[TestFlight seems to be the closest match to my topic]
My clients have an intermittent problem in attempting to install an iPhone application under an ad hoc profile using iTunes. iTunes will not highlight the "On My Device" section of the source list for the device — sometimes. It's worked for him once, and failed for him once, on the identical source computer. It worked for me on the same model and OS version of target device.
I was able to clear the app out of my iPhone 8 (12.0.1) and install the ad hoc release via iTunes 12.9.0 on macOS 10.14.1.
One client was able to install from iTunes on Windows to his spare iPhone 6, but not to iPhone 8 (known to be 12.0.1). His three partners haven't been able to install either.
My instructions showed how to drag the provisioning profile and the .ipa to the "On My Device" section of the iTunes source list. I verified that the local client was making the correct gestures. I verified that the section did not highlight in response to his drag. Again: The same computer worked for him once; a target device with the same model and OS target worked for me.
Can someone please help me figure this out?
(To save time on perfectly reasonable questions about what I'm really trying to accomplish: Tethered installation from 800 miles away is not practical. Teaching non-technical Windows owners to use Xcode to build and debug from source is not practical. TestFlight is not an option when the client is less than a week away from the deadline for an application for a half-million-dollar research grant. This is a legitimate proof-of-concept toward a product of that grant and therefore not an abuse of the license. Given that these are reasonable, if trying, constraints, I hope Apple hasn't left iTunes + ad hoc open to bit rot.)
Solved.
The client dribbled UDIDs at me and I reissued the provisioning profile several times. For some reason the new devices never made it into the archiving workflow, so all subsequent devices were ineligible. That's why iTunes didn't highlight for the drop of the .ipa and .mobileprovision. Issuing a fresh profile cleared up the problem.
Now all I have to figure out is how to supersede the previous profile. The client is still dribbling device IDs.
Many thanks, again, to KMT for his interest and help.
