TestFlight — iOS Beta Testing

Ashok Kumar Subramanian
Nov 7 · 3 min read

This tutorial will walk you through the steps required from the testers’ side in order to access the build you have uploaded to App Store. It’s wise to be familiar with this side of the process because questions will come up!

Installing TestFlight

The TestFlight app is available on the AppStore. If you haven’t already, open the AppStore and search for TestFlight:

Accepting TestFlight Invitation

Download the TestFlight app and launch it. When asked to login, sign in with your Apple ID (this is needed for closed Beta tester group). Once the Beta build is enabled from the developer, you will get an email notification. Open the email from the iPhone / iPad, then click View in TestFlight. If this is the first time you are invited for the app, you should Accept the invitation.

Download and Test

After accepting the invitation, the TestFlight app will let you to Install the test app. An important thing to note here is, if you already have the production app installed on your device, the test app will override the existing production app. Apple will show a warning message saying the “By installing the test build, you may loose the app’s data”. But generally it won’t happen. The app’s data is kept as is. Proceed further and Install.

Once you open the downloaded app, the first screen is What to Test. This gives an overview about what to be tested in the beta app.

And before I conclude, you can differentiate the Beta builds from the actual production build by looking at the orange color dot before the app name. From now on, whenever a new version of this app is available, you’ll see a notification from TestFlight. All you need to do is update your app and run the latest version.

Ashok Kumar Subramanian

Written by

Lead Software Engineer — Coviam Technologies

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