KB43785 - Pulse Mobile for iOS is intermittently disconnecting and end users are unable to connect after upgrading to Pulse Mobile for iOS 6.7.0.76583

This article describes an issue where Pulse Mobile for iOS is intermittently disconnecting and end users are unable to connect after upgrading to Pulse Mobile for iOS 6.7.0.76583.

After upgrading to Pulse Mobile for iOS 6.7.0.76583, end users may experience the following symptoms:

1. End user is actively using the device and puts Pulse Mobile for iOS appp in background, then the VPN tunnel will disconnect.
2. End user may be able to reconnect but the VPN tunnel will immediately disconnected or the end user may be constantly prompted to launch the Pulse Mobile for iOS app via the web interface.

This issue impacts all iOS versions but issue is more prevalent in older devices below iPhone 6.

This issue occurs due to highwater (process part of iOS software) killing or blocking the neagent process. Due to available memory concerns for the device and the memory usage of the Pulse Mobile for iOS app uses to control the VPN tunnel, highwater may block the neagent process causing the disconnect.

From the PulseSecurePluginService.log, the issue is seen when there are a large number of split tunneling route entries printed in the log below:

20180604154344.483617 PulseVPN.bundle[p619.t1031] info DSPluginController::routeAddDestination, m_currConfig: {

Once the tunnel is connected, the log entry will appear stating the Plugin started.  This is a symptom of the neagent being closed by high-water.

20180521121556.589697 PulseVPN.bundle[p839.t1031] info Setting tunnel status to connected... (DSPluginController.m:2705)
20180521151747.34394 PulseVPN.bundle[p937.t1031] info Plugin started (DSPlugin.mm:138)

Additionally, in device console log, the following entry will confirm highwater is blocking the neagent process.

kernel[0] <Notice>: 203394.229 memorystatus: killing_highwater_process pid 3920 [neagent] (highwater 14) - 
memorystatus_available_pages: 19079

To workaround the issue, rebooting the iOS device will provide temporarily resolution to the issue.  Depending on the device and the amount of flash memory available on the device, it is recommended to keep the number of open applications minimized on the device to help avoid the issue.

Pulse Secure apologizes for the inconvenience caused by this issue.The Pulse Secure Mobile Client 6.8.0 for iOS which has the fix for this issue will be released on the AppStore on 9th July.

If further assistance is required, please open a support ticket with the following logs:

1. Pulse client logs KB28011 - How to collect logs for Pulse Mobile for iOS?
2. KB29675 - How to get iPhone/iPad device console logs in iOS7 and up