Backing up iphone app while still developing (before its on the app store)

Question

I am developing an iphone / ipad application. My plan is to have my beta customers use it before I have submitted it to the app store to help me work out all the issues.

Nonetheless, they will be entering real information to the application. Thus, I would like them to be able to back up the application to iTunes using the sync feature.

I expected this would work normally, but as it turns out, I don't see the application in the list of apps that can by synched. My guess is that this is because I'm using a development provisioning profile.

Can anyone confirm this guess? Or better yet, has anyone out there successfully synched an app that is under development (not yet in the app store).

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Yes, I think you are right.

You need to build your app signed not as developer but with adhoc distribution certificate. You can find more about it on iPhone Developers Portal. Then you can find your app on your disk. You and your beta-testers can install your app via iTunes -

1. Drag and Drop your adhoc certificate file on iTunes
2. Drag and Drop your app package on iTunes.
3. Sync iPhone with iTunes - and you have your app installed and sync.

Answer 2

Backing up data to iTunes works just fine for me. I'm installing the app with my development certificate--not with ad hoc distribution. But, you'll probably want to use ad hoc to send the app to your testers, so some of this won't apply (see below if you're interested).

I can tell you that one of the biggest categories of support requests I get is people having issues with losing data after upgrading their device, the OS on their device, or my app. It might be a good idea to give your users a way to back up their data, whether it's Dropbox integration, a custom server, or some other solution.

On a number of occasions, I've upgraded the OS on my iOS devices and had the data come back when I restore the device after the upgrade, even for apps installed using my developer certificate. If you're really unsure, you can always back up your data using the XCode organizer (go to the organizer, select the device, find your app under Applications, expand it, and press the arrow button to the right of Application Data), back up your device using iTunes, and then do a restore using either XCode or iTunes. The data should be there after you re-install the app using XCode (the iTunes backup restore will restore the data, but not the app).