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Now that the app I created last year has enjoyed a year's worth of functional success, my Enterprise users are beginning to see alerts indicating that the provisioning profile is about to expire.

The Code Signing business of the app gave me tremendous difficulty in the beginning, and now it's doing it again. I think it's because all the information I can find about it refers to apps to be distributed in the App Store, but not for Enterprise apps. The "Tools Workflow Guide for IOS" seems only to be helpful for App Store distribution.

I did finally get it working just by trial and error, by setting all of the Code Signing Identities to "iPhone Developer," but I really need to understand the proper way to do it and why it works that way. And I need the "Idiot's Guide" version.

First, I think what is hanging me up is understanding the Distribution aspect. Is "Distribution" only in reference to an app that is bound for the App Store? This being an Enterprise app, does Distribution apply? Any time I try to create a Distribution profile and include it in Distribution/Release for the Code Signing Identity, compile fails. It works ok if all Code Signing Identities are set as "iPhone Developer." Does that mean it is going to always need a Developer provisioning profile, and never a Distribution profile?

The "iPhone Developer" profile always comes up in the Code Signing Identity section of Build Settings as "(currently matches 'iPhone Developer: Bill Norman(4GR2 etc) in 'iOS team". But any other profile doesn't say anything like that, and so none of the other profiles work. If they don't work, why are they there? And do I need to delete them?

And yes, there are lots of profiles listed that are the result of many trials and errors. Only one appears in the Profiles section of the iPhone's Settings, and that's the iOS Team Provisioning Profile.

If it does need a "Distribution" profile, how do I make it work?

Next question: Will my Enterprise users need to download and re-install the app to get the new provisioning profile? Or will it do it by itself, seamlessly? Or will it inform my users that the profile has expired, and they need to do such-and-such to get their app to work?

More: The Developer profile only lasts for a year, while the Distribution profile lasts three years. Obviously it would be helpful to make it last three years, but can we do that with an Enterprise app?

My apologies for my continued inability to fathom the inner workings of this stuff. And many thanks to anyone who can help.

Bill Norman
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  • Distribution refers to **both** app store and enterprise apps. – occulus Dec 26 '12 at 23:05
  • Also, yes, you'll have to redistribute the re-compiled app with new dist cert to your users. There's no magic and they won't get any warning before an expired enterprise app fails to run (unless you arrange for such a warning, somehow). See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9216485/how-to-manage-enterprise-distribution-certificate-expiration – occulus Dec 26 '12 at 23:07

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First thing that you want to do is delete all of those extra provisioning profiles that you created through trial and error. Just totally remove them from the organizer. The difference between developer provisioning profiles and distribution provisioning profiles is that developer profiles will only work on devices that are registered with that developer profile, meaning test devices. You would not be able to sign an app with a developer profile and then put it on any device, only devices that you have registered to work with that profile. In the distribution zone you will have app store distribution and Ad Hoc distribution. App store refers to the Apple App Store which you must submit your app to apple for that. Ad Hoc distribution allows developers who have enterprise accounts to distribute to any device via the internet or other methods.

I would need more information when you say that compile fails with distribution but generally speaking, you would click the product tab and then click on archive. When the archiving is complete and the archive window pops up, you would click on the button that says Distribution in the bottom right corner. You would then click on the Save for Enterprise or Ad-Hoc deployment option. You choose your distribution code signing identity when asked which identity to use and hit next. Here comes the tricky part: On the next section where you are choosing where to save the app, you click on the option, save for Enterprise distribution. There are two fields that need to be filled in here, the first is an application url, this is the exact url where you will be hosting the ipa file, for example http://www.somewebsiteyouown.com/myApplication.ipa The second is the ApplicationTitle which will just be your app title: myApplication. This process will generate for you a plist and an ipa file, you put thos both on the server and link to the plist from a button or link on a webpage. The plist is like the instructions on where the ipa file is and what to do with it.

Kris Gellci
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  • Thanks, Kris... I did what you suggested and deleted all the profiles and started over. I now have a profile for Developer and one for Distribution, and the app compiled with no problem. I have placed it on our server and am waiting for my test group to download it and see if it works. I'll know as soon as one of the guys gets around to trying it. My use of the word "compile" may be inaccurate. The process I have been using is the same you refer to in your second paragraph. The compile fails if I have a profile shown that is not valid. (More in next message) – Bill Norman Dec 27 '12 at 19:00
  • The Developer's profile is valid, but until just a few minutes ago I couldn't get a valid distribution profile. Now that I have, it compiles just fine. I really don't know what I was doing differently to get a valid distro profile, but whatever it is worked. I still need to wait to hear from my field trials. Thanks again! – Bill Norman Dec 27 '12 at 19:02
  • Looking good! Two of my five field testers installed with no problem and I can see on our servers that they are connecting, so that tells me everything is fine! – Bill Norman Dec 27 '12 at 20:37
  • Great, glad I was able to help. – Kris Gellci Dec 27 '12 at 21:20
  • Terminology update: I had been using the word "compile" when I should have been saying "build." Sorry for any confusion that may have caused. – Bill Norman Dec 28 '12 at 15:18
  • @Kris.. can you tell the validity of distribution provisioning profile?? – GR. Jun 18 '13 at 06:42