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Cloudi-Fi Knowledge Base

How to generate a HAR file to troubleshoot web errors on Apple iPhone/iPad

Simranjeet Kahlon
  • Updated

The HAR (HTTP Archive) logs all web packets between the web browser and the end website. It records HTTP headers, cookies, query parameters, load times, response codes, and the sequence of events.

By analyzing this file, the support team can identify potential issues with performance, page rendering, and other aspects of web browsing. It can significantly help efficiently diagnose and resolve various problems and issues.

 

This document applies to the following iOS devices

  • iPhone
  • iPad

Below are the steps to follow to capture the HAR file on iOS

  1. On the iOS device (iPhone/iPad), navigate to Settings > Safari > AdvancediOS iPhone Safari advanced settings
  2. Enable Web Inspector. Please have a look at the screenshot below from an iPhone to understandiOS iPhone enable web inspector
  3. You can connect the iOS device to the MAC computer with a cable and ensure the system recognizes it. 
  4. On your MAC, open the Safari browser and make sure the ‘develop’ option is available in the menu bar at the top. 

If you don't see the ‘develop’ option, then follow the below steps to enable the developer options -

  • Click on Safari on the top menu bar.
  • Select Settings (for older MAC versions, it will be preferences). 

iOS Mac Book Safari settings

  • Navigate the mouse pointer to the advanced tab and click on it.
  • Scroll to the bottom and check the box ‘show features for the web developers.’

iOS MacBook advanced settings, enable show features for the web developers

  • On the Mac Computer, launch Safari and click on Develop. Here, select the relevant iOS device. 

iOS MacBook select the relevant iOS device

  • Reproduce the issue on the iOS device. You can open Safari on an iOS device and try to access any website like www.neverssl.com or ip.zscaler.com. Back on the MAC, you will see the session against your iOS device as shown below:

iOS MacBook reproduce the issue

  • Once clicked on the session, the information will be generated as shown below under the network option:

iOS MacBook network logs

  •  In the last step, Please click on preserve log and move to export to download the HAR file as shown below:

iOS MacBook preserve logs and export HAR file

HAR file analyzer: 

HAR Analyser is a tool or software that examines HAR files to help understand and troubleshoot network activity and performance issues. HAR files contain detailed logs of web requests and replies, including information like URLs, HTTP methods, codes, response times, etc.

In addition to sharing the file with the Cloudi-Fi support team, customers can also analyze the file using a HAR file analyzer. Google Admin Toolbox HAR Analyzer is the most commonly used HAR analyzer.

Additional Information

To capture a HAR file on Android, see this article.

To capture a HAR file on a computer, see this article.