iPhone & iPad

Tapscope reaches Safari and inspectable WebViews on your device over USB or Wi-Fi. The device has to trust this Mac, stay unlocked and have Web Inspector turned on.

Device service not reachable

Shown in Tapscope usbmuxd not reachable

macOS talks to iPhone and iPad through a system service called usbmuxd. Tapscope uses the same service and cannot see any device while it is not running.

Connect the device with a cable and check whether it appears in the Finder sidebar.
Restart the service with the first command below (asks for your Mac password), or restart the Mac.
Run tapscope doctor. The usbmuxd line should now say the socket is present.

sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/com.apple.usbmuxd
tapscope doctor

Trust this Mac

Shown in Tapscope Not trusted yet · Tap Trust on the device

An iPhone or iPad shares nothing with a computer it does not trust. The trust is set up once per Mac, always over a cable.

Unlock the device and connect it to the Mac with a cable.
When the device asks “Trust This Computer?”, tap Trust and enter the device passcode.
No dialog? Select the device in the Finder sidebar; this makes macOS ask again.
Tapscope connects automatically as soon as the trust is in place.

Device locked

Shown in Tapscope Device locked

A locked device refuses new debugging connections.

Unlock the device with its passcode. Tapscope connects automatically.
For longer sessions, set Settings › Display & Brightness › Auto-Lock to Never and switch it back afterwards.

Pairing no longer valid

Shown in Tapscope Pairing no longer valid

The device no longer accepts the pairing stored on this Mac, for example after a reset or after “Don’t Trust” was tapped.

On the device open Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Reset › Reset Location & Privacy. This also resets the location and privacy permissions of your apps.
Reconnect the device with a cable and tap Trust.
Keep the device unlocked until it appears in Tapscope with its pages.

No inspectable pages

Shown in Tapscope No Inspectable Pages

The device is connected, but it offers nothing to debug. Safari only shares its tabs when Web Inspector is on, and apps only share WebViews they mark as inspectable.

Turn on Settings › Apps › Safari › Advanced › Web Inspector. On older iOS versions: Settings › Safari › Advanced.
Open a page in Safari and keep Safari in the foreground. If you have just turned Web Inspector on, quit Safari once or restart the device.
Your own app: install it from Xcode and set isInspectable on the WebView (iOS 16.4 and later), as in the line below.
Apps from the App Store or TestFlight cannot be inspected; Apple does not allow it.

webView.isInspectable = true

Web Inspector not reachable

Shown in Tapscope Web Inspector not reachable

The device is known, but its Web Inspector service did not answer.

Unlock the device and keep Safari or your app in the foreground.
Unplug the cable and plug it in again. Over Wi-Fi, check that Mac and device are on the same network.
Still nothing: quit Safari on the device or restart the device.
Run tapscope doctor; the line for your device shows the last error.

tapscope doctor

Debug over Wi-Fi

Shown in Tapscope Device listed without cable

After a one-time setup, Tapscope also reaches the device over Wi-Fi.

Connect the device once with a cable and trust this Mac.
In Safari on the Mac, turn on Settings › Advanced › Show features for web developers.
Choose Develop › your device › Connect via Network, then unplug the cable.
Keep Mac and device on the same network. Tapscope switches between cable and Wi-Fi on its own.

Page does not respond

Shown in Tapscope Page is not responding

iOS pauses pages that are not visible. A tab in the background or a locked screen stops answering the debugger.

Unlock the device and bring the tab or app to the foreground.
Click Reconnect in Tapscope.
To avoid it, set Auto-Lock to Never while you debug.

Still stuck?

Run the diagnosis in Terminal. It checks every connection Tapscope needs and prints the next step for each problem.

tapscope doctor

Send us its output and we will help: support@tapscope.ch