Hotspot Helper Request

No one here on DevForums can help you with this; none of us are involved in the Hotspot Helper approval process.

Having said that, my experience is that the vast majority of Hotspot Helper requests are rejected because they are not a support use case for the API. Quoting the documentation here:

hotspot networks are Wi-Fi networks where the user must interact with the network to gain access to the wider Internet

and:

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.

Also, you wrote:

I submitted the request on January 16, 2025

Most entitlement requests take a lot longer than that to process, usually weeks but sometimes months.

I can confirm that your request has landed with the right folks.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

How do I apply for the sub-permission "Packet Tunnel" under the Network Extension entitlement?

Any paid developers can create a packet tunnel provider [1]. Just enable the Network Extension capability in Xcode’s Signing & Capabilities editor, or for your App ID on the Developer website.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

[1] Or, indeed, any other other NE provider type with the exception of the app push provider. See Local push connectivity for more on that topic.

Why is there no "Packet Tunnel" option under "Network Extensions" in Identifiers & Capabilities? Thank you, my dear Eskimo, for your help. Could you please assist me with this issue? @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple

Why is there no "Packet Tunnel" option under "Network Extensions" in Identifiers & Capabilities?

The capabilities you add to your App ID flow through to the entitlement allowlist in your provisioning profile. If you dump the profile you’ll see that the NE entry in its allowlist authorises that App ID to use any of the standard NE provider values. In Xcode, in Signing & Capabilities, you get to choose which NE provider values your actually claim.

I think you’ve misunderstood how provisioning profiles work. I recommend you have a read of TN3125 Inside Code Signing: Provisioning Profiles.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

我现在想了解的是：packet tunnel权限需要向苹果公司单独申请吗？还是说所有苹果的开发者账号都可以使用，而无需申请？ 十分感谢您的解答@ The Eskimo！ @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple

Here’s my current question: Does the packet tunnel entitlement require a separate application to Apple, or is it available to all Apple developer accounts without the need for an additional application?

Thank you very much for your help, @The Eskimo! @Developer Technical Support @Apple

Any paid team can implement a packet tunnel provider. See Developer Account Help > Reference > Supported capabilities (iOS).

If you want to publish it on the App Store, note the additional restrictions in clause 5.4 of the App Review Guidelines.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"