Testing With Ad-Hoc Distribution

With Ad-Hoc distribution, you can test variants of your application that are built locally by Xcode. Applications built with Bitcode enabled can be exported for Ad-Hoc distribution. However, since final compilation of Bitcode happens on the App Store you should also test the binaries created by the store using TestFlight.

1. Follow the steps listed under Exporting Your App for Testing Outside the Store in the App Distribution Guide to export your archive for Ad-Hoc distribution. Xcode will create an iOS App file (a file with an .ipa filename extension) that you can install on your device.

2. It is best to install your app with iTunes and launch it without Xcode for quality assurance testing. Launching with Xcode is good during development because it's faster, but it can mask issues with your app. Running your app with Xcode's debugger attached also masks problems like "watchdog crashes" that can happen if an app takes too long to launch.

   Delete any builds of the app from your device. Then follow the steps listed under Installing Your App on Test Devices Using iTunes in the App Distribution Guide to sync the .ipa file to your testing device.

3. After testing the build to your satisfaction, you can submit it to the App Store by following these steps.

Testing With TestFlight

With TestFlight beta testing, you can distribute a prerelease build of your application to a wider audience to collect feedback prior to submitting it for release in the App Store. TestFlight offers a testing environment that most closely matches the real world environment of a customer's device. For application's built with Bitcode, distributing with TestFlight is the only way to test the final build of your application that is created by the App Store.

Refer to the TestFlight Beta Testing chapter in the iTunes Connect Developer Guide for steps to upload your archive for TestFlight beta testing, invite beta testers, and distribute prerelease builds.

After testing the build to your satisfaction, you can submit it to the App Store by following these steps.

Test a Clean Installation

It is easy to accidentally introduce dependencies on previously created data being present as you iteratively develop and test your app. Xcode's app install process is optimized for development, but is slightly different than how iTunes and the App Store install apps. Prior to distributing a new version of your application, thoroughly test launching from a clean installation - where no data previously created by your application is present on the device.

1. Remove previous builds of your application from the testing device. You can delete an application and its container from the iOS home screen or using Xcode's Devices window.

2. If your application uses a shared app group container to store common data files, you should also remove all other applications in that app group from the testing device. Shared containers are not deleted until all applications in the app group are removed from the device.

3. Keychain data previously created by your application may not be deleted when the app is removed from the device. To clear its keychain, an application can call the SecItemDelete API with a query that matches all existing items. You may find it more convenient to prepare a small utility application that you can quickly install on your test device for this task. This utility application must have the same bundle identifier as your real application to modify its keychain.

Test an Upgrade Installation

Unless this is the a new application, the majority of your customers will be upgrading from a previous release. Test that upgrading from previously released build of your application works smoothly and, if you have made changes to your file format, that existing data is successfully migrated. See Testing iOS App Updates for a discussion of testing an update to an iOS app that has already been deployed through the App Store.

Test Under Various Network Conditions

The behavior of the network on which the problem is reproducing may be significantly different than the network you used during development. Test that your application launches and remains responsive even under poor network conditions. You can use the Network Link Conditioner on your device to test how your app behaves on a slow or unreliable internet connection. The Network Link Conditioner can be activated by navigating to Settings > Developer > Network Link Conditioner on your testing device.