How to circulate your iOS app for testing without using XCode? - iphone

I have an initial build of my app which I want to circulate for testing to few others who do not have XCode with them. All I want to do is pass them the binary which they will install to their devices using iTunes. I have created my developer certificate, created an app id and added the device udids in my provisioning portal.
So now can I directly email them the binary and ask them to drag and drop into itunes and then on the device ?
Thanks!

I tested it myself and it's amazing: You should try Testflight.
It's a simple to use service (free) that allows you to distribute your adHoc builds easy and fast (might sound like advertising but it's really one of the best tools I came across).

Build archive and it will appear in organizer. There is big Share button that allows you to save ipa file which you pass on to testers.

Related

How to test iphone app on remote location

I have created an iPhone application. I don't have the iPhone and I want to test the application on the iPhone of my friend who is far from me. How can I test it on his iPhone?
When I searched on google, it told me that you need to have the device with you. Is it possible to send the wrap and send the application to a remote location and get tested from there? I also have the Apple ID and license.
Yes with a tool like TestFlight you will be able to check wether or not your will work on a device. Thus is good for acceptance testing but never for technical working of an app.
But when it comes to really testing a device is needed, there is not way around it. You should do performance testing on a device.
Also there is no way to use the debugger unless it is connected to your development machine.
If you are developing for iOS get an iOS device.
It's possible, check Test Flight:
https://testflightapp.com/
I used it in the past for the same scenario as you
You should have a device yourself for testing on, before you publish anything in the App Store. Testing in the simulator is just not the same as testing on a device.
On developer.apple.com you will need to create a Ad Hoc distribution profile. You will also need to add all the devices you want to run the app on to this profile. Once you have the profile and you have it installed in Xcode, you can run an Archive build and sign it with the distribution profile. After this you can select the archive and click on 'Distribute...' to generate a .ipa file.
Once you have this .ipa file, you could use a site like testflightapp.com to distribute the app to test-devices. (you could also just email it ;-) )
If you are looking for just a way to transfer the ipa to someone else the best simplest solution for that would be http://www.diawi.com/ or https://appsendr.com
Get the target Device UDID and add it to your testing list, Create your IPA, drag it to the site above, Done.
No need to signup or anything like that.
I like appsendr better because of the small app they provide.
Lets you drag the IPA to your tool bar and have the ipa url right in your clipboard once it's uploaded.

Can I make an IPA file for iOS devices that are not in the provisioning profile?

I found a way to make a ipa file:
Add necessary profiles and adjust build settings.
Set device as target to run the application.
Build the product.
Go to Products->yourAppName.app. Right click and show in finder.
Drag & drop to itunes profile and binary file.(drag it to Apps)
Select app in iTunes and right click to show in Finder. And there you can get the .ipa file.
But, the devices which are not in the development team can not install it?
Or, did I miss some configuration steps?
Do we have a way to solve this?
No this is NOT possible. The only way to install an app on a device without using the app store is with the ad-hoc method provided by apple, some info about this is found here. For the ad-hoc method you will always need the UDID of the device you want the app to be installed on.
There are a couple of alternatives
You will need an "Enterprise Certificate" for your business. This allows you to install on any device. However Apple does not issue them lightly but if you are working for BigCorp LTD you might be able to get one.
Or use TestFlight at www.testflightapp.com to distribute your build. Im not sure if thats predicated by you having a Enterprise cert in the first place. Check them out.
You can also build the IPA the official way. Just create an ad-hoc provisioning profile, tell Xcode to use it for the Release build and choose Product → Archive. When the Organizer pops up with the app archive, choose Distribute and Save for Enterprise or Ad-Hoc Deployment. Then choose your identity and voila, you get the IPA.
But in either case the provisioning profile has to contain a list of all devices the app is supposed to run on, AFAIK there’s no official way around that.
I used to build .ipa package by the same method with you. But this kind of ipa WITHOUT provisioning profile in package, so it could be run only in iOS devices which has been jailbreak.

How can I deliver iOS app to tester that hasn't got a mac

I'm developing an iOS application (I have macbook) and I have an apple developer's account.
How can I deliver iPhone app to tester that hasn't got a mac?
Tester's phone is not jailbroken (I can't build deb)
I recommend using the Test Flight service. It allows you to upload builds of your application and distribute then to testers via their website.
They have a great help section to get you started.
EDIT: Oh, and it's free for the basic service.
I hope that helps. Good luck.
They can run itunes on a windows machine too. But if they don't have a computer at all there is another option. You can distribute it via a link.
Its really easy. Prepare to do an adhoc distribution as usual and then click the "Enterprise Distribution" tick box.
Then add the URL to where the final .ipa will be. I usualyl fill in the app name on the second line as well but never fill the rest in.
e.g
http://www.yourdomain.com/YourApp/YourApp.ipa
Then upload the created .plist and .ipa to the relevant URL so that the 2 files are available as:
http://www.yourdomain.com/YourApp/YourApp.ipa
http://www.yourdomain.com/YourApp/YourApp.plist
Now finally create a simple HTML page and upload it to your site.
<http>
<body>
<c><font size="20">Click here to install YourApp</font></c>
</body>
</http>
Now send them a link to the above HTML page and they are good to install.
Be warned: You must have the tester's UDID in the adhoc distribution profile certificate or this will not work.
Follow these steps:
Include the users' udids into your adhoc distribution profile
certificate (same step as in Goz's answer).
In Xcode, use the Archive function and sign the code with the adhoc profile
certificate.
In Organizer, create the .ipa file for distribution.
Send the .ipa file to your users (i.e. via email).
Ask them to drag and drop the .ipa file into Applications section of iTunes for Windows and synchronize their devices.
You must have Mac OS and Mac machine to develop them. You will need XCode installed on Mac OSX to code, run and test your application.
If you do not want to buy Mac you can install Mac OSX on PC referring this link thats called Hackintosh. This works fine on PC if you follow steps properly:
http://tonymacx86.blogspot.in/2011/07/xmove-multibeast-install-os-x-107-lion.html
If that's not a possible, you may consider inviting the person over physically or to do it virtually via ex. Teamviewer or any other remote desktop protocol.
The most convenient and time saving approach that I have used so far is Test Flight. The integration is seamlessly easy. You can share files with testers and it does not require you to have a system.
The main steps are
1)Download and integrate Testflight SDK after creating a valid account (Login required).
2) Integrate the SDK with iPhone application (Though it isn't mandatory if you only wish to distribute the application and not track its usage and reporting purpose).
3) Create you team and upload build on Portal.
4) Subsequently allow testers to have access to the permitted devices mentioned in provisioning profile.
You can manage Multiple teams and applications at a single place. Hope it helps.

Testing on a second iPhone

I have developed my first full fledged iPhone app, and tested it on my phone. I would like to have it tested by one of the contributing graphic artists on their iPhone. They live in another state so I do not have access to their device. I added their Device ID to the apple portal.
A couple of questions:
I do not see the device show in Xcode when I hit refresh. Should I be seeing it?
Which executable file(s) do I send to them?
Look at testflight. It makes distributing apps very easy. Since you have already included the designers device ID, all you have to do is:
Sign up to test flight
invite the designer and tell him to register and add his device info
go to apple developer portal - provisioning - distribution and create a new distribution profile (don't forget to add the designers device when creating the profile), download and open the certificate (which will be shown in Xcode's Window>Organizer) - make sure that the correct certificates are selected in your build settings.
make sure that iOS device is selected ( and not the simulator) now in Xcode go to Product>Archive, when the archive is shown click distribute>adhoc distribution
this will create an IPA file.
upload this to test flight and follow the instructions to select the designer from your team.
Use TestFlight. It's free, takes 5 mins to install their API, and gives step by step instructions on how to push your app to any tester over the air.
Add their device id to your developer account, Update your adhoc profile (which you are using for running your app on device) attach their device with this profile. Now again sign your build with updated profile and give this APP file and provisioning profile to others or upload it on TestFlight.

how to deploy custom iphone apps to devices from a pc

I made an app with xcode, and now I want to share it with a few others. The problem is I live in different provinces as them and they do not have a mac. I would rather not go through the app store and I don't mind getting the enterprise developer account if it is necessary. Does anyone know how I can go about doing so?
What you need is Ad Hoc distribution. You could also use a tool as Testflight, and let your other users download your app over the air.
Use testflight or other over the air installation tools. You'll need a valid Ad-Hoc Certificate that includes the devices it's going to be installed on. Check this for more infos on the topic!
Finally, you can just send them an .ipa if you don't have a server (you can get that from XCode) and they can drag it into iTunes to install the application. It will sync the next time they sync their devices to their computer
Just Extract you ipa.
In PC/Windows, Drag ipa to iTunes.
Synchronize iTunes with device.