What is Sideloading and Cydia Impactor
Read this article to know how to do Sideloading on your iOS devices. What exactly does the term represent and how a tool called Cydia Impactor helps in this job.
Sideloading is a term you tend to hear quite a bit of these days. It is a way of installing applications onto the iPhone or iPad that have not got the approval nor the authorization needed from Apple to go in the official app store. These files are the IPA files – iOS App Store Package files – and, not so long back, a jailbreak would have been needed to install them. Not anymore. Now we have a tool called Cydia Impactor that does the job for us, without having to go through Cydia first.What is Cydia Impactor?
Cydia Impactor is an incredibly useful tool for all iOS users. It was developed by the man behind Cydia, Jay Freeman (Saurik) and used to be for removing Cydia without affecting your iOS version. That tool has been renamed as Cydia Eraser while Cydia Impactor was repurposed and is now the easiest way to install unofficial unsigned files onto an iPhone or iPad. It is a tool that is under constant development, but, right now, there are several very useful features that can be used straightaway:
It also works on all iOS devices, a bonus when you consider that most of the recent jailbreaks are limited to either the 32-bit devices or the 64-bit devices, not both.How To Use Cydia Impactor
Cydia Impactor is a user-friendly tool, very simple to use. To use it, you will need the tool, the IPA file for the app you are installing, your Mac or PC, iPhone or iPad, and cable.Before you Start
Before you dive into using Cydia Impactor to install your apps, there are a couple of things to do first.
This is really quite simple to do, just follow these instructions as writtenFix Untrusted Developer Error
Using your app or game is as simple as tapping the icon, but you haven't installed it from an official source, and that causes a problem for Apple. Because they do not recognize the developer, they won't allow the app to run, but you can fix this with a couple of steps:Updating Cydia Impactor
Cydia Impactor is a fantastic tool, but it will only work properly if it is updated as and when needed. You should ensure that you check for updates as often as possible:
Another way is this - when you first use Cydia Impactor, click 'Check automatically' on the dialog box that pops up. This way, the tool will be automatically updated as and when the updates are released.Troubleshooting Cydia Impactor
There are a couple of errors that you might face when you use Cydia Impactor. The first is a provision.cpp:150 error and, if this appears, it will be because you have two-factor authentication enabled on your Apple ID. Disable this and try again. Make sure you re-enable it when you have your apps.
The second error is one that tells you that you need an app-specific password. Generating one of these is quite easy:
Sideloading apps and games is a very common thing now, given that Cydia really isn't seeing much support these days. With the lack of proper jailbreaks now and with the likelihood that we see even fewer utilities in the future, Cydia Impactor is the best tool for the job, making installation pretty easy. Have a go, see what apps you can get onto your device.
