Distribute iPhone app to testers? - ios

I am working on my iphone app and now I want to send my app to my testers. But how should I send it to them ? Plus, they don't have an Xcode. Is it necessary?

Take a look at Test Flight. We are currently using it and it offers a lot of great tools and is very easy to set up.
testflightapp.com
It distributes it adhoc and then you can push it directly to the testers and allows you to see install statuses. Time spent and other analytic tools.
To answer your other questions. The don't need Xcode. They just need to have their UDID registered on your apple account. They will get sent an email that will ask to download the latest release. The app then installs over the air.

Since iOS 4.0, users have been able to install Ad-Hoc apps over the air. Please note you're required to get the testers' device UDIDs and add them to your device list on developer.apple.com and to the app's the provisioning profile.
You can host the IPA yourself, but I would recommend using TestFlightApp.com.
Macworld wrote a decent article about the gist of it, and TestFlight is fairly straightforward to use, especially since it allows you to send an email or link to your testers and collect the needed UDID from them.

Try diawi.
I find it very simple and very friendly to use. Also there is no wait in the queue type registration stuff. When you open it just drag and drop the .ipa file and the provisioning profile. To verify whether or not your app has been installed, just add your email id in the field mentioned and you will get a confirmatory email about your app installation. For installation at the tester's end they simply need Safari to install the app and the profile.
Below are the steps to create .ipa file (xcode 4.2)
Select iOS Device>Go to Product>Archive>Share>Choose iOS App Store Package (.ipa)>Provide a path to save.
Easily done!!!

From 26 feb 15 Testflight is closed their service...
I have used new link for creating installation link of ipa and distribute link to your client, tester etc.
open this link
http://www.diawi.com/index.php
upload provisioning profile(drag and drop) to their dashboard.
upload ipa(drag and drop) to their dashboard.
click on send button.
after that copy generated link and share to your client and tester.

With iOS 8, Xcode 6, iTunes Connect and TestFlight you don't need UDIDs and Ad Hocs anymore. You will just need an Apple ID from your beta tester. Right now you can only beta test your app with 25 internal testers, but soon 1000 external testers will be available too. This blog post show you how to set up a beta test with internal testers,
http://blog.thebetafamily.com/2014/09/10/testflight-beta-testing-ios-8/

Related

How to we get app download link in Hockey App for iOS

Basically I was looking for Private Store for in-house App distribution.
I came across Diawi and Hockey app.
Diawi was pretty much strait forward but I got stuck with Hockey as I am not able figure out how to get the download url link over hockey app.. Is it necessary to integrate the hockey SDK Into our project to do so ?
Answering here so that newbies who are new to HockeyApp can add some help from here.
So here it is, Into Hockey app we don't not have a public link to download like in Diawi but it works much similar like TestFlight.
However public link is available over Appcenter for the distribution
group created
The only difference with TestFlight is that you can distribute even on
enterprise version over Appcenter
Step 1:
You should install the hockey app Link : Install hockeyApp or
Alternatively you can login with Appcenter over your browser and once you get the mail you can click on the download which will prompt to install the mscenter config certificate into your device
Step 2:
The app will prompt you to sign up.So Sign up an account.
Step 3:
share your mail ID to Device udid with the owner of app at appcenter.
Step 4:
Once the app is uploaded or new version is updated then you would receive a mail or. notification over your device.
Step 5:
Click on download and instal on mail and that's it you will see Install option screen.
HockeyApp is now acquired by Microsoft and therefore you can enjoy the features of Appcenter as well.
Link:
Hockey app became free for developer
Login link Login into hockey app
Once you login just drag and drop your IPA into dashboard and it would upload.
Alternatively you can use the hockey desktop app to upload the build through spa or Archive.
Add new device link: Adding new device
With iOS ad-hoc provisioning, you will need to add new devices to your provisioning profile by UDID. (You can use more than one Apple Developer Account from the same HockeyApp account, but you can only use one Apple Developer Account per app. You can also have multiple devices associated with one user account, or one device associated with multiple user accounts.)
Apps that qualify to use enterprise provisioning profiles with the Apple Enterprise Developer Program are exempt from needing to import UDIDs into the provisioning profile. (Mixing ad-hoc and enterprise builds in the same app is not supported. You need to split ad-hoc and enterprise builds into two different apps.)
Add beta testers link : Add beta testers
Please add if I miss anything
Thanks

how to Install App on device remotely iOS

I am android developer but I have just started the iOS development it was quite a fun until and unless i faced the distribution time.
My app is completed. now I have to give/send demo of the app to my client, I did R&D and found that to install app on device I need a UDID. I have one device also with me I have already added its UDID in my profile, so I can test on it.
Now tell me if I ask my client for UDID and if he supply me UDID, then after it how can I run app on his device. I can not access the client device physically.
I know this has been asked so many times and I have read those question. but most of them are outdated as I can not find those options in xcode
I am using xcode 9.2 and swft 4.2 . Please suggest me a batter way of doing that......
There are many options:-
Create adhoc profile then add UDID of client, then create IPA.Now create diawi link and share to client
Create enterprise profile, Create diawi and then create diawi and share it.
Go with testflight.
Useful Links:-
How create diawi
Create adhox
Use of test
Thanks
If you have client's device UDID then you can send build using Diawi link, Simply follow this steps.
First of all add client's UDID in developer.apple account.
Then Create "Provisioning profile -> AdHoc" profile. when you create AdHoc profile at that time select Client's UDID. (See more details https://support.magplus.com/hc/en-us/articles/204270188-iOS-Creating-an-Ad-Hoc-Distribution-Provisioning-Profile)
Using AdHoc profile archive project in xcode and export .ipa of application.
Upload exported .ipa file in https://www.diawi.com/
After finishing upload you can share build link with client.
Open this build link in safari browser(in device) to install application.
I suggest you use TestFlight.
You can create App on Appstore Connect and then upload one build to the Appstore using Xcode. After that you can simply use TestFlight to allow Internal or External Testers to download the app using TestFlight.
Advantages of TestFlight is that you don't need to have UDIDs of users, you can invite them using their email addresses. Also, you can invite external testers by using the Public Link now. You don't need email addresses of users if you create a Public Link and share the links with the users.
Apple beta distribution options are following,
You must have apple developer account enrolled to give away beta app.
1) TestFlight internal testers:- We can direct distribute by adding testers apple email to TestFlight section in AppStoreConnect.
2) TestFlight External Testers:-
We need to add any email ids of testers, they will get invitation with a redeem code, testers will have to redeem it using TestFlight app. User will notify for every build through TestFlight app. For External we have to submit for review for the first time only for every app version. Recently apple released feature to create a Public Link to invite testers, which you can share to any tester and tester can insert details directly from a web page.
3) Diawi Link:- You can upload build directly to Diawi, and distribute to testers whose UDIDS are attached with provisioning profile. There are some limitations to upload to Diawi like max ipa size is 100mb, expiration time 1day,....
4) AppBox:- To get rid if Diawi limitations, Some one introduce AppBox. AppBox is an open source GitHub repo, I found it some time ago, not using it regularly so I don't have deeper idea. AppBox is using dropbox to upload and using link to share with testers, we can directly upload to AppStore as-well.
Hope it covers all options of beta distribution for iOS, will update answer for AppBox as I will use more.

How to distribute an iPhone app for testing without getting UDIDs or jailbreaking?

I have a normal Apple Developer Program (not the Enterprise one)
and I need to distribute an iOS application without adding each UDID to the provisioning profile. I do not want to jailbreak iphones.
It is possible to make an Enterprise provisioning profile where the signed applications can be installed on any device without adding it to the provisioning profile. (Correct?)
And it is possible only with Enterprise program. (Correct?)
Are there any other ways to get rid of this dummy need of adding the betatester's UDIDs and recompiling the app whenever new testers come, with Apple Developer Program only?
Providing you're already registered with the Apple Developer Programme, you can upload your build and from within iTunesConnect use the TestFlight options to make your app available for download.
There are two options, 'Internal Testing' and 'External Testing'.
(In answer to question about the profiles, you don't need to have an Enterprise Provisioning Profile.)
As you wish to make the app available for unknown devices, you will need to use external testing. Here is a link to Apple's info on it https://developer.apple.com/testflight/
You will need the email addresses of the beta users (up to 1000 users) as those will be used to send an invitation to download via TestFlight from the device they wish to download to.
For external testing, your app will need to be submitted to Apple for Beta Review, which normally only takes a day or so for them to approve. Once approved this build is available to invite the beta testers to download
I hope this helps

Can we install an unpublished iOS app on a remote device.?

I am developing an iOS app which needs to be tested in a device which is present in another country with the client. If needed I can get the UDID and other details of the device. Can I install my under-development app on that device without publishing my App.? If yes, please explain the procedure.
Thank you all in advance.
Yes, you can. To do this you will need the UDID of all the devices where the App will be installed, and then you need to generate an Ad Hoc provisiong profile for those devices.
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/IDEs/Conceptual/AppDistributionGuide/TestingYouriOSApp/TestingYouriOSApp.html
To send the app to your client, go to XCode > Product (Menu) > Archive.
Then open Organizer > Archives (Tab) > Distribute. Follow on-screen instructions.
This will generate an .ipa file (executable) which you can then send to your testers (through email, or whatever other mean). He will have to install this .ipa by dragging and dropping it onto iTunes.
For further discussions look at this question.
Yes, you can.
1)Register client's device into device list in your developer account on apples site
2)Generate Ad-Hoc provision profile and send to your client with *.ipa file
3)Test it
Also take a look at 3-rd party services like TestFlight - http://testflightapp.com .Very popular and convenient way to work with beta-testers all around the world.
Answer is yes. You need to get UDID and add it to your developer portal as testing device. Download the provisioning profile and rebuild the app with revised provisioning profile. This app can be send to client for testing.
If you can sign with an Distribution profile for enterprises than you can upload that file on a link and user can Install the iPA file just by clicking on that link..
for more info check on these links..
How to distribute ios application wirelessly without managing UDIDs and recompilation
iPhone Application Enterprise Distribution Process
This an incredibly bad idea. What you are setting up is a back door into any iOS device to plant (potentially) malicious software. While your intentions may be good the long term effects are not.
Publishing your app would require it to go through code review, which is entail to ensure the enteritis of the app.

Sending tester iOS app

I am programming an iOS app for somebody living in a different state. Last time I finished an update for him to test, he had to drive over to get it on his iPad.
He's all set up with provisioning profiles and such. Last time I just hit "Run" in xcode and it ran on his iPad.
Is there a way to send him the app as a link in an email? The app is very small (around 20mb). He doesn't have a mac so he can't open the xcode file, but he does have iTunes.
What other (preferably free) way could I send him the app via internet to test?
Thanks in advance
If you are targeting iOS 8+ you can actually setup Beta and Sandbox testers directly in iTunes Conenct, without needing any device UUIDs, just email addresses. This makes it a synch to setup and manage, without caring about which device[s] someone owns.
Just go to iTunes Connect > Users and Roles. There you can add people. Then going into your actual application, you can assign people to participate in testing. You then just upload your application via Xcode (like you would for a release) and lastly, approve that build for prerelease, which will allow all of your testers to install it.
Original Post:
We use Ad Hoc distribution to handle this. It took us awhile to get it all working but once we did it has worked amazingly for all of our beta testers. We send new updates of our app to a handful of people to test before we push updates.
Here is a tutorial that may help.
You can use Ad Hoc provisioning profile for his device and archive your project for Ad Hoc.

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