App hangs and Error message due to Windows API change

[HunterMSFT]

[!IMPORTANT]

Describe the Bug
Windows now requires location permissions in order to access Wi-Fi scan APIs. This change appears to impact Safe Exam Browser, which is throwing an error when it cannot access these APIs. There are details about this change and the actions an app should take here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/nativewifi/wi-fi-access-location-changes

Steps to Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:
1. Install any Windows Insider build
2. Turn off location in Settings>privacy & security> Location
4. Launch Safe Exam Browser
5. Observe "Fails to launch the app with "Session start error" post upgrade"

Expected Behavior
Safe Exam Browser should handle the case where location permission is not granted, and not throw an error.

Screenshots

REPRO_Start_Error_logs.zip

Version Information

• OS: Windows 11 24H2
• SEB-Version 3.7.1, maybe others

Additional Context
This change has been in Windows Insider builds since October 2023 https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/10/18/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25977-canary-channel/

[dbuechel]

Thanks for the report. I actually already stumbled upon the change by mere coincidence while reading the above linked documentation as I was rewriting the network adapter for the upcoming release version 3.8.0. The issue should thus hopefully be resolved, as the new implementation explicitly requests access as is recommend due to the changes.

Could you please try the latest beta build for SEB 3.8.0 to verify that it works as intended? The direct link to the current build is https://sebdev.ethz.ch/api/buildjobs/g3txpgcyf7aav1ol/artifacts/SEB_3.8.0.711_SetupBundle.exe.

[HunterMSFT]

That is great, we will test with the new app version and see if the issue persists. Thanks!

[dbuechel]

Excellent, that would be great, thanks as well.

[HunterMSFT]

We've confirmed that the issue no longer occurs in the latest beta version of the app 3.8.0.711

[dbuechel]

Great, thanks for the testing and feedback. It should actually work as is recommended in the documentation linked above, in that SEB asks for the required location permission and then acts accordingly.

[github-actions]

This issue is stale because it has been open for 28 days with no activity. It will soon be closed automatically if there are no updates.