IOS Enterprise In-house distribution account to use

Question

In years gone by we found that we could only have 1 distribution certificate per logged on user so we created as many accounts as was need, 3 in our case, 1 for each developer program and logged onto the mac using the required account.

So anytime an app was developed and need to be distributed in-house I would log onto the mac using the enterprise account and archive and distribute for in-house and sent the resulting .ipa file and the provisioning profile to the users.

I have now discovered I can have multiple distribution certificates on the mac and am trying to see if I can distribute via in-house logged on to the mac as me and use my own profile or the team profile that link to the enterprise developer program.

The app build ok and generates the ipa file and I can install using iTunes but I get a faded icon on the iphone and when tapped it says installing but never does?

So, my two part question is:

a) is it possible to distribute in-house using my enterprise linked account logged on as me and using my profile or team profile

b) I read you do not need to give the user the profile, but I have always done this as was the requirement when I first learned to do this?

Thanks

Answer 1

a) Yes. I have 10 or so certificates (dev & dist) on my computer for various clients. I keep them in separate keychains for peace of mind. When it comes to time distribute your in-house binary, you archive in Xcode then hit the Distribute… button in the Xcode organizer, choosing the correct Enterprise profile.

b) This is no longer necessary as the Distribute… step mentioned above embeds the profile in the app. Things are much easier than they used to be.

NB: I avoid wildcard provisioning profiles as they can cause heartache, even in simpler situations than yours (e.g. if Xcode chooses a wildcard Ad Hoc profile during Archive, then your entitlements may be wrong once you Distribute), so for this reason I recommend you always use explicit profiles.