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Enabling Developer Mode on iOS 17.3.1

Mar 7th, 2024

2 min read

Sep 24th, 2024

I had trouble recently trying to find the “Developer Mode” settings on my iPhone. I tried viewing the “Privacy & Security” settings and scrolling down to the bottom only to find that it wasn’t there.

screen of iphone where developer mode is not showing

Even the official documentation was not helpful and users around the internet repeated the same instructions.

It wasn’t until I found an obscure comment that helped me unlock “Developer Mode”. So now I’m going to share how I got “Developer Mode” to show.

How to enable “Developer Mode” for iPhone and Xcode

  1. Download Xcode on your macOS device. xcode logo

  2. Connect your iPhone to your macOS device and make sure to trust your device on your iPhone. trust computer prompt on iOS

  3. And enter your passcode on your iPhone enter passcode on iOS

  4. Open Xcode and navigate to the settings “Product” > “Destination” > “Manage Run Destinations” menu navigation to "manage run destinations"

  5. You should see your device now but there’s a warning banner that “Developer Mode” is not enabled. destinations management showing a banner that dev mode is not enabled

  6. Head over to “Privacy & Security” in “Settings” on your iPhone and you should now see “Developer Mode”. privacy and security menu

  7. Turn it on and it will ask you to “Restart” which is required. turning on dev mode

  8. Upon logging back into your iPhone, it will confirm you want to turn on “Developer Mode”. Press “Turn On”. dev mode reduced security prompt

  9. One last time you’ll be asked to enter your passcode. dev mode enter the passcode

  10. If you look at Xcode, you should see that your iPhone will try to pair. If not, you may need to wait or click on the warning banner. iphone and xcode paring

That’s it!

You now have “Developer Mode” set on your iPhone. Turn off “Developer Mode” by going back to your iPhone “Privacy & Security” settings if you no longer need it.

Good luck, happy coding and see you next time.

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