ios - iPhone app under test crashes after a few days

Question

I am new to making iPhone apps and this is my first attempt.

I have made a simple app which has two buttons in it. One button opens a URL and the other opens a Pop-up window.

I am yet to enroll as an apple developer and am testing my application on the physical device by connecting it to Xcode.

When I install the application, it runs properly for a few days in spite of disconnecting it from Xcode. However, after a few days, the application does not open and flashes a black blank screen and goes back to the home screen.

When I reconnect it to Xcode and run the same code again on the same iPhone, it works properly again for a few days and then crashes again.

I am unable to understand why the app is behaving in such a manner after a few days and not immediately.

Is there some expiry period for application when one has not signed in as a developer? (The provisioning profile shows expiring soon) If not, can you please guide me as to how to go about troubleshooting this issue?

Kindly give me your esteemed suggestions/comments as I am badly stuck and need to find a solution as soon as possible.

Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

If application is installed with Xcode and you don't have a Paid Program Developer Account, the life expectancy of the app is approximately 48 hours (There is no official time of validity for this).

For a paid program, it's a few months with the correct certificate. With TestFlight, it's now 60 days.

Indeed, if you don't sign your app, it has low life expectancy. It's quite new that Apple allows installation to devices for free accounts, but it's just for testing purposes (other than simulator), if you want more days to test on a device, you have to pay for the developer program.