Common Problems – Android

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

# 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

# Expired MacOS Root Certificate

Charles has stopped decrypting traffic!

To comply with Apple’s changes to certificate expiry dates, from Charles 4.6 onwards, all certs will have a 1 year expiry date

Read this article to create a new cert

TL;DR – delete your cert and install a new one

# 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