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DebateOwl iOS r7: sideloadable IPA (free Apple ID)

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@Programcode Programcode released this 29 Oct 21:39
ios-r7-sideload-1
58825f3

DebateOwl for iPhone and iPad, round 7 (native-ios/r7-ship-ready, commit 58825f3, EAS build 2f4e3d5a).

DebateOwl-sideload.ipa is a Release build against production (debateowl.com accounts), signed by no Apple team. Re-sign it with your own Apple ID to install it. It needs iOS 16.4 or later.

Install with Sideloadly (Mac or Windows, recommended)

  1. On the iPhone, turn on Developer Mode: Settings › Privacy & Security › Developer Mode, then restart and confirm. If the switch isn't there yet, it appears after step 4's first attempt.
  2. Install Sideloadly from https://sideloadly.io. On Windows, it also needs iTunes and iCloud from apple.com (not the Microsoft Store versions).
  3. Connect the iPhone by cable, unlock it and tap Trust.
  4. Drag DebateOwl-sideload.ipa into Sideloadly, choose the iPhone, enter your Apple ID and press Start. Sign in with your password when asked; with two-factor authentication, enter the code it shows on your devices.
    • Leave "Remove app extensions" off, so the widget and share extensions come along.
    • If installing fails with a limit on apps or app IDs, which counts extensions, tick Advanced options › "Remove app extensions" and press Start again. The app then installs without its widgets, Live Activities and share extension.
  5. On the iPhone, open Settings › General › VPN & Device Management, tap your Apple ID under Developer App and tap Trust.
  6. Open DebateOwl and sign in with your email code (or a demo code).

A free Apple ID signature lasts 7 days. To renew, run step 4 again (your data stays), or turn on Sideloadly's automatic refresh with the phone on the same Wi-Fi. A free Apple ID can have 3 sideloaded apps at a time and register 10 app IDs a week; this app uses 3 of those IDs (the app and its two extensions).

Or with AltStore Classic (Mac)

  1. Install AltServer from https://altstore.io, open it from the menu bar, choose Install AltStore and pick your iPhone (Mail plug-in when it asks), then sign in with your Apple ID.
  2. On the iPhone, trust your Apple ID under Settings › General › VPN & Device Management and turn on Developer Mode as above.
  3. AirDrop or copy DebateOwl-sideload.ipa to the iPhone's Files, open AltStore › My Apps › + and pick it.

AltStore registers the App Group under your team, and this build reads that name, so Live Activities, the widgets and the share extension work with AltStore. With Sideloadly they work only if Sideloadly provisions the App Group; otherwise the app runs without them.

What a free Apple ID signature can't do

These need DebateOwl's paid Apple Developer account. They are built, configured and tested, and switched off in this IPA without errors:

  • Push notifications ("Your round is scored", "Your case is ready"): You › Notifications says this version can't receive them.
  • Sign in with Apple: the button is hidden. Email code, demo code and Google work.
  • In-app purchase (Basic and Pro through the App Store): the plans screen says the App Store is unavailable. The products also don't exist in App Store Connect yet.
  • Time Sensitive timer alerts: the time-up alert still arrives, as a normal notification that a Focus can hold back.
  • Universal links and Handoff from Safari to the app: debateowl.com links open in Safari. Handoff the other way, from the app to Safari on a Mac, may still work; it is untested under a free signature.
  • Live Activities, widgets and the share extension: these work with AltStore, but with Sideloadly only if it provisions the App Group (see above).

Everything else works: every tool, the timer with its lock-screen alert, voice rounds and dictation, iPad layouts and keyboard shortcuts, quick actions, Siri and Shortcuts, Spotlight, offline reading, and PDF and Word export.

Google sign-in also needs debatelab://auth/callback in production Supabase's Redirect URLs. Until that is added, Google opens the website instead of returning to the app; close it and use the email code.

Screenshots

DebateOwl-r7-screenshots.zip has 405 web-export screenshots (iPhone light and dark, iPad landscape), and the PNGs below are the key screens. They come from the web export because EAS Simulator isn't enabled for the pi-stack account.

SHA-256 of the IPA: 68f4c87d274012834414c05325a2f87ed786fa48a3fa1d5937a1697851b98dc3

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