Apple used to make it super easy to get the IPA version of any app on your iPhone just by syncing the device with iTunes, but ever since iTunes 12.7, that's no longer possible. Now, whenever you need to dig into an IPA file, whether it's to reverse engineer it or simply to look for the URL scheme name for Workflow or app icon customization, you'll need to use another Apple app on your Mac.
The app in question is called Apple Configurator 2, and it's available for free the Mac App Store. It's primarily used by schools and businesses to install mobile device management profiles on iOS devices and to quickly configure a large number of devices at once with the data, apps, and settings of their choosing. But you can also use it to update your iPhone, rearrange icons on your home screen, and more.
- Don't Miss: Always-Updated List of iOS App URL Scheme Names
For this guide, we'll just be focusing on getting the IPA files of apps installed on your iPhone. Once you've installed Apple Configurator 2 on your macOS system (sorry, there is no Windows version of this tool), you can use the steps below to download and save IPAs on your computer. However, this will only help you download IPAs of apps that have updates available for them that you haven't installed yet. That means it could be a waiting game since you'll have to wait until an update comes out (if one ever does) for the app you want an IPA for before using the steps below.
Drag-and-drop IPA file into 'Apps' tab of iTunes BEFORE you connect the device. Connect your device. Select your device on iTunes. Select 'Apps' tab. Search app that you want to install. Click on 'Install' button. This will change to 'Will Install'. Click on 'Apply' button on right corner. Double-click on the.ipa file. This will open iTunes and add the app to your collection. Synchronize your applications. B) If you receive a zip file with a file with “.mobileprovision” extension and a folder containing the app: Do not open the app folder or Windows might tamper with its contents.
While you've been able to use an iPhone and iPad PC-free since the days of iOS 5, plugging in is still an option for those that don't trust iCloud and other such services for syncing their information between an iOS device and a Mac or PC. And aside from syncing your device and backing it up, there's a myriad of things that you can sync through iTunes.
If you happen to have a.ipa file of an iOS app, you can still manually copy it over to the iPhone or iPad via iTunes by using this drag and drop method. This is sort of like syncing, but it’s really just copying a file over from the local computer to the target iOS device by using iTunes. Jan 08, 2018 How to get.ipa onto device now that iTunes doesn't contain apps? 64706 Views 29 Replies. I have updated an ipa onto my iPhone this morning in iTunes 12.7 on Mac. For ios11 phones and iTunes 12.7 versions doesn't have apps section so i couldn't download anymore my ad hoc app ipa file and provision files to iPhone.
If you haven't hopped on the iCloud and iTunes Match bandwagons just yet, you can still sync content to your iPhone and iPad with iTunes. The newly released iTunes 11 switches things up a little so if you aren't quite sure how to continue using iTunes to manage all your media and apps, follow along and we'll show you how. In past, people download apps on their iOS computer through iTunes and then install them on their device through USB and cable. These days, actually people not plugging their iOS devices with their computer any more, because they are using Wi-Fi and App Store to download and install apps. Once the backup is complete, the iPhone apps will be saved to the selected folder on your PC as regular IPA files. This is how to easily back up iOS apps and transfer them to PC without the need for iTunes.
Follow this guide to learn how to syncing apps, media, and more to your iPhone or iPad with iTunes.
How to sync your iPhone or iPad to iTunes with a cable
This one's pretty basic. Just plug in and keep iTunes and your phone in sync.
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac with a Lightning or 30-pin connector cable.
- Open iTunes from your Dock, Applications folder, or Finder.
Click the phone or tablet button next to the media selector near the upper-right corner of iTunes.
Click Sync.
How To Install Ipa Files On Iphone With Itunes Without Jailbreak
How to set up Wi-Fi sync to iTunes for your iPhone or iPad
Of course, nowadays you don't even need to physically plug in your iPhone or iPad to sync with iTunes.
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac with a Lightning or 30-pin connector cable.
- Open iTunes from your Dock, Applications folder, or Finder.
Click the phone or tablet button next to the media selector near the upper-right corner of iTunes.
Check the box next to Sync with this iPhone over Wi-Fi
Click Apply.
Ipa Files Iphone
You can then sync your iPhone over Wi-Fi like so:
- Open iTunes from your Dock, Applications folder, or Finder.
Click the phone or tablet button next to the media selector near the upper-right corner of iTunes.
Click Sync.
How to sync apps to your iPhone or iPad with iTunes
Keep your device's apps in sync, removing and installing them without having to paw at your iPhone or iPad.
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac with a Lightning or 30-pin connector cable.
- Open iTunes from your Dock, Applications folder, or Finder.
Click the phone or tablet button next to the media selector near the upper-right corner of iTunes.
Click Apps.
Click the Install button next to an app that you want to install on your iPhone or iPad.
Click the Remove button next to an app that you want to uninstall from your iPhone or iPad.
Click Sync to sync changes.
How to transfer files between iOS apps and your Mac
You can also move files between individual iOS apps and your Mac or PC.
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac with a Lightning or 30-pin connector cable.
- Open iTunes from your Dock, Applications folder, or Finder.
Click the phone or tablet button next to the media selector near the upper-right corner of iTunes.
Click Apps in the sidebar.
Scroll down to File Transfer and find the app you wish to transfer files from or to.
Click the app.
Click Add…
Click on the file or folder you wish to transfer to the app.
Click Add.
Click on the file from the app you wish to save to your Mac.
Click Save to…
Click on the location that you want to save the file to.
Click Save To.
Click Sync.
How to sync media to your iPhone or iPad with iTunes
You can sync all sorts of media from iTunes to your iPhone or iPad, such as music, movies, TV shows, books, and podcasts.
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac with a Lightning or 30-pin connector cable.
- Open iTunes from your Dock, Applications folder, or Finder.
Click the phone or tablet button next to the media selector near the upper-right corner of iTunes.
Click the name of the media type in the sidebar.
Click the checkbox next to Sync [Media type].
Click the checkbox next to Automatically include to automatically sync a certain number of movies, TV episodes, podcast episodes, or iTunes U courses.
Under Books and Tones, click All or Selected to choose what to sync.
Click any available drop-down menus to select the criteria for automatically syncing a particular media type to your iPhone or iPad.
Click the checkboxes next to the artists, albums, movies, shows, courses, or podcasts that you want to sync.
Click the checkboxes next to specific episodes or classes if you're syncing TV or podcast episodes, or iTunes U course items.
Click Apply.
How to sync photos to your iPhone or iPad with iTunes
Don't like iCloud Photo Library? No problem. Sync photos from your Mac or PC to your iOS device in iTunes.
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac with a Lightning or 30-pin connector cable.
- Open iTunes from your Dock, Applications folder, or Finder.
Click the phone or tablet button next to the media selector near the upper-right corner of iTunes.
Click Photos in the sidebar.
Click the checkbox next to Sync Photos.
Click the drop-down menu.
Choose between copying from Photos or any other photo folder.
Choose to sync All photos and albums or Selected albums.
Check the boxes to only sync your favorites, include videos, or automatically include photos from a certain period.
Click the albums and people you want to sync if you chose to sync selected albums.
Click Apply.
How to sync contacts and calendars to your iPhone or iPad with iTunes
If you don't like to entrust your contacts and calendars to a cloud service provider like Apple or Google, you can sync them manually with iTunes.
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac with a Lightning or 30-pin connector cable.
- Open iTunes from your Dock, Applications folder, or Finder.
Click the phone or tablet button next to the media selector near the upper-right corner of iTunes.
Click Info in the sidebar.
Click the checkboxes next to Sync Contacts and Sync Calendars.
Under Contacts, choose between syncing All contacts or Selected groups.
Choose any available groups if you're only syncing some contacts.
Check the box next to Add contacts created… (etc.) to choose where to add contacts created outside of groups on your device should go.
Under Calendars, choose between syncing All calendars or Selected calendars.
Choose any available calendars if you're only syncing some of them.
Check the box to stop syncing events a set amount of days after they've taken place.
Click Apply.
Questions?
Be sure to tell us in the comments if you have any other questions about syncing your iPhone or iPad to iTunes.