Sideloading iOS Apps No Longer Possible on M1 Macs - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Sideloading iOS Apps No Longer Possible on M1 Macs

Apple this week implemented a server side blocking mechanism to prevent M1 Mac owners from sideloading iOS apps that have not been made available on the Mac by iOS app developers.

m1 mac sideload disabled

Image via 9to5Mac

As noted by 9to5Mac, it is no longer possible to use third-party apps like iMazing to obtain an app .ipa file to install it on an ‌M1‌ Mac, a workaround that has been available since M1 Macs launched.

Attempting to sideload an app using the previously working method now results in an error that says "This application cannot be installed because the developer did not intend for it to run on this platform."

App developers have the option to make their iPhone and iPad apps available on ‌M1‌ Macs, but they can also choose not to do so. Popular apps like Netflix, Hulu, Instagram, and others have opted not to make their iOS apps available on ‌M1‌ Macs and it was previously possible to install and use them with apps like iMazing or Apple Configurator 2, but that has ended.

The only iPhone and ‌iPad‌ apps that can be installed on ‌M1‌ Macs are those that developers have expressly flagged and greenlit for use on Macs. Sideloaded apps already up and running can still be used, as this only affects new app installations. The same goes for previously downloaded .ipa files.

Apple has disabled the sideloading app feature on ‌M1‌ Macs running macOS Big Sur 11.1 and the macOS Big Sur 11.2 beta.

Popular Stories

m6 a20 pro chips

iPhone 18 Pro: Everything M6 Tells Us About the A20 Chip

Saturday September 5, 2026 9:00 am PDT by
Apple announced the M6 chip last week, just ahead of its September iPhone event, providing the clearest indication yet of what the A20 will bring to the iPhone 18 lineup. Apple silicon generations share much of their architecture across the A-series and the M-series, so a new A-series chip normally functions as a partial preview of the M-series chip that follows it. This year the order...
a20 pro chip

Apple Unveils A20 Pro as First 2nm Smartphone Chip

Wednesday September 9, 2026 10:22 am PDT by
Apple today revealed the A20 Pro chip in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, built on a brand new architecture using 2nm process technology. Apple described the A20 Pro as "an exceptional chip that sets a new bar for mobile computing." The chip has a 6-core CPU design with two new super cores that Apple says are up to 20% faster, calling them "desktop class" and "the fastest in any...
apple silicon gray

Leaked Images Give First Look at Apple's AI Servers

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:34 am PDT by
Images claiming to show the inside of an Apple-made AI server, believed to power Private Cloud Compute, surfaced online this week, offering a first look at how the hardware is laid out. The images were shared earlier this week by the X user @hsuchingpo, an account with a track record of Apple hardware and prototype leaks. Captioned simply "Apple M5 Server," the leaker said the hardware is "mo...

Top Rated Comments

Protocol41 Avatar
74 months ago
Did you really think you owned your Apple hardware?
Score: 85 Votes (Like | Disagree)
74 months ago

Apple being Apple. All of a sudden old macs become gems.
Good luck sideloading iPad apps on those 👍
Score: 52 Votes (Like | Disagree)
74 months ago

Haha. That’s so Apple. That’s the way isn’t heading isn’t it? Apple will decide what you can and cannot run.
Nope you have it wrong. It is the developer of the app that has decided that they don't want it to run on M1 Macs. Apple is just enforcing what the developer wants.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArPe Avatar
74 months ago

Did you really think you owned your Apple hardware?
You own your hardware. But software since the 70s has always had a license agreement that you agree not to pirate or use software that hasn’t been distributed according to official agreements. That goes for whether you buy software in a physical store or online.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
74 months ago
Haha. That’s so Apple. That’s the way isn’t heading isn’t it? Apple will decide what you can and cannot run.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
74 months ago
Cultured Code will be sighing relief.

Now there's no choice but to spend £50 on their Mac App Things, which conveniently is identical to their £10 iOS app.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors