Installing iOS Test Builds onto Devices

This short note describes how to install an iOS app developed in Xcode version 10.1 (10B61) onto an iOS device that you wish to use for testing. Note that you could install your app onto the target device by using Xcode instead but this is not always an option; for instance, you won't be able to do this if you want to install your app on a colleague's device, which you don't have physical access to.

The recipe

1. Go to the Apple Developer website.
2. Add your iOS device's UDID in the Devices section. As of a couple of months ago, you now need to use the Apple Configurator 2 app to get your device's UDID.
3. Find the developer certificate that you have been using in Xcode to sign your app. Note its name — you will need it when creating your provisioning profile.
4. Add an app identifier that matches your app's bundle identifier. E.g. if your bundle identifier is com.mystartup.myapp, then use this as your app identifier's ID value.
5. Create a provisioning profile. This links the developer certificate to the provisioning profile.
   1. Select the 'iOS App Development' type.
   2. Select the app identifier that you have just created.
   3. Select your developer certificate.
   4. Select the device UDIDs that you wish to target for your app's install.
   5. Give the profile a name.
6. Download the provisioning profile and double-click on it to make it available in Xcode.
7. In Xcode, associate the provisioning profile with your app's project.
   1. Disable automatic code signing management.
   2. Select the installed provisioning profile for all signing configurations — these appear once you turn off automatic code signing.
8. Build the app.
   1. Select Product > Archive.
   2. When the archive is created, select the new archive and click Distribute App.
   3. Select Development as Method of Distribution.
   4. Use App Thinning if you want to target a particular iOS device. If selected, this will reduce the overall file size of the output file.
   5. Select the developer certificate that you have used to sign your app — you noted its name above — and your recently installed provisioning profile.
   6. Once created, choose a location to save your build. The build file that you will need to install the app on iOS devices has an .ipa extension.
9. Install the app on a target device.
   1. Install Apple Configurator 2.
   2. Connect your iOS device to your computer.
   3. Drag and drop the .ipa file onto your device in the UI to install it.

If everything has gone to plan, the app should launch when tapped. Otherwise, you have a problem.