How to find the iPhone/iPad App Crash Logs

While troubleshooting crashes, we may request a crash log to determine what is happening. Here are instructions for finding a crash log for iOS on Mac and Windows.

What is a log file?

A log file is simply a file that records events that happen while iOS or apps run on your iOS device.

Obtaining CRASH LOGS from device.

iTunes will automatically save any crash logs from your iOS devices after the device is plugged in to your computer and synced with iTunes. Crash logs are saved to the following locations based on your computer's operating system.

Accesing CRASH LOGS

  • Mac OS X: ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice/<DEVICE_NAME>
  • Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\Application Data\Apple Computer\Logs\CrashReporter\MobileDevice\<DEVICE_NAME>
  • Windows Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\Logs\CrashReporter\MobileDevice\<DEVICE_NAME>
Notes.
<USERNAME> is the user’s login name for the computer.
<DEVICE_NAME> is the name of the iOS device, for example, “Peter&'s iPhone”. On Windows the 'AppData' directory is a hidden by default. To see it you will need to set your Folder Options to 'Show hidden files, folders, and drives'.
WINDOWS USERS:
  • Open Windows Explorer.
  • Enter %APPDATA% in the Address bar.
  • Press the Enter key.
  • Navigate to Apple Computer\Logs\CrashReporter\MobileDevice\<DEVICE_NAME>
Folder with device logs should look like the following image:
MAC USERS: Directories ~/Library and ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice are hidden by default on Mac OS X. To easily get this folder, open the Finder application, then hold the "option" key while clicking on the "Go" menu. You should see a menu item for "Library." Click on that, then continue navigating to Logs, CrashReporter, etc. If you can't see /MobileDevice in ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter directory please do the following:
  • Open Finder.
  • Select Go > Go to Folder from the menu.
  • Enter (or copy & paste):~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice into the Go to Folder dialog.
Directory with listed devices should look the following image:

For more information about the logs please refer to Apple official documentation.