Why sideloaded apps don't get notifications
The signing rule behind missing push notifications on sideloaded apps, what's possible for WhatsApp and for Instagram, and the ways around it.
Updated
If you sideloaded one of our apps and no notifications arrive, nothing is broken. This page explains why, and what you can actually do about it.
Note
This is about sideloaded apps on an iPhone that isn't jailbroken. If you're jailbroken and WhatsApp notifications arrive late rather than not at all, that's a different problem — delayed WhatsApp notifications.
The rule
An iPhone only delivers push notifications to an app whose signature carries the push notifications . That only comes from a distribution certificate issued by Apple, tied to specific registered devices.
A free Apple ID can't issue one. So an app signed with a free Apple ID — which is what AltStore does — never receives push notifications, whatever you change in iOS Settings.
These are Apple's signing rules, not our choice, and no tweak can work around them. Every certificate is bound to particular devices, so we can't ship one that works for everybody.
What that means for each app
A sideloaded WhatsApp doesn't get notifications, however it's signed. Besides push, WhatsApp needs a private Apple entitlement that isn't available to anyone signing apps themselves — not with a developer account, not with a bought certificate.
The way around it is to keep the App Store WhatsApp and install Watusi next to it as a linked device. Both use your account; the App Store WhatsApp delivers notifications and backs up to iCloud, and you use Watusi for everything else. The sideload guide sets it up that way.
Regram can get notifications, when three things line up:
- it's the original Regram build, not the duplicate;
- it's signed with a distribution certificate that includes push notifications;
- and its App Groups entitlement is set up correctly.
You can do that with your own Apple Developer account, or with a bought certificate that includes push. With a free Apple ID (AltStore), which can't carry push, install Regram (Duplicate) next to the App Store Instagram instead and let Instagram deliver notifications. Details in getting notifications with Regram.
The other way out: TrollStore
If your iPhone runs a TrollStore-supported iOS version, TrollStore sidesteps all of this: apps install permanently with their full entitlements, so push notifications work for both apps, for free.
It only covers iOS 14 – 16.6.1 (iPhone X and older) and iOS 14 – 16.6 beta 1 (iPhone 11 and newer). On a newer iOS, it isn't an option.
Did it work?
Yes — what's next
- WhatsApp notifications are delayed or missingWhy WhatsApp notifications arrive late on jailbroken devices, and the fixes that work — including the tweaks that raise the memory limit.
- Getting notifications with RegramWhy a sideloaded Regram may not show Instagram notifications, how to get them, and the fix when they only say “You have a new notification”.
- What is sideloading?Installing apps that aren't in the App Store, explained in two minutes.
Not yet
Check the common fixesCrashes, “Unable to Verify App”, apps that stop after a weekStill stuck? Tell us which guide and step you're on, and the exact error.