No Developer Mode option on iOS 16 device.

Hi, I'm really hoping someone can help me. After updating my iPhone 11 to iOS 16 and tried to launch an app from xCode on it, I noticed that I didn't have dev mode enabled. When I went to Settings > Privacy & Security to toggle the Developer Mode on, it wasn't there. There is no Developer Mode option in my settings, the only option and the end of Privacy & Security is Lockdown Mode.

I tried so many troubleshooting techniques and spent a lot of time looking for solutions. I tried powering on and off while connected to my macbook with xcode running and again without xcode running. Made sure my device has the latest update (iOS 16.0.2) and my device has trusted the connection to the Macbook as well. I also had the same problem on my girlfriends brand new iPhone 13, I was really hoping it was just my device but no, her device doesn't have the Dev Mode option either. Out of curiosity I asked my friends at work if they had the option but they did not. I even went as far as going into an Apple store and checking the devices on display and they didn't have the option either. And when I asked the staff their, they didn't know why the option wasn't showing up on mine or even their own personal devices.

The only source that I have found with the same issue as me is this youtube link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AEusqQV794), where it mentions that this is an issue with iOS 16 public beta users and not developer beta user and the only way to solve this is by sidloading the app which I am not gonna do. Please note that I am not running beta version on my device.

I can't help think that there's something obvious that I'm missing or need to do but just can't find it.

Any help or advice will by really appreciated :)

Thank you

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UE-Dev
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  • I found a logical (though not easy) solution: you have to add your device to your Apple Developer account. Under "Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles" go to "Devices." Then click the + icon.

    The tricky part here is finding the device's UUID. After physically plugging in your phone to your Mac, click on the name of the phone in Finder, and the info will cycle through until UUID shows up. You can't copy and paste that info (thanks, Apple!), so you have to accurately type all the characters in.

    —
    SigridM

  • I was experiencing this as well. I had just updated my iPhone 11 Pro Max to 16.2, my Macbook to Ventura 13.1, and Xcode was freshly updated. I got Developer Mode to appear by:

    turning off my phone for 10srestarting my macbookopening xcodeconnecting my phone to my macbook

    Hope this helps someone. ✌🏽

    —
    basia

  • When you first go to privacy and settings you will not see the developer mode. To enable developer mode, first you need to go to Xcode -> product -> destination -> choose your device Follow the prompts, now when you go back you can see the developer mode and toggle it on.

    —
    AashiShrimal

Accepted Reply

Usually it is enough to:

  • Having launched Xcode
  • connect iPhone to the Mac via USB
  • Switch mode on device

But, to make a long story short, better contact support.

Posted by
Claude31
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Post marked as solved

  • see comment above - adding the UDID to my Developer Account worked. After this, the option re-appeared on my Phone

    —
    Blackfrancis

  • Why does the accepted reply have no instructions on how to fix the problem. Makes no sense.

    —
    a7532
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Replies

I have an iPhone 13 Mini. When I attempted to run an app I was developing on my phone, I found that the Settings > Privacy & Security > Developer Mode was missing. I realized that I was still associated with a defunct app developer team from several years ago. So I left the team (https://developer.apple.com/help/account/manage-your-team/leave-a-team/), updated my developer account, and then rebooted several times but Developer Mode was still not showing up. I began to think that joining the fee-based Apple Developer Program might be required.

I checked back yesterday (after ~4 days had elapsed) and noticed that the Developer Mode option was available (even though I had NOT joined the fee-based Apple Developer Program). So for anyone reading this, allow for system latency after leaving a team and/or updating your account.

Posted by
jsdilla
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Thanks, it sucks I don’t own any kind of computer but at least I know why they removed it like that.

Posted by
Andrewaviss
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but.. how do you do that if there is no mac and no xcode... I am trying to distribute a test app to registered devices, but they cannot get into developer mode

they live on the other side of the country and are just users of the app, not developers..

Posted by
sdetweil
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I find a warning for my apple id says I need to login again, or something may not work correctly. Then after I login my apple id again, the developer mode switch shows up.

Posted by
Weiping_Li
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What worked for me :

Open Xcode "14.3.1" then :

  1. Go to Product -> Destination -> Manage Run Destinations
  2. Click on your device and press unpair
  3. Click on + and add your device
  4. Finally press enable developer mode on device (from Manage Run Destinations)

Now on Your device :

Go to Privacy & Security :

  1. In the bottom the option now shows up
  2. Enable you will be prompted to restart

Here you go !

Posted by
SBENG
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As someone else mentioned, the option appears once the device is connected, has been trusted, and you have opened XCode.

Posted by
JulesRosser
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Finally I found a solution, I hoper it could help someone

1.- Open Xcode 2.- Select your physical device 3.- Run/build the app 4.- You'll able to see Developer mode Settings - Privacy && Security 5.- Enable it

other steps 1.- Settings - Developer - Clear Trusted Computers ... and allow again

so, if you have problem with you keychain, just enter you password to allow the permission and click "Allow always" , don't hit Allow because it doesn't work and then it should be work.

if is necessary restart your computer and iphone.... build the app from Xcode and you will be able to see your app in your physical device

I hope it work for you!!! :=

Posted by
Sainos
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My issue was that my phone was plugged into the computer via a USB hub instead of directly into the USB-C port. As soon as I plugged it in directly, the option showed up.

Posted by
VladdySt
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I just had this, for me it turned out that I needed to connect via cable to my Mac first, problem was I was using a third party cable. As a last ditched effort I dug out my apple cable (usbc-usbc)

That did the trick I got all the prompts for trusting the device and then the Developer Mode option popup in the settings.

Posted by
markosx
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I had this and got it working but my setup is.a little different

My setup is a little different though as the device is enrolled in InTuneMDM. This may or may not have contributed

  • iPhone 13 - iOS 17.0.3
  • Mac OS 14.0 - M2 Pro
  • XCode 15
  • Enrolled in inTuneMDM
  • The phone could connect to another mac via xcode although it was my old mac and Xcode was too old to support iOS 17.

Symptoms:

  • Developer Mode Not Available
  • iPhone Not visible in XCode
  • I don't think the phone was visible in finder.

Steps Taken

  • An inTuneMDM setting was enable when I was having problems with this, this may or may not have had an impact. Named something along the lines of - Allow enhanced USB connection.
  • Reboots didn't work.
  • To confirm if the phone was getting the prompt to trust the Mac I cleared Settings->General->Reset->Reset Location & Privacy Settings
  • To confirm the Mac trusted the phone I changed the following so I could see the phone was trying to connect. Privacry & Security -> Allow accessories to connect -> Ask every time.
  • At this point both devices prompted to trust the other but still no change.
  • Rebooted both Mac and iPhone
  • Now the phone was visible in finder but not in X-Code
  • Reboot again
  • Partially visible in xcode. It tried to sync but only partially worked. At this point it was in a strange state where xcode was 'partially' aware of the iPhone. I wasn't in the list of device and even though the list of devices was empty the main window in devices & simulators had a small amoutn of info about the phone.
  • Reboot again.
  • This time the sync in xcode worked and the device was displayed as expected. Although it complained that developer mode was not enabled.
  • Enable developer mode on the phone under Privacy. This restarted the iPhone.
  • Select a trust prompt on the phone when asked.
  • It was now showing in xcode.
Posted by
DanW82
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SOLUTION.

The developer mode cannot be activated until having tried to run it from xcode first. Once xcode attempts to read it, the developer mode appears in settings where it should be displayed.

Posted by
eduardoest
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One reason it won't show is if you haven't finished setting up the device. At the top of setting's it will prompt you do go through some steps such as Touch/FaceID, wallet etc... I skipped the wallet step and it still fixed the issue. Developer mode appeared straight away after that.

Posted by
Benskill
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I had the same problem, the developer mode was not available in security & privacy. Here is how I resolve it :

  • Unplugged my iPhone.
  • Restarted my iPhone.
  • Plugged it back in.
  • Opened > closed > re-opened Settings
  • I did not restart Xcode nor my Mac, left them opened during the whole process.

And the developer mode appeared. Weird...

Posted by
Foravel
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What fixed it for me is to sideload a dummy app using Altstore (https://*******.com/altstorelink) holding option, or using Sideloadly (sorry no link). I used the Altstore method. You can find a dummy app HERE. For some reason it wouldn't let me embed in the Altstore link. Why does this have to be so hard? It's 2024 and STILL...

Posted by
a7532
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FWIW, I had to disable my VPN in order for the option to appear.

Posted by
tinpotiempo
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