Here are some of the common issues people face when working with Android and Charles. Details on how to fix these issues has also been included.
Time Outs
The app or browser keeps timing out
Check if the local IP address of your Mac has changed
If it has changed, it means your device can no longer talk to your Mac. Essentially your Android device has no internet connection!
Access Denied
My IP address hasn’t changed and I still can’t see traffic from my device on Charles
If you see a message in the bottom left-hand corner of Charles about ‘Denying access ….’, the fix is actually quiet straightforward
Restart Charles. Return to your browser/app and reload the page/screen
Go back to Charles and you should now see a dialog (see next screenshot below) about accepting a connection from you device
Click ‘Allow’
Why did this happen?
This error can occur if you dismiss the dialog (by clicking the red circle) or accidentally click ‘Deny’ button
The dialog message says “If you deny this you will not be asked again for this host address until you restart Charles”.
Managing local IP address
The ‘Access Control Settings’ screen lists the local IP addresses of all devices that can communicate with your instance of Charles
Using PlayStore Apps
I’ve “Enabled SSL Proxying” but I still can’t view the traffic
If you’re device’s is running Android 7 (Nougat) or higher, you can NOT decrypt HTTPS traffic!
There are only way 2 ways of viewing encrypted traffic on Android devices:
- Use a device that runs Android 6 or lower
- Build your own app
Using a work laptop
I’ve done everything and Charles STILL doesn’t connect
If you are using a work laptop and Charles still isn’t working, check if there is any pre-install software that could stop Charles from working e.g. Zscaler, Cisco Umbrella
If allowed, turn off each application one by one to see if that resolves the problem
The Zscaler icon is highlighted in the adjacent screenshot
Certificate failed to install on Android 11
I get an error when I try to install the cert
If you try to install the cert from the Downloads folder on an Android 11 device, you will now get an error
The new Android OS only allows users to install certs from within the Settings app. Open the Settings app, then go to Security -> Encryption & credentials -> Install a certificate
This is a good article if you want to learn more about this change
