Introduction

For applications designed to run on mobile devices, the Make It Native app enables developers to preview, test, and debug native mobile applications in conjunction with Mendix Studio Pro. The app is available for both Android and iOS devices. Depending on the laptop settings and network configuration, the Make It Native app may fail to connect to the runtime. These issues are often caused by a firewall preventing the device from accessing the laptop. In such cases, opening the runtime URL from a mobile browser will not work.

If this occurs, the screen shown below will appear in the Make It Native application:

We've encountered a connection issue.
Runtime is not running at:

Environment

Native Mobile 

Instructions/Procedure

To resolve this issue, configure the firewall to allow incoming traffic on the runtime port and native packing port (default ports: 8080 and 8083). The process applies to both Windows and Mac laptops.

1. Ensure that the laptop and the mobile device running the Make It Native app are connected to the same network.
2. Ensure that the laptop is connected to the private network.

2.1 Navigate to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi, and select the currently connected network.

2.2 Select Private network.

3. Navigate to Configure firewall and security settings via Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi > connected network.

4. A pop-up message will appear, click Yes.

5. Navigate to Firewall & network protection and then click Advanced settings.

6. A new pop-up will appear, click Yes.
7. The Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security page will be opened, select Inbound Rules.

8. Click New Rule in the Actions pane on the left side.

9. Select Port, then click Next.

10. Enter the required values in Specific local ports, then click Next.

Ensure that the runtime port of the application is included in Specific local ports. Find the runtime port in Studio Pro by navigating to App Explorer > App > Settings > Configurations > Server.

11. On the Action and Profile page, select the required option as shown, then click Next.

12. Enter a name in the Name field, then click Finish.
13. Repeat the same steps from Step 8 for the Outbound Rules.

At the end, the rules created will appear in both Inbound Rules and Outbound Rules. The rule names can be the same for both.

Outcome

After following the steps, it will be possible to preview, test, and debug native mobile applications with the Make It Native application on Android and iOS devices.

Additional information

Mendix documentation:

• Getting the Make It Native App
• Native App Prerequisites and Troubleshooting