EU sideloading in iOS 17.5: No app updates for extended trips abroad
If the iPhone leaves the EU, apps downloaded outside the App Store won't get updates, leaving security vulnerabilities exposed.
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Apple's new geo-restriction also applies to direct app downloads: If you leave the EU for more than 30 days, there will be no more updates for iPhone apps that were previously downloaded outside of Apple's App Store. This applies to both apps from alternative app marketplaces and software that users have obtained directly from the developer's website, as Apple confirmed to Mac & i. There is no such geo-blocking for the App Store itself.
Sideloading starts with iOS 17.5, alternative app stores already work from iOS 17.4 - AltStore is now the first public provider. This fundamental opening of the iOS operating system currently only applies in the 27 EU member states, as stipulated by the Digital Markets Act.
After the grace period: no app updates outside the EU
Apps that have already been downloaded can still be used on extended trips outside the EU. However, updates will no longer be available after this period. Apple also blocks the download of new apps outside the App Store during extended trips abroad. Both will only work again after returning to an EU country.
Conversely, this means that users will not receive any new features for such apps during extended stays abroad, and bugs will no longer be fixed, potentially leaving security vulnerabilities exposed.
Sideloading only possible in the EU – with a local Apple ID
Apple restricts the availability of sideloading and alternative app marketplaces to users whose Apple ID is assigned to the EU – and who must also be physically located in the EU. The iPhone apparently determines this using various signals such as location and mobile network. Apple does not record the location, the manufacturer emphasizes. If you are in the EU but use an Apple ID that is assigned to a non-EU country, you cannot obtain apps outside the App Store. The functions are then blocked.
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