Esign does the whole sideloading job on the phone. It downloads or imports the IPA, signs it with a certificate and installs it, all in one app. You never need a Mac, a PC or a cable, which is exactly why it got popular.
It also comes with baggage you should know about before you start. This guide covers where Esign stands in late 2026, what you need, the signing steps, and the two problems everyone runs into: the trust prompt and apps that suddenly stop opening.
Esign in 2026: a quick reality check
The original Esign stopped development in 2025. What you’ll find under the name today is a mix of community rebuilds, forks and sites selling certificates. Some are fine. Others are copies with added ads or worse, and it isn’t always easy to tell which is which.
So two pieces of advice before anything else:
- Get it from a source you can verify, such as a project’s GitHub page or a well-known community, not a random site that calls itself “official”.
- Consider Feather instead. Feather is a free, open-source on-device signer (GPL-3.0) that works the same way: import an IPA, pick your certificate, sign, install. Its code is public, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of it. Our Feather page has the official download and setup. The steps below apply to both with only small differences in menu names.
Esign and Feather trade stability for never touching a computer. If you’d make the opposite trade, the comparison of every no-jailbreak method shows what you get with a desktop tool instead.
What you need
- An iPhone or iPad. Compatibility depends on the build you download, so check its notes for your iOS version.
- The .ipa file, in the Files app or at a download link, from the app’s developer or a source you trust.
- A signing certificate. There are two realistic choices:
- A free or shared certificate. Shared “global” certificates get revoked often, sometimes more than once a week. A free Apple ID gives you seven-day signatures and a limit of three apps.
- A private certificate, usually a .p12 file plus a provisioning profile, bought for your device or from a paid developer account. These last weeks to a year and don’t have the three-app limit.
If you plan to keep an app for more than a few days, a private certificate saves a lot of frustration.
Installing Esign itself
Esign isn’t on the App Store, so you install it the same way as any sideloaded app.
- Open Safari and go to the download page you’ve decided to trust.
- Tap the install link. Some sites also push a DNS profile meant to slow down revocations. It’s optional, and you shouldn’t install it unless you know what it blocks; the RevokeGuard page explains the catch.
- Tap Install and wait for the icon.
- Go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management and find the certificate that signed Esign. On iOS 18 and later, including iOS 26 and 27, you’ll tap Allow & Restart and the phone reboots to finish trusting it. Older versions show a simple Trust button.
- If iOS asks, switch on Developer Mode under Settings > Privacy & Security and let it restart.
- Open Esign. If it launches, its certificate is currently valid.
Seeing “Unable to Verify App”, or does it close straight away? Then the certificate behind that build has been revoked. You’ll need a fresh build.
Signing and installing an IPA
The menu where you import a certificate before signing anything.
- Open the Files tab and import your .ipa from the Files app, or paste a download link.
- Tap the file and choose Import to library, then switch to the Apps tab.
- Using your own certificate? Import it now: add the .p12 file, type its password and add the provisioning profile if you have one. Skip this step if you’re using a built-in certificate.
- In Apps, select your app and open Signature. Choose the certificate and check the options.
- Tap Sign and wait while it rebuilds the app.
- Tap Install and approve the prompt from iOS.
- Back in Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, trust the new app’s profile, or tap Allow & Restart on iOS 18 and later.
The icon on your Home Screen should open now.
Add the IPA to the library first, then sign and install it from the Apps tab.
When things go wrong
“Untrusted Developer”, or the trust step hangs. Step 7 got skipped or couldn’t finish. Trusting needs to reach Apple’s servers, so do it while you’re online.
The app opens for a week, then stops. That’s a seven-day free signature. Re-sign the same IPA and reinstall, or switch to a private certificate.
Every app dies at once. The shared certificate was revoked. Everything signed with it goes down together. This is the main reason people move to a private certificate.
Crashes on launch or won’t install. Usually a revoked certificate, sometimes an IPA built for a different iOS version. Try another certificate first, then another build of the app.
Can’t sign a fourth app. Free Apple IDs allow three. Delete one or use a private certificate.
Removing apps cleanly
- Long-press the icon and choose Remove App > Delete App.
- In Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, remove the profile that signed it. That also frees a slot if you’re on a free Apple ID.
When a shared certificate gets revoked, Apple effectively does step 2 for you, for every app at once.
FAQ
Why does it want a .mobileprovision as well as the .p12?
The .p12 says who is signing. The provisioning profile says which devices and capabilities that certificate covers, and iOS won’t install the app without it. Both have to come from the same account.
Does Esign work on iOS 26 and iOS 27?
That comes down to the build you found and the certificate you sign with, more than Esign itself. Read the notes of that specific build before trusting it.
Is Esign safe?
The idea is sound, but after the original project ended, a lot of copies appeared, and some carry malware or aggressive ads. Use a source you can verify, or choose open-source Feather.
If the certificate merry-go-round gets old and a computer is within reach, Sideloadly signs with your own Apple ID, so there’s no shared certificate left to revoke.
