Add iOS device Before you start Follow this guide to prepare the device. Find the UDID of the device and note it down. Make sure the Mac mini host has the Xcode version that is compatible with the iOS/iPadOS version of the device. Refer to the Apple Xcode support page for more information. Connect Cambrionix hub to the host Skip this step if the Mac mini host or GEM already has a Cambrionix hub connected. Make sure you use a supported model of Cambrionix hub. Connect the Cambrionix hub to a power source. The power LED indicator of the Cambrionix hub should turn on. For Standard mode, connect the Mac mini to the host port of the hub. For Lightning mode, connect the Graphic Extension Manager (GEM) to the host port of the hub. Make sure you connect the Cambrionix hub to the blue USB 3.0 port on the GEM. Refer to the hub model’s user manual from Cambrionix for the exact host port location. See below for an example of the SuperSync15 with the Host port visible. Connect the Mac mini host and devices to a network that supports mDNS and Wi-Fi pairing This section is only required for iOS/iPadOS 17.0 to 17.3.1 devices with Lightning mode configuration. Prepare a network that satisfies the following requirements: mDNS UDP messages: Devices broadcast mDNS messages that the Mac mini must receive over UDP port 5353. TCP connection: Processes on the Mac mini must be able to initiate a TCP connection to the iOS device using one of the IPv6 addresses and port numbers the device advertises. These addresses and port numbers change over time, so the network must allow this dynamic connectivity. Optimal setup: Place the Mac mini and the iOS devices on the same subnet within the same Wi-Fi network. Most network equipment supports this by default. If your network differs, adjust the router configuration to allow the UDP broadcasts and TCP connections above. When the network is ready, connect both the devices and the Mac mini host to this network. If the network requirements cannot be met, use Standard mode to host the iOS 17.0 to 17.3.1 devices instead. You will need at least one additional Mac mini to host in Standard mode. Connect the device to the host Make sure you have properly prepared the device for hosting. For Standard mode, connect the mobile device to the Cambrionix hub attached to the Mac mini host. For Lightning mode with iOS 16 and below, connect the mobile device to the Cambrionix hub attached to the GEM. For Lightning mode with iOS 17.0 to 17.3.1, connect the device to one of the USB ports of the Mac mini host to establish trust pairing first. Complete the next section, then connect the device to the Cambrionix hub attached to the GEM. For Lightning mode with iOS 17.4 and above, connect the device to the Cambrionix hub attached to the GEM. Check the device to see if it is charging after connecting. If it is not charging, the USB cable might be malfunctioning, or the Cambrionix hub is not connected to a power source. Import certificates and provisioning profiles Follow this section to import signing certificates and provisioning profiles to the Mac mini host. The signing certificates and provisioning profiles are needed for: Provisioning the Kobiton control agent app to install it on all devices that are hosted by the Mac mini host (for deviceConnect). This is required. Re-signing applications uploaded to the Kobiton portal to install them on the devices (for deviceShare). This is only required if you use the Kobiton re-signing service. Skip this section if the certificates and provisioning profiles have already been imported. If you are unsure, you can always verify the certificates and provisioning profiles after connecting the devices. Establish trust pairing between the device and the host Access the Mac mini host directly or via screen sharing. The steps to establish trust pairing vary between iOS 16 and below and iOS 17 and above. iOS 16 and below The steps in this section apply to both Standard and Lightning mode. The device needs to be trusted by the system it is plugged into: For Lightning mode, that is the GEM (Dell server). For Standard mode, that is the Mac mini host. After plugging the device into the appropriate system, check the device screen. Tap Trust on the Trust This Computer prompt: Open Finder on the Mac mini host, select the connected device name, and choose Trust. If the device appears in Finder but there is no Trust button, skip this step. Unplug the device, then plug it in again. Wait until the device screen changes as shown below before continuing. There will also be an automation running overlay above the device screen. iOS 17 and above Note for air-gapped Mac mini hosts (no Internet access) To control the iOS devices, deviceConnect needs to mount a Developer Disk Image (DDI), which is a .dmg archive included with Xcode that contains executables and other files needed by Xcode to support debugging and testing on iOS devices. For iOS 17 and later, rather than Xcode providing a different DDI for every iOS version and device architecture, there is a generic DDI that Xcode must "personalize" for each device. The personalization process requires an Internet connection, as Xcode must use Apple’s notarization servers to sign the personalized image. Without an Internet connection, Xcode can’t personalize a DDI. If the Mac mini host does not have Internet connection, follow the section preload DDI for air-gapped Mac mini before continuing with this section. Follow the appropriate steps based on whether you are using Standard or Lightning mode. Standard mode Lightning mode - iOS 17.0 to 17.3.1 Lightning mode - iOS 17.4 and above The device needs to be trusted by the Mac mini host it is plugged into. After plugging the device into the Mac mini host, open Xcode, then navigate to Window → Devices and Simulators. Do this before continuing to the next step. When the Trust This Computer prompt appears on the device, tap Trust. If the prompt reappears, tap Trust again until there are no more prompts. The device needs to be trusted by both of the following: The Mac mini host that is paired with the GEM (Dell server) The GEM it is plugged into. Connect the devices and the Mac mini host to a network that satisfies the requirements. Make sure you connect the device to the Mac mini host first. Open Xcode on the Mac mini host, then navigate to Window → Devices and Simulators. Do this before continuing to the next step. When the Trust This Computer prompt appears on the device, tap Trust. If the prompt reappears, tap Trust again until there are no more prompts. On the Mac mini host, under the Devices tab of the Devices and Simulators window, the iOS 17 devices appear with a yellow warning message like the one below: Wait for the debug symbol transfer to finish, then unplug the device from the Mac mini host and plug it into the Cambrionix hub connected to the GEM. The Trust This Computer prompt appears again to establish trust pairing with the GEM. Tap Trust. In Devices and Simulators, each iOS 17 device now has a globe icon next to its name, as shown below: The device needs to be trusted by the GEM (Dell server) it is plugged into. After plugging the device into the Cambrionix hub connected to the GEM, the Trust This Computer prompt appears. Tap Trust. Wait until the device screen changes to the below before continuing. There will also be an automation running overlay above the device screen (not shown in screenshot). Preload DDI for air-gapped Mac mini hosts This section applies only to Mac mini hosts without Internet access that host iOS 17 and above devices. Access any macOS machine with Internet access. This will be referred to as the Internet Mac. Kobiton software, such as deviceConnect and deviceShare, does not need to be installed on the Internet Mac. Install Xcode on the Internet Mac. Make sure the Xcode version on the Internet Mac is the same or greater than the version on the Mac mini host to transfer the DDI to. Unplug the iOS device from the air-gapped Mac (Standard mode) or the GEM (Lightning mode) and connect it to the Internet Mac. Open Xcode. Tap Trust in the Trust This Computer prompt on the iOS device. If the prompt reappears, tap Trust again until there are no more prompts. In the Xcode menu bar, select Window → Devices and Simulators. Select the iOS device under the Devices tab. The Copying shared cache symbols… message appears. Wait for this process to complete and the message to clear. Unplug the device from the Internet Mac. Repeat the above processes for all iOS/iPadOS 17 and above devices to be hosted on the air-gapped Mac mini. Open Finder on the Internet Mac. Press Shift + Command + G on the keyboard, then input the following path depending on the version of Xcode: /Library/Developer/CoreDevice/CandidateDDIs (Xcode 16.3 and above). If that folder does not exist, use ~/Library/Developer/CoreDevice/CandidateDDIs. /Library/Developer/DeveloperDiskImages (Xcode 16 to 16.2) ~/Library/Developer/DeveloperDiskImages (Xcode below 16) Copy the two files iOS_DDI-version.plist and iOS_DDI.dmg to the air-gapped Mac mini that will host the iOS devices. Put the copied files into the following folder on the air-gapped Mac mini: /Library/Developer/CoreDevice/CandidateDDIs (Xcode 16.3 and above) /Library/Developer/DeveloperDiskImages (Xcode 16 to 16.2) ~/Library/Developer/DeveloperDiskImages (Xcode below 16) Repeat the above process for all air-gapped Mac mini hosts with iOS/iPadOS 17 and above devices. Continue with connecting iOS devices to the air-gapped Mac mini hosts or the GEM. Apple has not published whether the personalized DDI will expire or how long it will last in an air-gapped environment. If connection errors occur and other troubleshooting steps do not resolve the issue, the personalized DDI may have expired, and you will need to repeat this process. Verify device is available in Kobiton Open Chrome on the Mac mini, then open localhost and log in. Navigate to Devices. The connected device displays as Available. If you see the deviceControl warning or the error under the device’s name with either of the below messages, follow this section to troubleshoot the issue and generate and/or import the correct certificates and provisioning profiles. Device is not associated with any valid installed provisioning profile. No provisioned deviceControl or signing profiles are available. iOS devices will not be usable. Still in Chrome, open the Kobiton web portal and log in using an account with ADMIN role. Select the profile picture and choose Settings, then choose Device Management. In the search bar, enter the device’s UDID and select Enter to filter. The device should appear in the filter result. If the state of the device is Utilizing, it is being cleaned up. Wait about 2-3 minutes for the cleanup to complete. When the cleanup is done, the device state becomes Online and the Launch button is available. Select it to launch a Manual session on the device. In the Manual session, try the following to verify if the device is working properly: Navigate around. Install an app. Browse the web (if the device has a Wi-Fi connection). Enable Lightning mode (if the device is configured for Lightning mode). If all the above works, you have successfully added the device.