Registering a UDID for Ad Hoc Distribution

For Ad Hoc signing you need to make sure to pre-register all the devices that you want to run the app on with your unique device identifier (UDID).

If you have a small group of test devices, signing your apps with an Ad Hoc certificate is the most practical way to distribute your app. For Ad Hoc signing you need to make sure to pre-register all the devices that you want to run the app on with your unique device identifier (UDID). It requires you to register your devices in advance on the Apple Developer Portal.

Registering a UDID for Ad Hoc Distribution

In case you are not sure how to find and register your UDID we have got your back! Below you can find an instruction that will guide you through the registration process step by step.

Take your devices and let’s start.

Finding your UDID

Every iOS device has a Unique Device IDentifier or UDID assigned to it. Finding the UDID used to be simpler, nowadays you have to either:

Find your UDID with Xcode

Connect your device to Xcode, open the Window > Devices and Simulators menu, find your device in the list. You can now see the UDID where it says "identifier"

Find your UDID with Finder (macOS Catalina)

On macOS Catalina you can see the UDID of a connected device in Finder

Find your UDID with iTunes

1. Connect your iOS device to your machine

2. open iTunes

3. click on your device.

4. From there, click on the "Serial Number" text to reveal the device's UDID.

Find your UDID with Updraft

If you don't want to connect the device physically to your computer, you can use our service which allows you to read the UDID on the device directly and you can send the identifier then to you via email. Updraft will guide you through the necessary steps.

Registering the UDID

Once you have your UDID, you need to enter it in the "Devices" tab of the Certificates, IDs & Profiles section on the Apple Developer portal.

First you need to add your test devices to your Apple developer account

1. Sign in to http://developer.apple.com .

2. Click on "Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles" in the right sidebar (http://developer.apple.com/account/ressources/devices/list).

3. Click Devices

4. Click the plus icon (+) to add a new device

5. Click Register Device

6. Enter the device name and the collected UDID

7. Continue and then Register

In a second step you need to add your devices to the application’s provisioning profile you want to distribute to your testers.

1. Select Profiles on the left sidebar

2. Select the provisioning profile to which you want to add the new device and click on Edit.

3. Select the App ID for your app

4. In the list of all devices, select all or just the ones that you want to include in the provisioning profile

5. Click on Generate. After the Profile is generated you can download it

In your last step you need to build or rebuild the application with the updated provisioning profile you generated.

1. Import the downloaded profile to Xcode

2. Open Xcode and select your project in the left sidebar

3. Click on Build Settings

4. Enter ‘Code Sign’ in the search bar

5. Select your release configuration and choose the provisioning profile you generated

6. Create a new build Product > Archive

You're good to go! Upload now your new .ipa to getupdraft.com and notify your testers.

Contact

We know that code signing can be confusing, as it has been to us for several years. If you are having trouble with getting your apps to run when distributed with Updraft, feel free to contact us and we'll do our best to get you up and running.