I'm trying to setup a macOS 26 build environment in a VM (using UTM and the virtualization framework Apple provides).
I have Xcode 26 installed and have logged into my Apple ID and verified that the team and other configuration looks fine in Xcode settings.
When trying to build the macOS app, I see errors saying the VM's device ID has not been registered. I have confirmed that the device ID is registered both in the Provisioning portal AND the downloaded .provisionprofiles (in Library > Developer > Xcode > UserData).
This problem appears on multiple targets (e.g. the main app and extensions).
If I try to manually provision the app, using the Provisioning portal, I can build the product, but it will not launch because of Gatekeeper issues.
Finally, signing to run locally doesn't work either. As the app launches, frameworks refuse to load because Team IDs don't match. With ad hoc provisioning, there are no Team IDs.
I've come to the conclusion that this just isn't possible.
Which is a shame because I need to support products with a build environment on macOS 15 and cannot move over to macOS 26 yet. I suspect many developers outside of Apple are in a similar position.
There’s a bunch of backstory here. Let me recap…
In the beginning, Apple silicon VMs did not support Apple Accounts (or Apple IDs as they were known then). We fixed that in macOS 15, but only for macOS 15 guests running in VMs created on macOS 15. See AppleID Login failing in virtualized OS. Notably, this involved a significant change to the underlying security infrastructure in the guest.
Unfortunately this change revealed an Xcode specific problem, where you weren’t able to sign in to your developer account with Xcode. We fixed that with a Developer website change back in Feb 2025. See Xcode 16.1 can't load the Account information in VM.
However, that’s revealed another problem: The new VMs used a new provisioning UDID format, and it wasn’t possible to create a provisioning profile that included such UDIDs. See "Provisioning profile does not allow this device" on Sequoia 15.2 VM. We fixed that problem with a Developer website change in Apr 2025.
However, that revealed another problem, where the guest wasn’t accepting what would otherwise be considered a valid profile (r. 149209127).
That problem will need to be fixed in the OS itself. I just checked on the bug and it’s definitely with the right people, but that’s all I can say right now.
So, where does this leave you. The following things work:
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You can run Xcode in a VM and use it to build and run programs that don’t require a provisioning profile.
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You can create a VM on macOS 14, which will have a UDID in the original format, and use that to test programs that do require a provisioning profile.
However, you can’t combine these two things. The same feature that allows you to add your Apple Account to Xcode prevents you from creating a provisioning profile for the guest.
I’m hoping we fix this sooner rather than later but, again, I can’t offer any concrete predictions as to when that’ll be.
Share and Enjoy
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Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"