What you need before sideloading
The accounts, settings and trade-offs to sort out before you install anything.
Updated
You'll need
- An Apple ID — the one on your iPhone is fine
- A Mac or Windows PC for the free way, or a paid signing service
Every sideloading method shares the same handful of requirements and the same handful of limits. They're gathered here once, so you know what you're signing up for before you start.
Turn on Developer Mode (iOS 16 and newer)
On iOS 16 and later, an iPhone refuses to run a sideloaded app until is on.
Install the app first — the option below doesn't appear until your iPhone has seen a sideloaded app at least once.
Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Developer Mode.
Turn it on. Your iPhone restarts.
After the restart, confirm the prompt.
If you can't find Developer Mode, it's because nothing has been sideloaded yet. Install the app, then look again.
Apple ID and two-factor authentication
Signing tools ask for your Apple ID. Two-factor authentication is fine — but some tools can't handle the six-digit code, and ask for an instead.
How to create an app-specific password
- Go to appleid.apple.com and sign in.
- Find App-Specific Passwords under Sign-In and Security.
- Generate one, give it a name you'll recognize, and copy it.
- Paste that in place of your normal password when the tool asks.
Note
AltStore is the exception — it supports two-factor authentication directly and does not want an app-specific password. If AltStore asks for one, you've hit a different problem; see troubleshooting.
How long it lasts
| How you sign it | Lasts | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free Apple ID | 7 days | Free |
| Signing service | ~1 year | Third-party fee |
| Apple Developer account | 1 year | $99/year from Apple |
| TrollStore (supported devices) | Forever | Free |
| Jailbreak | Forever | Free |
With the 7-day option, AltStore refreshes the app automatically as long as your iPhone and computer are on the same Wi-Fi and AltServer is running. If it lapses, the app stops opening until you refresh it — your data stays put.
What a sideload can't do
The install guides work around the first two by keeping the App Store app installed next to ours. TrollStore and a jailbreak don't have these limits at all.
Bundle identifiers and duplicate apps
Every iPhone app has a — a hidden name like
net.whatsapp.WhatsApp. Two apps can't share one on the same device.
That gives you two choices:
- Same identifier: our app replaces the App Store one. One icon, and the original is gone until you reinstall it.
- Duplicate build: a different identifier, so both live side by side. Two icons. This is what makes the "keep the official app for notifications" trick possible.
If an install fails saying the app is already installed, this is why — delete the other one first, or use the duplicate build.
Next
- Install Watusi or install Regram — the actual steps
- Not sure which way fits you? — a few quick questions
Did it work?
Yes — what's next
- What is sideloading?Installing apps that aren't in the App Store, explained in two minutes.
- How to sideload our appsThe three tools for installing our apps without a jailbreak — AltStore, a signing service, or your own developer account — and how they compare.
- Why sideloaded apps don't get notificationsThe signing rule behind missing push notifications on sideloaded apps, what's possible for WhatsApp and for Instagram, and the ways around it.
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.