact same command from the Apple Terminal program works like normal, simply connecting over ethernet on en0 to a TeamCity server inside the same building. Basic diagnostics from the ssh session do not show anything unusual: > traceroute teamcity.dev.corp.com traceroute to teamcity.dev.corp.com (10.21.4.1), 64 hops max, 40 byte packets 1 teamcity.dev.corp.com (10.21.4.1) 1.702 ms 0.409 ms 0.336 ms > route -n get teamcity.dev.corp.com route to: 10.21.4.1 destination: 10.21.4.1 interface: en0 flags: <UP,HOST,DONE,LLINFO,WASCLONED,IFSCOPE,IFREF> recvpipe sendpipe ssthresh rtt,msec rttvar hopcount mtu expire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1500 1194 > uname -a Darwin mac 25.1.0 Darwin Kernel Version 25.1.0: Mon Oct 20 19:32:47 PDT 2025; root:xnu-12377.41.6~2/RELEASE_ARM64_T8103 arm64 Similar problems occur in docker commands to a remote daemon ("no route to host" or "connection refused"): docker -H tcp://<ip>:<port> ... Most other programs are never affected by this problem. Are there other diagnostic steps that might reveal the cause?

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

Hello team, Would this mean that content filters intended for all browsing can only be implemented for managed devices using MDM? My goal would be to create a content filtering app for all users, regardless of if their device is managed/supervised. thanks.

Hi, I'm experiencing intermittent delays with URLSession where requests take 3-4 seconds to be sent, even though the actual server processing is fast. This happens randomly, maybe 10-20% of requests. The pattern I've noticed is I create my request I send off my request using try await urlSession.data(for: request) My middleware ends up receiving this request 4-7s after its been fired from the client-side The round trip ends up taking 4-7s! This hasn't been reproducible consistently at all on my end. I've also tried ephemeral URLSessions (so recreating the session instead of using .shared so no dead connections, but this doesn't seem to help at all) Completely lost on what to do. Please help!

We have an iOS companion app that talks to our IoT device over the device’s own Wi‑Fi network (often with no internet). The app performs bi-directional, safety-critical duties over that link. We use an NEAppPushProvider extension so the handset can keep exchanging data while the UI is backgrounded. During testing we noticed that if the user backgrounds the app (still connected to the device’s Wi‑Fi) and opens Safari, the extension’s stop is invoked with NEProviderStopReason.unrecoverableNetworkChange / noNetworkAvailable, and iOS tears the extension down. Until the system restarts the extension (e.g. the user foregrounds our app again), the app cannot send/receive its safety-critical data. Questions: Is there a supported way to stop a safety-critical NEAppPushProvider from being terminated in this “background app → open Safari” scenario when the device remains on the same Wi‑Fi network (possibly without internet)? If not, is NEAppPushProvider the correct extension type for an always-on local-network use case like this, or is there another API we should be using? For safety-critical applications, can Apple grant entitlements/exemptions so the system does not terminate the extension when the user switches apps but stays on the local Wi‑Fi? Any guidance on the expected lifecycle or alternative patterns for safety-critical local connectivity would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, I am making a AI-Powered app that makes api requests to the openai API. However, for security, I set up a vercel backend that handles the API calls securely, while my frontend makes a call to my vercel-hosted https endpoint. Interestingly, whenever I try to make that call on my device, an iPhone, I get this error: Task <91AE4DE0-2845-4348-89B4-D3DD1CF51B65>.<10> finished with error [-1003] Error Domain=NSURLErrorDomain Code=-1003 "A server with the specified hostname could not be found." UserInfo={_kCFStreamErrorCodeKey=-72000, NSUnderlyingError=0x1435783f0 {Error Domain=kCFErrorDomainCFNetwork Code=-1003 "(null)" UserInfo={_kCFStreamErrorDomainKey=10, _kCFStreamErrorCodeKey=-72000, _NSURLErrorNWResolutionReportKey=Resolved 0 endpoints in 3ms using unknown from query, _NSURLErrorNWPathKey=satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: pdp_ip0[lte], ipv4, ipv6, dns, expensive, uses cell}}, _NSURLErrorFailingURLSessionTaskErrorKey=LocalDataTask <91AE4DE0-2845-4348-89B4-D3DD1CF51B65>.<10>, _NSURLErrorRelatedURLSessionTaskErrorKey=( "LocalDataTask <91AE4DE0-2845-4348-89B4-D3DD1CF51B65>.<10>" ), NSLocalizedDescription=A server with the specified hostname could not be found., NSErrorFailingURLStringKey=https://[my endpoint], NSErrorFailingURLKey=https://[my endpoint], _kCFStreamErrorDomainKey=10} I'm completely stuck because when I directly make https requests to other api's like openai's endpoint, without the proxy, it finds the server completely fine. Running my endpoint on terminal with curl also works as intended, as I see api key usages. But for some reason, on my project, it does not work. I've looked through almost every single post I could find online, but a lot all of the solutions are outdated and unhelpful. I'm willing to schedule a call, meeting, whatever to resolve this issue and get help more in depth as well.

Hello to all I have coded in swift a headless app, that launches 3 go microservices and itself. The app listens via unix domain sockets for commands from the microservices and executes different VPN related operations, using the NEVPNManager extension. Because there are certificates and VPN operations, the headless app and two Go microservices must run as root. The app and microservices run perfectly when I run in Xcode launching the swift app as root. However, I have been trying for some weeks already to modify the application so at startup it requests the password and runs as root or something similar, so all forked apps also run as root. I have not succeeded. I have tried many things, the last one was using SMApp but as the swift app is a headless app and not a CLI command app it can not be embedded. And CLI apps can not get the VPN entitlements. Can anybody please give me some pointers how can I launch the app so it requests the password and runs as root in background or what is the ideal framework here? thank you again.

General: Forums subtopic: App & System Services > Networking DevForums tag: Network Extension Network Extension framework documentation Routing your VPN network traffic article Filtering traffic by URL sample code Filtering Network Traffic sample code TN3120 Expected use cases for Network Extension packet tunnel providers technote TN3134 Network Extension provider deployment technote TN3165 Packet Filter is not API technote Network Extension and VPN Glossary forums post Debugging a Network Extension Provider forums post Exporting a Developer ID Network Extension forums post Network Extension Framework Entitlements forums post Network Extension vs ad hoc techniques on macOS forums post Network Extension Provider Packaging forums post NWEndpoint History and Advice forums post Extra-ordinary Networking forums post Wi-Fi management: Understanding NEHotspotConfigurationErrorInternal forums post See also Networking Resources for general networking resources, including information about Wi-Fi. Share and Enjoy — Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

Hi there, We are facing some issues regarding TLS connectivity: Starting with iOS 26, the operating system refuses to open TLS sockets to local devices with self-signed certificates over Wi-Fi. In this situation, connection is no longer possible, even if the device is detected on the network with Bonjour. We have not found a workaround for this problem. We've tryied those solutions without success: Added the 'NSAppTransportSecurity' key to the info.plist file, testing all its items, such as "NSAllowsLocalNetworking", "NSExceptionDomains", etc. Various code changes to use properties such as "sec_protocol_options_set_local_identity" and "sec_protocol_options_set_tls_server_name" to no avail. Brutally import the certificate files into the project and load them via, for example, "Bundle.main.url(forResource: "nice_INTERFACE_server_cert", withExtension: "crt")", using methods such as sec_trust_copy_ref and SecCertificateCopyData. Download the .pem or .crt files to the iPhone, install them (now visible under "VPN & Device Management"), and then flag them as trusted by going to "Settings -> General -> Info -> Trust". certificates" The most critical part seems to be the line sec_protocol_options_set_verify_block(tlsOptions.securityProtocolOptions, { $2(true) }, queue) whose purpose is to bypass certificate checks and validate all of them (as apps already do). However, on iOS26, if I set a breakpoint on leg$2(true),` it never gets there, while on iOS 18, it does. I'll leave as example the part of the code that was tested the most below. Currently, on iOS26, the handler systematically falls back to .cancelled: func startConnection(host: String, port: UInt16) { self.queue = DispatchQueue(label: "socketQueue") let tlsOptions = NWProtocolTLS.Options() sec_protocol_options_set_verify_block(tlsOptions.securityProtocolOptions, { $2(true) }, queue) let parameters = NWParameters(tls: tlsOptions) self.nwConnection = NWConnection(host: .init(host), port: .init(rawValue: port)!, using: parameters) self.nwConnection.stateUpdateHandler = { [weak self] state in switch state { case .setup: break case .waiting(let error): self?.connectionDidFail(error: error) case .preparing: break case .ready: self?.didConnectSubject.onNext(Void()) case .failed(let error): self?.connectionDidFail(error: error) case .cancelled: self?.didDisconnectSubject.onNext(nil) @unknown default: break } } self.setupReceive() self.nwConnection.start(queue: queue) } These are the prints made during the procedure. The ones with the dot are from the app, while the ones without are warnings/info from Xcode: 🔵 INFO WifiNetworkManager.connect():52 - Try to connect onto the interface access point with ssid NiceProView4A9151_AP 🔵 INFO WifiNetworkManager.connect():68 - Connected to NiceProView4A9151_AP tcp_output [C13:2] flags=[R.] seq=215593821, ack=430284980, win=4096 state=CLOSED rcv_nxt=430284980, snd_una=215593821 nw_endpoint_flow_failed_with_error [C13 192.168.0.1:443 in_progress channel-flow (satisfied (Path is satisfied), viable, interface: en0[802.11], dns, uses wifi, LQM: unknown)] already failing, returning nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal_block_invoke [C13] Client called nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal_block_invoke [C13] Client called nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_connected_local_endpoint_block_invoke [C13] Client called nw_connection_copy_connected_local_endpoint on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_connected_remote_endpoint_block_invoke [C13] Client called nw_connection_copy_connected_remote_endpoint on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal_block_invoke [C14] Client called nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal_block_invoke [C14] Client called nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_connected_local_endpoint_block_invoke [C14] Client called nw_connection_copy_connected_local_endpoint on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_connected_remote_endpoint_block_invoke [C14] Client called nw_connection_copy_connected_remote_endpoint on unconnected nw_connection [C14 192.168.0.1:443 tcp, tls, attribution: developer] is already cancelled, ignoring cancel [C14 192.168.0.1:443 tcp, tls, attribution: developer] is already cancelled, ignoring cancel nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal_block_invoke [C15] Client called nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal_block_invoke [C15] Client called nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_connected_local_endpoint_block_invoke [C15] Client called nw_connection_copy_connected_local_endpoint on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_connected_remote_endpoint_block_invoke [C15] Client called nw_connection_copy_connected_remote_endpoint on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal_block_invoke [C16] Client called nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal_block_invoke [C16] Client called nw_connection_copy_protocol_metadata_internal on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_connected_local_endpoint_block_invoke [C16] Client called nw_connection_copy_connected_local_endpoint on unconnected nw_connection nw_connection_copy_connected_remote_endpoint_block_invoke [C16] Client called nw_connection_copy_connected_remote_endpoint on unconnected nw_connection [C16 192.168.0.1:443 tcp, tls, attribution: developer] is already cancelled, ignoring cancel [C16 192.168.0.1:443 tcp, tls, attribution: developer] is already cancelled, ignoring cancel 🔴 ERROR InterfaceDisconnectedViewModel.connect():51 - Sequence timeout.

In my app I have Local Push connectivity for local push notifications. My app has proper entitlment granted by Apple and NEAppPushProvider was working perfectly on older iOS versions before iOS26. The problem I faced with iOS26: when i enable VPN - NEAppPushProvider stops with reason /** @const NEProviderStopReasonNoNetworkAvailable There is no network connectivity. */ case noNetworkAvailable = 3. But device is still connected to proper SSID that is included to matchSSIDs. I discovered it only happens if my VPN config file include this line redirect-gateway def1 without that line NEAppPushProvider works as expected with enabled VPN. I use OpenVPN app. Is it a bug of iOS26 or I need some additional setup? Please help!

How often do we see control filter start and stop? I read somewhere that data filter is long lived and control Filter is short lived. When does the operating system kills the control filter process?

General: Forums subtopic: App & System Services > Networking TN3151 Choosing the right networking API Networking Overview document — Despite the fact that this is in the archive, this is still really useful. TLS for App Developers forums post Choosing a Network Debugging Tool documentation WWDC 2019 Session 712 Advances in Networking, Part 1 — This explains the concept of constrained networking, which is Apple’s preferred solution to questions like How do I check whether I’m on Wi-Fi? TN3135 Low-level networking on watchOS TN3179 Understanding local network privacy Adapt to changing network conditions tech talk TCP and UDP ports used by Apple software products support article Understanding Also-Ran Connections forums post Extra-ordinary Networking forums post Foundation networking: Forums tags: Foundation, CFNetwork URL Loading System documentation — NSURLSession, or URLSession in Swift, is the recommended API for HTTP[S] on Apple platforms. Moving to Fewer, Larger Transfers forums post Testing Background Session Code forums post Network framework: Forums tag: Network Network framework documentation — Network framework is the recommended API for TCP, UDP, and QUIC on Apple platforms. Building a custom peer-to-peer protocol sample code (aka TicTacToe) Implementing netcat with Network Framework sample code (aka nwcat) Configuring a Wi-Fi accessory to join a network sample code Moving from Multipeer Connectivity to Network Framework forums post NWEndpoint History and Advice forums post Wi-Fi (general): How to modernize your captive network developer news post Wi-Fi Fundamentals forums post Filing a Wi-Fi Bug Report forums post Working with a Wi-Fi Accessory forums post — This is part of the Extra-ordinary Networking series. Wi-Fi (iOS): TN3111 iOS Wi-Fi API overview technote Wi-Fi Aware framework documentation WirelessInsights framework documentation iOS Network Signal Strength forums post Network Extension Resources Wi-Fi on macOS: Forums tag: Core WLAN Core WLAN framework documentation Secure networking: Forums tags: Security Apple Platform Security support document Preventing Insecure Network Connections documentation — This is all about App Transport Security (ATS). WWDC 2017 Session 701 Your Apps and Evolving Network Security Standards [1] — This is generally interesting, but the section starting at 17:40 is, AFAIK, the best information from Apple about how certificate revocation works on modern systems. WWDC 2025 Session 314 Get ahead with quantum-secure cryptography Available trusted root certificates for Apple operating systems support article Requirements for trusted certificates in iOS 13 and macOS 10.15 support article About upcoming limits on trusted certificates support article Apple’s Certificate Transparency policy support article What’s new for enterprise in iOS 18 support article — This discusses new key usage requirements. Prepare your network environment for stricter security requirements support article — This is primarily of interest to folks developing management software, for example, an MDM server. Technote 2232 HTTPS Server Trust Evaluation Technote 2326 Creating Certificates for TLS Testing QA1948 HTTPS and Test Servers Miscellaneous: More network-related forums tags: 5G, QUIC, Bonjour On FTP forums post Using the Multicast Networking Additional Capability forums post Investigating Network Latency Problems forums post Share and Enjoy — Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com" [1] This video is no longer available from Apple, but the URL should help you locate other sources of this info.

Hi, after upgrading to MacOS Sequoia, my connection to my local IP address does not work. The issue is with the PF (MacOS advanced firewall), as I confirmed that my local application works disabling it temporarily. Does anyone know how can I do to solve this problem? As APP developer, this is a big problem for me. Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone, I'm building a health-focused iOS and watchOS app that uses WatchConnectivity to sync real-time heart rate and core body temperature data from iPhone to Apple Watch. While the HealthKit integration works correctly on the iPhone side, I'm facing persistent issues with WatchConnectivity — the data either doesn't arrive on the Watch, or session(_:didReceiveMessage:) never gets triggered. Here's the setup: On iPhone: Using WCSession.default.sendMessage(_:replyHandler:errorHandler:) to send real-time values every few seconds. On Apple Watch: Implemented WCSessionDelegate, and session(_:didReceiveMessage:) is supposed to update the UI. Both apps have WCSession.isSupported() checks, activate the session, and assign delegates correctly. The session state shows isPaired = true and isWatchAppInstalled = true. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are on, both devices are unlocked and nearby. Despite all this, the Watch never receives messages in real-time. Sometimes, data comes through in bulk much later or not at all. I've double-checked Info.plist configurations and made sure background modes include "Uses Bluetooth LE accessories" and "Background fetch" where appropriate. I would really appreciate guidance on: Best practices for reliable, low-latency message delivery with WatchConnectivity. Debugging steps or sample code to validate message transmission and reception. Any pitfalls related to UI updates from the delegate method. Happy to share further details. Thanks in advance!

Hello, I am currently investigating if we can disable usage of QUIC on application level. I know we can set enable_quic from /Library/Preferences/com.apple.networkd.plist to false but it will have a global impact since this is a system file, all the applications on machine will stop using QUIC. I don't want that. What i am looking for is to disable QUIC only for my application. Is there any way i can modify URLSession object in my application and disable QUIC? or modify URLSessionConfiguration so system will not use QUIC?

We have a macOS system extension with NETransparentProxyProvider which is able to intercept traffic and handle it. We also wanted to setup few search domains from our network extension. However, unlike PacketTunnelProvider, NEDNSSettings are completely ignored with NETransparentProxyProvider. So whats the best way to setup few DNS search domains when using NETransparentProxyProvider.

Hi, We're hoping someone can help us determine why we're running into some odd behavior where a simple HTTP request is intermittently failing with error code NSURLErrorTimedOut (-1001) Background: HTTP request details: The request is sent from a PacketTunnelProvider and is meant to be a Captive Portal check. The request is insecure (HTTP, instead of HTTPS) but we have configured App Transport Security (ATS) to allow insecure HTTP loads from this hostname. See info.plist excerpt below. The request is sent using NSMutableURLRequest/NSURLSessionDataTask using an Ephemeral session configuration. We only modify 2 properties on NSMutableURLRequest The timeoutInterval property is set to 5 seconds. The allowsCellularAccess property is set to NO. No headers or other configuration are modified. NSURLSessionDataTask completionHandler receives an NSError: We checked the NSError's userInfo dictionary for an underlying error (NSUnderlyingErrorKey). The underlying error shows the same code NSURLErrorTimedOut (-1001). We haven't seen any underlying errors with code NSURLErrorAppTransportSecurityRequiresSecureConnection (-1022) . On a laptop, we confirmed that the Captive portal check site is accessible and loads correctly. Laptop and iOS device are on the same Wi-fi. I've witnessed the error in the debugger, and been able to load the site on my laptop at the same time. So, we don't have any reason to believe this is server related. The PacketTunnelProvider is configured to only handle DNS queries and is not intercepting/routing the HTTP traffic. The DNS query for the Captive portal request is handled correctly. In fact, outside of the PacketTunnelProvider, all sites load in Mobile Safari. So, we're not breaking internet on this device. In other words, we have no reason to believe our DNS handling is interfering with the HTTP request since other HTTP requests are working as expected. We setup CFNetwork Diagnostic Logging (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/network/debugging-https-problems-with-cfnetwork-diagnostic-logging) In console.app, we are able to find some logging on the Timeout See excerpt from Console.app's log below. We confirmed that the nscurl tool did not flag the request (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/identifying-the-source-of-blocked-connections) All ATS tests run with nscurl were successful. See nscurl command used below. Questions: What are next steps to debug this intermittent timeout? What should we look for in the CFNetwork Diagnostic Logging to help debug the issue further? Thanks in advance for your help! ATS configuration setup in both the UI and the PacketTunnel's info.plist file: <key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key> <dict> <key>NSExceptionDomains</key> <dict> <key>subdomain.subdomain.example.com</key> <dict> <key>NSExceptionAllowsInsecureHTTPLoads</key> <true/> <key>NSIncludesSubdomains</key> <true/> </dict> </dict> </dict> Excerpt from Console.app's log: CFNetwork Example PacketTunnel 10836 Diagnostics default 11:30:33.029032-0700 CFNetwork Diagnostics [3:834] 11:30:32.946 { Did Timeout: (null) Loader: request GET http://subdomain.subdomain.example.com/content/cpcheck.txt HTTP/1.1 Timeout Interval: 5.000 seconds init to origin load: 0.000592947s total time: 5.00607s total bytes: 0 } [3:834] nscurl command $ /usr/bin/nscurl --ats-diagnostics --verbose http://subdomain.subdomain.example.com/content/cpcheck.txt