DefAct on iPhone and iPad

While the app is not in the App Store, it can be installed on an iPhone through AltStore. It takes about twenty minutes the first time and a couple of minutes per update. Everything is step by step below — no prior knowledge needed.

Why it is so involved 1. The computer 2. AltStore on the phone 3. DefAct 4. Renewing and updating If something went wrong

Why this is harder on iPhone than on Android

Apple does not allow installing apps from a file. The only legitimate way around the App Store is to sign the app with your own Apple ID and install it as "your own, for development". That is what AltStore does: the AltServer program on the computer signs the file with your Apple ID, and the small AltStore store on the phone installs it.

Hence two limitations that cannot be avoided — these are Apple's rules, not ours:

the app stops launching after 7 days unless it is renewed. AltStore renews it automatically while the phone and the computer are on and on the same Wi-Fi network;
a free Apple ID can hold no more than three apps installed this way at the same time.

We are buying membership in the Apple Developer Program — after that the app will appear in TestFlight and the App Store, and all of this becomes unnecessary. For now it is like this.

Step 1. Prepare the computer

A computer is needed — Windows or Mac. After that it is only needed for the weekly renewal, and not necessarily manually.

On Windows

Install iTunes and iCloud — necessarily from the Apple website, not from the Microsoft Store. Store versions do not work: AltServer does not see them.
Download AltServer from <a href="https://altstore.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener">altstore.io</a>, unpack the archive and run Setup.exe.
Find AltServer through Windows search and run it as administrator. When Windows asks about network access — allow it.

On Mac

Download AltServer from <a href="https://altstore.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener">altstore.io</a> (macOS 11 or newer is required) and drag AltServer.app into Applications.
Run AltServer — it appears as an icon in the menu bar at the top; it has no window.

Step 2. Install AltStore on the phone

Connect the iPhone to the computer with a cable, unlock it and press Trust this computer if asked.
Enable Wi-Fi sync for this phone:
- Windows — in iTunes, on the device page;
- Mac — in Finder, selecting the phone in the sidebar.
Without this AltStore cannot renew the app without a cable.
Press the AltServer icon (in the Windows tray or the Mac menu bar) → Install AltStore → choose your phone.
Enter your Apple ID and password. They go straight to Apple — neither AltStore nor we see them. A separate Apple ID can be created for this.
Wait for a success notification. If the AltStore icon does not appear on the screen — restart the phone.
On the phone open Settings → General → VPN & Device Management, tap your Apple ID and choose Trust. Without this the app will not launch.
On iOS 16 or newer: enable Settings → Privacy & Security → Developer Mode. The phone asks to restart.

Step 3. Install DefAct

On the phone itself open the download page and download the .ipa file for iPhone. It is saved to Files → Downloads.
Open AltStore on the phone, the My Apps tab, and press + in the top left corner.
Choose the downloaded DefAct-….ipa file. AltStore asks the computer to sign it — the computer with AltServer running must be on the same Wi-Fi network.
A minute later DefAct appears on the phone screen. Open it and sign in to your account — the same one as on the computer and on Android.

Step 4. Renewing and updating

Renewal — every 7 days. Otherwise the app stops launching. The simplest is to enable Background Refresh in AltStore: the phone then renews the app itself whenever it is on the same network as the running computer. Keep AltServer in the startup list — and you will forget about it.

If the app still stopped launching — nothing is lost. Open AltStore, the My Apps tab, press Refresh All: the app comes back to life together with all the documents.

Updating to a new version. Download the fresh .ipa from the download page and install it the same way — AltStore → My Apps → + → choose the file. The app updates in place: documents, photos and settings stay where they are. There is no need to delete the old one — quite the opposite, deleting it wipes local data that has not gone to the server yet.

If something went wrong

"Untrusted Developer" at launch — the Trust step was not completed: Settings → General → VPN & Device Management.
AltStore does not see the computer — AltServer is not running, the computer is on another Wi-Fi network, or Wi-Fi sync is not enabled (step 2, point 2). On Windows check that AltServer runs as administrator.
"Cannot install more than 3 apps" — the limit of a free Apple ID. Delete or deactivate something else in AltStore.
The app disappeared after a week — the term expired; renew through Refresh All. The data is intact.

The full AltStore documentation is at <a href="https://faq.altstore.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faq.altstore.io</a>. If you are stuck, write to us at <a href="mailto:info@defact.pro">info@defact.pro</a>: we will help.

A tip. Sync more often. Until a document has gone to the server it lives only on the phone — and an app installed this way depends on renewal. With sync, reinstalling stops being scary: install again, sign in, everything comes back.

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