is it possible to give an ad hoc build for iphone , without asking for device id?

Question

is it possible to give an ad hoc build for iphone , without asking for device id?

I want to deploy the app to a couple of people but I dont want to ask for device id to create a profile and all that stuff.

is that possible? if not, what is the easiest way to do it?

Thanks

Answer 1

You can't do an AdHoc build without device ids as that would give you a distribution channel outside of the appstore. AdHoc is designed for testing only

An enterprise account does not have any device id requirements for deployment but you do need to be a company with DnB number etc and pay the $300 annual fee.

Answer 2

Simply put, no.

If you're concerned about the complexity of getting the UDIDs from your testers, I recommend having them install & use Ad Hoc Helper, which makes the process very simple (as long as they have e-mail set up on the device).

Answer 3

Not easily.

Apple likes to control the distribution channel. If you could distribute your app without knowing device IDs in advance, you could make a competing app store. Apple requires that you list device IDs and limits you to 100-some devices, which presumably should be enough for development/testing purposes.

Some possible solutions:

• If you're distributing to other developers, they can re-sign the app with their own provisioning profile and certificate (i.e. replace MyApp.app/embedded.mobileprovision, CODESIGN_ALLOCATE=/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/usr/bin/codesign_allocate codesign -f -s 'iPhone Developer' MyApp.app. Additionally, you might need to specify entitlements).
• The iOS Developer Enterprise Program presumably has a higher limit, but I suspect you still need to list device IDs.
• A jailbroken phone will run unsigned apps.

Answer 4

No, it's not possible (unless you (and your people) work with jailbroken devices).

Assuming you are not going to put your app on iTunes, I guess you have to ask their device ids, at least for once.

However, once you have their ids, the remaining part would be as simple as to give them an URL. They just go to the URL with their mobile Safari, and can directly download the app.

Here's a link to show how to do that:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2010/12/apple-best-kept-secret-how-to-do-ad-hoc-installs.php