Here at SignalFive we deal with in-progress apps a lot. This usually constitutes sending out an Ad Hoc distribution, or a version of the in-progress app, to various people with varying degrees of technical sophistication. Like anyone else, we had to go through this process a number of times before getting it right. There are a number of tutorials out there, such as this one, that offer some pointers. But ours has pictures, and goes through even more of the process. Ready? Let’s begin. (Note: This deals with Macs only..a Windows version might be coming in the future).

Find your UDID

First things first….Your iPhone/iPod Touch has a Unique Device Identifier. There are ways to find it in one click, but let’s go one step further. Most likely, you have to get this UDID number out to a developer who will then send you the Ad Hoc Distribution. So, let’s make your life easier. Download an app called AdHoc (it’s free)

After this, you will see the app appear on your iPhone/iPod Touch, as shown below:

Now, open the AdHoc app and you will see your iPhone/iPod Touch’s UDID ready to email to whomever you choose!

Get the Ad Hoc Distribution and mobileprovision files

Now your iPhone/iPod Touch can be included in the Ad Hoc Distribution. Once the app is ready and has been sent to you, you should have two files. One is a file called AppName.mobileprovision, and the other should be AppName.zip.

Drag the mobileprovision document onto the iTunes icon in your Dock (note: some tutorial might recommend dragging the file directly into ITunes. From my experience, this has not worked as well as just dragging onto the Dock icon).

Next take the zip file that contains the actual app, and unzip it. You should be left with a file that ends with the .app extension.

Now drag this onto the iTunes icon in the Dock as well. You may or may not get some sort of prompt, depending on if the app already exists in your iTunes library (say, from a previous Ad Hoc distribution).

Sync and Finish up!

You should see the app in your iTunes library at this point. The last step is pressing ‘Sync‘ in iTunes to synchronize your iTunes library with your actual device.

At this point, you should have the app installed on your iPhone / iPod Touch! Have any other suggestions? Let us know either via comment or writing to us at contact@signalfive.com!

(Note: your experience may differ slightly depending on your exact technical setup between your device and iTunes)

Tags: ad hoc, build, distribution, iphone, Tutorial, udid

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 16th, 2010 at 8:04 pm and is filed under Tutorial, iPhone App. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.