GBox lets you sign and install an IPA without leaving your iPhone. No Mac, no cable, no desktop app. You point it at a file, pick a certificate, and the app lands on your Home Screen a minute later.
The part nobody advertises is what happens a few days later, when a certificate gets revoked and your apps stop opening. This guide covers both: how to get set up, and how to make the revocation problem much less annoying.
What GBox is, and who it suits
At its core, it is an app that downloads, signs and installs IPA files on an iPhone or iPad. It’s aimed at people who don’t own a computer, or who just don’t want to plug in every week the way desktop tools require.
It suits you if you’re comfortable poking around in Settings and can live with an app occasionally refusing to open until you re-sign it. If you’d rather have apps that stay put, the overview of no-jailbreak methods lists the steadier options, with and without a computer.
What you need
- An iPhone or iPad. Support depends on the GBox build and the certificate you use, so check both against your iOS version.
- Safari. iOS only installs configuration profiles from Safari, so use it for the download even if you normally use another browser.
- A steady connection. A dropped download leaves you with a broken IPA that fails halfway through installing.
- The IPA, from its developer or a source you trust, saved in the Files app or a cloud drive like iCloud Drive or Dropbox.
- A certificate. GBox includes shared ones, or you can bring your own .p12 file.
Installing an IPA with GBox
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Download GBox in Safari from its official source and tap install. iOS asks to install a profile. Allow it.
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Trust it. Open Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, tap the GBox profile and choose Trust. On iOS 18 and later, including iOS 26 and 27, you’ll see Allow & Restart, and the phone reboots.
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Turn on Developer Mode if iOS asks, under Settings > Privacy & Security > Developer Mode.
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Pick a certificate. This choice decides how long your apps will keep working. Open Certificate Management in GBox. You have two routes:
- A shared certificate bundled with GBox. It works straight away, but because everyone uses it, Apple tends to revoke it within days.
- Your own .p12 certificate, bought from a signing service. It’s tied to your device and usually lasts months, sometimes up to a year, depending on how soon Apple notices it.
To add your own, tap Import Certificate, choose your
.p12and.mobileprovisionfiles and type the password.
The certificate you choose here decides how long your apps keep opening.
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Import the IPA. On the main screen tap Import IPA and pick the file from Files or your cloud drive.
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Sign and install. Choose the certificate and tap Install. Let the progress bar finish before you tap the new icon.
GBox signs the app on the phone and installs it to the Home Screen.
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Trust the app if needed. If it says “Untrusted Developer”, go back to VPN & Device Management and trust the profile for your certificate. That’s also the fix if you see the message later.
When things go wrong
Apps stop opening a few days after install. The shared certificate was almost certainly revoked. Re-sign with a working certificate and reinstall. If this keeps happening, it’s the best argument for a private .p12.
GBox itself won’t open. Its own certificate was revoked as well. Reinstall GBox from its official source, then re-sign your apps.
“Install Failed” halfway. Almost always a damaged download. Grab the IPA again over a stable connection.
GBox’s certificate is down and you need an app today. Esign or Feather work the same way, so a working certificate in either gets you going again.
About “anti-revoke” DNS profiles. Some download sites push a DNS profile that stops your phone from hearing about revocations. It buys time at best, and a dead certificate still can’t sign anything new. The RevokeGuard page explains the trade-offs; a private certificate is the real fix.
Removing apps
Delete the app from the Home Screen, then remove the profile it was signed with under Settings > General > VPN & Device Management. Deleting the icon alone leaves the profile behind.
FAQ
Can I use the same .p12 in GBox and another signer?
Usually, yes. A certificate is just files, so the same .p12 and provisioning profile import into Esign or Feather too.
Does GBox work on iOS 26 and 27?
The iOS version matters less than whether the current GBox build and your certificate are alive. If GBox itself opens, signing usually works too.
How long does a paid certificate really last?
Sellers usually say up to a year, but the honest answer is that it depends on how quickly Apple flags it. Many offer a free replacement if it’s revoked within a certain period, so check the terms before you buy.
GBox makes sense when there’s no computer in the picture and you can shrug off a revoke now and then. Pay for a private certificate and those revokes get rare enough to forget about.
