How To Find Crash Logs Of An iOS Application?

The craze for iPhone devices and apps is creating hype all over the globe. You spin the globe, point at a place, and you will be able to locate ‘n’ number of iOS users over a specific region. Don’t believe me? Refer to the fact stated below as a reference to my stated point.

Wordwide Gross Consumer Spend by Store Q1 2017

The stats clearly show that iOS App Store Users are almost double the Google Play Store Users. This further provides clarity to the obvious fact that the increase in iOS Users is going to lead to the increased number of iOS Apps listed over the App Store and below is the reference to this underlying stated fact:

Number of available apps in the App store - From 2008 to 2017 - Statista

If there are apps, it is obvious to be indulged in some or other kind of error, and in this blog post, I am gonna discuss such errors, specifically about Crash Error. The name only comes with a web of questions or rather interrogations including ‘What is the Crash Error?’, ‘When users face this error?’, ‘How this error can be found?’, and I am here to provide answers to all your queries.

So, as our first step towards this approach, let’s get started with the basics.

What Is a Crash Error?

Before the release of your App in the production environment, one needs to execute a lot of Software Testing to make sure the application is bug-free. The designed iOS App may work well on the device, but when the application becomes live in the App Store, it may pave the way for some errors on the user’s interface, thus leading to crash errors.

This error basically signals crashes in designed applications that mainly occurs due to the improper functioning of the software application or operating system.

Example of Crash Error

When Do You Face Crash Errors?

These types of errors only show up during two phases:

  1. When the application is in the developing phase.
  2. When the application is in the production environment.

A Mobile Tester must be aware of the fact that these kinds of errors occur due to many reasons. Yes, you read it right, there are many reasons behind the flashing of Crash Error!

Poor Memory Management

Indeed, poor memory management is one of the most common and serious reasons for crashing the app on mobile devices, especially low-end mobiles and tablets.

Error And Exception Handling

Given the complications of mobile development, some serious errors are unavoidable, whether it’s an unexpected change in an API, slow response of API, a memory problem, or a network condition that ends connectivity or even just slows data speeds while sending the larger files like images, videos, audios, etc.

In this way, an app can’t get thrown by an unexpected attempt to divide by zero, an inaccurately entered response from a user, an API that suddenly started providing text as a response instead of a numeric value, or the temporary loss of connectivity. In these cases, the developer needs to handle the exceptions.

Poor Network Management

As apps are mostly depending on network access, either for data or for third-party services, network management has increased as a source of the problem.

“The most important reason for app crashes is the responsiveness and your app hanging when wanting some data, or you have submitted something and you’re waiting for a response,” says Pravin Vazirani, associate vice president of operations for Chetu, a software development consultancy. It could be that the developer had a good Wi-Fi connection, but the user is on a mobile network in an area with a bad network.

Compatibility Issue

In most cases, your hardware and software are developed independently, but it is expected as the app should work properly.

The team spends much time planning and developing their application, and they want all of their customers (who all are using different types of mobile devices) to have the same expected user experience. Of Course! Everyone wants the best result.

There are devices that fulfill fewer hardware requirements. But they often crash apps.  Here, developers need to input additional efforts to avoid these crashes. This is where IOS crash logs come very frequently.

Multiple Apps In The Device

A lot of apps may crash one another, thus leading to a user experience with frequent crashes. The user needs to check how many apps are on their device. It is recommended to uninstall the apps that are not in the use.

A user drowning in mobile apps

Issues Related To the Database

If the app generates a bad response from the query or excessive sessions, it might lead to slow performance. It may lead the frequent crashes or hang the app.

Lack Of Good Testing

“Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it.” ~Peter Drucker

Keeping the above quote in the mind, the product always requires quality testing. I don’t mean that the tester hasn’t performed testing, but a lot of scenarios can be skipped, which is required in mobile testing.

For example, If any module of the app is trying to read a database at the same time and another module is trying to update/modify the records in the same database. Let’s say, you logged in to the App. So one thread of the app is trying to get the response from the database and at the same time, the user clicks on another module of the app and tries to update the record in the same database. These types of scenarios can be skipped during testing.

Another condition may be the lack of real devices and it is often not possible to keep all types of devices since simulator/Emulator wouldn’t exhibit the same basic performance limitations of a mobile device, so the race condition isn’t possible.

There are many services that run pairings of different devices and variations of operating systems and make them available, but that would likely be excessively more expensive than a simulator/Emulator. Budget matters here.

Ways To Capture The iOS Application’s Crash Logs

There are multiple ways to get the crash logs of IOS applications. But in my post, I will be explaining a few of the methods.

For Windows 10/Window 7/Window XP:

Install iTools (Freeware) on Windows from the below link:

http://download.cnet.com/iTools/3000-18546_4-75629761.html

1. Connect your iPhone device to the window using USB.

2. The device will be auto-detected by the windows.

iTools Interface

3. Open iTools and you need to wait till your iPhone device is visible.
4. Go to the menu-> You will see Crash Reports and Console Reports under device toolkits.

Application Menu: Crash Reports and Console Reports

5. Collect all Crash Reports from the ‘Crash Reports’ module, now you can collect crash report date wise.

Collect all Crash Reports from the 'Crash Reports' module

For Window 7/XP Users

  1. It is a prerequisite to installing iTunes to get the IOS crash logs, you can download iTunes from https://www.imore.com/how-install-itunes-12-windows-10.
  2. Connect your device to Window and Launch iTunes, your device name should appear in iTunes on the left side, under ‘Devices’.
  3. Open any Windows Explorer Window like My Computer.
  4. Enter %appdata%, and press enter to find the Crashes of the connected devices.
  5. Navigate to Roaming > Apple computer > Logs > CrashReporter > Mobile Device > Device Name.
  6.  You will find one item starting with ‘ReadItLaterPro’. Copy these crash logs.
  7. Send crashes to the developer.

For Mac Users:

  1. Install iTunes to get the IOS crash logs, you can download iTunes from https://www.imore.com/how-install-itunes-12-windows-10.
  2. Connect your device to Mac.
  3. Choose the devices under the “Devices” module.
  4.  Now click the “View Devices Logs” button.
  5. A sheet will appear which displays the crash logs to get the device.
  6.  Click on the left column to view the crash logs and if you want to view them in detail, you need to see them on the right.

Find the crash logs on the IOS mobile:

1. Go to the settings section.

2. Now navigate to the Privacy tab.

Find the crash logs on the IOS mobile:

3. Next, scroll down and find Diagnostics & Usage.

Diagnostic & Usage

4. Click on Diagnostics & Usage data.

Click on Diagnostics & Usage data.

5. Now find your recent Minecraft pocket edition IOS crash logs.

Recent Minecraft pocket edition IOS crash logs

6. Now open the file and copy all of the contents.

Wrapping Things Up

I hope things are much clearer now. So, after providing a spotlight to the Crash Error, I am sure you are ready to spot the reason for the crash in the IOS applications.

Stay tuned for more such updates.

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