I am developing an iphone / ipad application. My plan is to have my beta customers use it before I have submitted it to the app store to help me work out all the issues.
Nonetheless, they will be entering real information to the application. Thus, I would like them to be able to back up the application to iTunes using the sync feature.
I expected this would work normally, but as it turns out, I don't see the application in the list of apps that can by synched. My guess is that this is because I'm using a development provisioning profile.
Can anyone confirm this guess? Or better yet, has anyone out there successfully synched an app that is under development (not yet in the app store).
Thanks in advance.
Yes, I think you are right.
You need to build your app signed not as developer but with adhoc distribution certificate. You can find more about it on iPhone Developers Portal. Then you can find your app on your disk. You and your beta-testers can install your app via iTunes -
Drag and Drop your adhoc certificate file on iTunes
Drag and Drop your app package on iTunes.
Sync iPhone with iTunes - and you have your app installed and sync.
Backing up data to iTunes works just fine for me. I'm installing the app with my development certificate--not with ad hoc distribution. But, you'll probably want to use ad hoc to send the app to your testers, so some of this won't apply (see below if you're interested).
I can tell you that one of the biggest categories of support requests I get is people having issues with losing data after upgrading their device, the OS on their device, or my app. It might be a good idea to give your users a way to back up their data, whether it's Dropbox integration, a custom server, or some other solution.
On a number of occasions, I've upgraded the OS on my iOS devices and had the data come back when I restore the device after the upgrade, even for apps installed using my developer certificate. If you're really unsure, you can always back up your data using the XCode organizer (go to the organizer, select the device, find your app under Applications, expand it, and press the arrow button to the right of Application Data), back up your device using iTunes, and then do a restore using either XCode or iTunes. The data should be there after you re-install the app using XCode (the iTunes backup restore will restore the data, but not the app).
Related
I have an iPhone app that I'm distributing to testers. I followed these instructions:
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/ToolsLanguages/Conceptual/YourFirstAppStoreSubmission/TestYourApponManyDevicesandiOSVersions/TestYourApponManyDevicesandiOSVersions.html
And they work except for one of my testers, who does not use iTunes to synchronize his apps. He has many apps already on his phone and doesn't want to synch to iTunes because it sounds like it will delete them. So...Is there any other way to get a testing app onto an iPhone besides synchronizing with iTunes?
Simply distribute it using OTA ("Over The Air" distribution).
When you Archive your application using Xcode (menu Product -> Archive, I hope that's what you do already to keep debugging symbols so that you can symbolicate crash logs when testers send some back to you!), once you click on "Distribute", select the "OTA Distribution" option and follow the steps.
Don't forget to check the "Distribute for Enterprise" checkbox in the appropriate step and fill the requested informations (Product Name, URL of the IPA when you will upload it on your server, etc).
Once your .ipa and the associated .plist is created, upload them both on a web server, and make a link to "itms-services://?action=download-manifest&url=<the_url_to_your_plist_file_here>".
When the users will open this link from their iPhone, it will prompt to install the application on their device directly, without the need to plug their device to any computer.
There are many tutorials on the net about this, simply google about iPhone OTA distribution.
I strongly recommend TestFlight. It's free and it's easy and they manage all that server side work.
Since your user is afraid of the iTunes Sync Process (for good reason), why not recommending him to use the iPhone Configuration Ultility.
That tool does not do a complete sync but only transmits the app you specified to.
It is free, easy to use and very reliable. Well, sometimes it has its hickups on Windoze systems but that seems to be a normal experience for users of that OS.
I was able to go through all the horrible process of builing the app for ad-hoc distribution.
But I can't install it in an iphone from iTunes. It shows an error message after installing the app, then another pop up appears that says "Some items bought from the iphone, including "Blendr" couldnt be transfered to your iTunes Library because you have no autorization to use them in this computer.
It also gives the option of allowing this computer to use the items bought in the iTunes Store by selecting Store > Autorize, but the owner of the phone doesnt know his login/pass and also I need to make this proccess as fast as possible, since I will be installing this app to many phones, is there a way that the iphone doesnt sync with my iTunes and just installs the app?
Thanks
EDIT:
I figure out that iPhone was jailbreaked, so that's the reason of that error message. But I tried with an iPhone 4 not jailbreaked & iOS 5(my app is developed using iOS 4) and I couldn't drop the app in it, no error message whatsoever..
Any ideas?
You may want to check out Test Flight which is a free service that lets you manage builds and distribute them to your users for testing. It uses some funky provisioning services in iOS that allows their app to be installed and then to provision the user's device for your app. It's pretty cool and really simplifies the whole Ad Hoc distribution process.
Now, truth be told, I've only played with this service a bit, and it was about a year ago. My sense is that to use it effectively, your users have to have some savvy about what is going on to be successful with it. I have not looked too deeply into it lately, but they are still in business, and it's been over a year since I tried it. I would check it out! I plan to do just that for my next project.
EDIT:
As far as using the "traditional" Ad Hoc methods... I have always distributed Ad Hoc builds (.ipa files) along with the Ad Hoc distribution profile used to build the ipa file to users via e-mail. Users need both files. And I have always instructed users to save the files to their desktop, launch iTunes, connect their device, drag/drop the saved files onto their iTunes Library, then sync. It should be that simple.
The other errors you're seeing seem unrelated to installing an Ad Hoc build on an iPhone that has been provisioned to use it. iTunes seems to do a lot of stuff automatically around making sure it has everything downloaded from the cloud that you bought, that it's all on the devices it's supposed to be on, etc. That is all ancillary to the Ad Hoc process, except that you do have to sync your device to get the Ad Hoc build installed, so there is no avoiding having iTunes do all it's housekeeping.
Perhaps the thing to do is to resolve all those other iTunes issues before trying to install any Ad Hoc software. That is to say, get things cleaned up so that iTunes is happy with the iPhone in question when it is connected, and is able to sync it without errors. (I know; easy for me to say. But I think you have resolve those issues first.)
Instead of using a Distribution AdHoc you can create a Developer Certificate adding all the phones you need to install it to, you add the new certificate to all phones and you will be able to install it directly from XCode. Hit Run and Enjoy!
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.
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.
I want to develop a little iPhone application, just for my personal needs. I don't want to sell it or give it to anybody as it will not be useful to anybody.
Can I have this application on my iPod/iPhone, without having to pay/suscribe/be on the Apple store ?
You need to pay the $99 for the iPhone Developer Program in order to be able to install your application onto the iPhone/iPod.
You can, by Jailbreaking your iPhone and then installing the AppSync program from Cydia. Then you can either build your app as a release and drag it into iTunes and sync your phone or change some settings (look it up on google, putting Xcode project on jailbroken device) in the Xcode project settings and open the organizer window and click on the use for development button on the device's page.
Jailbreaking your device will void your warranty if Apple find out (ie if you go into a shop and ask them to fix your device if it ever breaks without clicking restore in itunes to unjailbreak it)
With the Spirit jailbreak, Jailbreaking is as simple as plugging in your phone and pressing jailbreak.
(and the US Government has said that Jailbreaking is legal: http://www.pcworld.com/article/201892/us_government_iphone_jailbreaking_is_fair_use.html)
You could write you program and test in the simulator with the free SDK.
When you are satisfied you could send the source code to a licensed developer, I'd suggest some friend, that can build an AdHoc version for you to run on your own device.
A little tricky and you need to let another developer see the code. This app will also only last a year or less as certificates and profiles are time limited.
Why don't you write it as a website that is iPhone friendly then go to the site in your phone's browser and save a link to the site? It will show up on your desktop similar to an app. To have a true "app" I am sure you have to pay apple.
No, you can not.
It depends on what your definition of "pay/subscribe/be on the Apple Store" is.
Yes, you have to pay a subscription to the Apple iPhone Developer programme to get access to a provisioning profile to enable you to put an app you have built onto your iPhone/iPod. This will cost you $99.
The dev tools (Xcode/Interface Builder) are all free, but without the dev programme subscription you will not be able to put your app onto a physical device, only the emulator.
But no, you do not need to distribute your app via the app store to deploy it to your own phone. However, if you do not distribute the app via the app store then it ultimately doesn't get digitally signed by Apple and when your provisioning profile expires you will not be able to run the app on your phone until you have renewed the provisioning profile.
Well you may be able to do it if you jailbreak your iPhone. I haven't tried it myself but I found this link.
You'll have to decide for yourself about the moral implications of by passing apple's security.