run app on the device signed with adhoc distribution certificate

Question

I have an iphone application. I want to run it on the device. The application is signed with adhoc distribution certificate. I heard that I can not debug with this type of certificate. OK. How can I build my ipa to run it on my device? if i'm using xcode's product->archive->share and then adding ipa to itunes a synchronizing the application can not launch.

Answer 1

Go to iOS provisioning profile. Add your device -> create new app id -> go to provisioning->distribution -> click New Profile, select Ad Hoc and input profile's name, select the device you added previously and click Submit. Afterwards download that profile and build your Ad Hoc with it. This one will run on your device if it's BOTH not using push notifications and your device is not jailbroken.

Answer 2

I think there are several check points.

1. If your ad hoc distribution profile truly includes your device. You can open your distribution profile with an editor and search for your UDID string. If you don't find it, add your device to your distribution profile and build again.

2. If you built application with intended distribution profile.

Once you make sure of those two, I recommend you deploy through Xcode instead of iTunes.

1. Open Organizer in Xcode
2. Connect iPhone
3. Select device tab of Organizer
4. You will see your iPhone on your left side bar. Select the one.
5. Select 'Provisioning Profiles' within your target iPhone, and Press 'Add' button, select your ad hoc distribution
6. Select 'Applications' within your target iPhone, and Press 'Add' button, select your ipa archive.

My experience is that iTunes deployment is quite shaky, so I deploy myself recently through this or through https://testflightapp.com/

Answer 3

To the best of my knowledge, debugging cannot be done for adhoc certificates.

You can run an app with adhoc certificate directly to a connected device. It will crash on launch the first time as Xcode will fail to attach to the process running on the device for debugging. However, you can then re-open the app again; it will have your recent changes and it will work independently of Xcode.