3

I have messed around with AD-HOC distribution quite a bit and got it working too. The problem I am facing is all the people who I want to use as beta testers are "normal people" who never even sync their iPhone to iTunes on a computer. So, you can understand how technically challenged these people are, which is fine with me because that is the audience I want to use for testing. All these guys can do for me is if I can give them an AppStore link they will download it on their iPhone and test it for me.

So, basically AD-HOC distribution (UDIDs, mobileprovision file and all that crap) is out of question for me.

My Question is after AppStore approves my app, is there a way for me to be under the radar so that normal public can not download the app until I am ready. From past experience I know that the moment you put an app out there, in first week you get 100s of downloads and I dont want that to happen until my beta testing is finished.

MPelletier
  • 16,256
  • 15
  • 86
  • 137
StackThis
  • 1,262
  • 1
  • 14
  • 23
  • 3
    Has anyone tried this? http://testflightapp.com/ They claim to solve the problems associated with ad-hoc distribution : – StackThis Nov 11 '10 at 16:28
  • I have not - but it looks promising. I've had a few clients with the same AdHoc issues you describe, but I've been able to get them working. If testflightapp.com is as simple as it appears, that's something I'm going to look into. – Eric Nov 11 '10 at 16:41

8 Answers8

4

Nick,

There is no provision for that in the App Store. Ad hoc is the only solution. Your testers will have to sync. :-)

Tony

Tony
  • 411
  • 2
  • 4
4

You can't do what you're asking, but you can make the process much easier for your normal users.

First, to get their UDIDs you can encourage them to download an app like UDID+ (there are a bunch in the app store, I really don't know which is best, UDID+ is the one I happened to use). It makes it dead-simple for them to email their UDID to you, along with some helpful device info.

Then for installing the builds, if they're running iOS 4 you can use the super-cool Build And Archive method that allows your users to simply visit a url (that you create) in Mobile Safari and tap on a link there: poof, both the .mobileprovision file and the app are magically installed on their devices.

That second process can be made easier for you by using the slick and free Beta Builder app: http://www.hanchorllc.com/2010/10/08/ios-beta-builder-1-0-1/

It's not incredibly easy, but those two things make it worlds easier, good enough for most potential beta testers.

Matthew Frederick
  • 22,245
  • 10
  • 71
  • 97
2

Answering my own question. The last answer was deleted by moderator so adding new answer in compliance with their rules.

The best way I have found so far to beta test your IOS apps is using http://testflightapp.com. They have an awesome product and recently launched their website. If it were not for them, it would been royally painful for us to do our beta testing.

I have added some more details in my own blog post here : http://iostipsntricks.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/beta-testing-your-ios-apps-with-testflightapp-com/

StackThis
  • 1,262
  • 1
  • 14
  • 23
1

You could set it at a ridiculously high price and give the testers a verification code. Other than that, Apple doesn't want us filling the App store with betas. Can't say I blame them. Ad hoc is really the legit way to go.

Johnny Swarm
  • 21
  • 3
  • Thanks. Why oh why are normal people so different than techies? I get frustrated seeing all the badges on my wife's iPhone and she doesn't even know what they mean and never dismisses them. I tried the adhoc way with 2 friends and 20 emails later, gave up on them :( – StackThis Nov 11 '10 at 16:24
  • 1
    See "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" Please don't try what I suggested. :) I develop on a laptop so when I need 'normal' testers I can visit them and set it up myself. – Johnny Swarm Nov 11 '10 at 16:27
  • +1 for referencing Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - :) – Eric Nov 11 '10 at 16:31
1

Testflightapp is one solution, Appaloosa store (http://www.appaloosa-store.com/) is another good one, really easy to setup and use, available for iOS and Android (soon for WP7).

JeromeVDL
  • 11
  • 1
0

AFAIK, no. Once it is in the AppStore it is out there. I suppose one option you could look into is the Enterprise Program which I believe allows you to distribute them via email and your own "app store" (no iTunes sync required); but there are (I'm quite sure) a number of caveats that might make that unavailable. I know there are a number of vendors out there that help people with that.

Short of that, I think @Slimesoft's idea might be your best bet - taking into account that Apple might not approve the app if it is "beta" quality (Review guidelines 11.11 - "In general, the more expensive your app, the more thoroughly we will review it").

Eric
  • 3,865
  • 4
  • 32
  • 44
0

Set the price to $99, available in the U.S. store (or your country, etc.) only, with an availability date in the far future. Send out gift/redemption codes for the approved app to your beta testers with a note to use the coupon to get the app for free at 3 AM on Tuesday. Set the availability date to Tuesday, then set the availability date back into the far future before sunrise on Tuesday.

hotpaw2
  • 70,107
  • 14
  • 90
  • 153
0

We tried what hotpaw2 suggested, set the price to $50 and Apple rejected our app for no reason. They said it's just a web clipping and I can point dozens of apps one might call "web clipping". After reading more carefully in their review guidelines, they specifically mention the higher the price, the more detailed will be the review. So I don't recommend doing this. Looked into Enterprise distribution. As long as your beta users have the same domain (this is the company domain I suppose) you can try it. Just got an invite to http://testflightapp.com/ and it works! Hope Apple doesn't block them but you can actually bypass App Store completely, can get users to download unapproved apps.

Ibrahim Okuyucu
  • 159
  • 6
  • The sweet thing about testflighapp is they are not bypassing the appstore as you have written. They are pretty much automating the officially recommended way of beta testing. So, you still have to sign your app with an ADHOC cert (not PROD) and you are still restricted to 100 users. So, there is no reason why Apple will have a problem with this. – StackThis Nov 17 '10 at 04:26
  • I don't see any reason why I should restrict it to 100 users? – Ibrahim Okuyucu Nov 17 '10 at 20:26
  • You can try adding more but you wont be able to. Because Apple developer portal won't let you do it. Everytime you send user an invite, you have to go into Apple portal add his device to your provisioning profile, resign the app and then upload it. Does that make sense why you will get stuck at 100 users? – StackThis Nov 19 '10 at 20:17
  • And here is more info straight from the horses mouth if you still don't believe that you are limited to 100 users: http://support.testflightapp.com/discussions/questions/24-can-we-really-go-beyond-100-udids – StackThis Nov 21 '10 at 20:28