Is There a Reliable Way to Check Local Network Permission Status in 2025?
I've read many similar requests, but I'm posting this in 2025 to ask:
Is there any official or reliable method to check the current Local Network permission status on iOS 18.x?
We need this to guide or navigate users to the appropriate Settings page when permission is denied.
Background
Our app is an IoT companion app, and Local Network access is core to our product's functionality. Without this permission, our app cannot communicate with the IoT hardware. Sadly, Apple doesn't provide any official API to check the current status of this permission.
This limitation has caused confusion for many users, and we frequently receive bug reports simply because users have accidentally denied the permission and the app can no longer function as expected.
Our App High Level Flow:
1. Trigger Permission
We attempt to trigger the Local Network permission using Bonjour discovery and browsing methods. (see the implementation)
Since there's no direct API to request this permission, we understand that iOS will automatically prompt the user when the app makes its first actual attempt to communicate with a local network device.
However, in our case, this creates a problem:
The permission prompt appears only at the time of the first real connection attempt (e.g., when sending an HTTP request to the IoT device).
This results in a poor user experience, as the request begins before the permission is granted.
The first request fails silently in the background while the permission popup appears unexpectedly.
We cannot wait for the user's response to proceed, which leads to unreliable behavior and confusing flows.
To avoid this issue, we trigger the Local Network permission proactively using Bonjour-based discovery methods. This ensures that the system permission prompt appears before any critical communication with the IoT device occurs.
We’ve tried alternative approaches like sending dummy requests, but they were not reliable or consistent across devices or iOS versions. (see the support ticket)
2. Wi-Fi Connection:
Once permission is granted, we allow the user to connect to the IoT device’s local Wi-Fi.
3. IoT Device Configuration:
After connecting, we send an HTTP request to a known static IP (e.g., 192.168.4.1) on the IoT network to configure the hardware.
I assume this pattern is common among all Wi-Fi-based IoT devices and apps.
Problem:
Even though we present clear app-level instructions when the system prompt appears, some users accidentally deny the Local Network permission. In those cases, there’s no API to check if the permission was denied, so:
We can’t display a helpful message.
We can’t guide the user to Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network to re-enable it.
The app fails silently or behaves unpredictably.
Developer Needs:
As app developers, we want to handle negative cases gracefully by:
Detecting if the Local Network permission was denied
Showing a relevant message or a prompt to go to Settings
Preventing silent failures and improving UX
So the question is:
What is the current, official, or recommended way to determine whether Local Network permission is granted or denied in iOS 18.x (as of 2025)?
This permission is critical for a huge category of apps especially IoT and local communication-based products. We hope Apple will offer a better developer experience around this soon.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can share updated guidance.
