SOLVED! Xcode Couldn’t Find Any iOS App Development Provisioning Profiles Matching…

Once it comes to “Xcode couldn’t find any iOS app development provisioning profiles matching…” error, the number one suspect is automatic signing being disabled and the best solution is manual code signing. Besides that, you may want to update Certificates and Provisioning Profiles, generate Provisioning Profiles, download and install the latest version of Xcode, … Continue reading to take care of the error and get the most out of Xcode.

What is Xcode and How to Use It?

Xcode is an integrated development environment (IDE) developed by Apple as a platform for developing software for all its products including iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS. It’s designed to create applications for the Apple ecosystem, hence, a MAC computer is required. You will not be able to use it on Windows system.

To be able to use Xcode, you need to download it from Mac App Store to your Mac computer. Likewise, you can visit the Apple Developer page for Xcode if you don’t have Mac App Store. You can run it on iPad because you need macOS 10.14.4 or later and should have an available storage space of at least 7.6 GB.

Once you have Xcode on your Mac, you can start writing your code, build and test it using an emulator or a real device. Costs will incur if you want to distribute your apps in App Store – you need to pay $99/year. With proper setup and compatibility of the software, it should run without any problem. Yet, in reality, iOS developers encounter an error once they run their program and try to test it.

Xcode couldn’t find any iOS app development provisioning profiles matching

Even if provisioning profiles have been successfully generated and certificates have been updated, some app developers are still stuck with this error:

Some developers have recreated this problem and it seems that it’ll just solve by itself after several attempts. But, rest assured, there are still known reasons why this problem occurs. The following could be the reason:

Automatic Signing is disabled: With Xcode 8, you will have the option to choose automatic signing wherein Xcode will generate everything you need. Yet, this option seems to be activated only when using Xcode GUI. But, if you’re executing via the command-line tool, you’ll be forced to go back to manual signing, which will also fail for some reason.

Build Settings: Sometimes, the problem is on the code signing identities of the Debug and Release options. Go to Build Settings>Signing Settings>Code Signing Identity. Make sure that they have correct identities – Development and Distribution.

Missing Certificates and Provisioning Profiles: To successfully run your iOS app, you must need development certificates and provisioning profiles. The former is used if you need to test your app on a physical device, while the latter links the device and the developer. You’ll encounter the above-mentioned error if the system can’t find any provisioning profile available.

Solutions and Workaround

Some iOS developers just mindlessly repeated the process of building their app on Xcode and eventually get rid of the problem. While they are lucky, it’s really hard to solve the problem when it’ll occur again. The following are workarounds that have been a great help to those who had this problem.

Go with Manual Code Signing

For those who are using cmd, you can still build your code, even if the signing error is still there. It’ll allow you to continue testing your code, but it won’t get rid of the problem.

Alternatively, you can go to the project navigator and select the project you are currently working on. In the project editor, select the main target. Under Signing, you can find “Automatically manage signing” with a tick box to its left. You can switch to manual signing by unticking the field. If it’s disabled, proceed to the next workaround.

Updating Certificates and Provisioning Profiles

1. Clean your build (cmd+shift+K).
2. Quit Xcode properly, not just closing it. Make sure that it has been properly terminated.
3. Delete everything you have in the ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profiles folder.
4. Restart Xcode and reload your project.

If the Automatically Manage Signing field has been ticked, Xcode will automatically re-download the provisioning profiles. Otherwise, you’ll do it manually.

For the Code Signing Identities

1. 1. Go to Preferences>Accounts.
   2. Click on the + at the lower-left corner of the screen. Select Add Apple ID.
   3. Enter your Apple ID and your password if you have, then select Sign In. Otherwise, you should hit the Create Apple ID.
   4. Once you have signed in, you can see your Apple ID and your team. Click on the View details.
   5. You can see code Signing Identities and Provisioning Profiles.
   6. Just check on the iOS Development and iOS Distribution profiles since these are what you need. If you see Create buttons, that means these profiles are not yet available. Simply click the buttons so you can download these identities. (Note: If you have these Code Signing Identities, you can see Reset button instead of Create).

Generate Provisioning Profiles

Since you have deleted all the provisioning profiles you have, you must generate them again. Go to Xcode’s project navigator. Then go to Signing>Team. (Make sure that you are connected to the correct team).

Now, go to Preferences>Accounts. Select your Apple ID and your team. You will have the option to select Download Manual Profiles. Then, go to ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profiles/. You must find the profiles already downloaded there.

Rebuild your program and it should work without any problem.

Update Xcode

Perhaps, the Xcode you’re using isn’t updated, hence there are some incompatibilities and missing links. Simply go to App Store>Updates. Find Xcode and click Update.

Alternatively, you can go to https://developer.apple.com/download/more/. Log in your Apple ID and you’ll be able to download the latest version of Xcode from there.

Connect with Your Real Device

Still, got the error? How about connecting it to a real device? If you are using an iPhone emulator and you still get the problem, perhaps a real device connection can help you go through. Nevertheless, it’ll be a bit risky, unless you know what you are doing.

The Final Say

Xcode is a vast application and a single article about the issue on Xcode couldn’t find any iOS App Development provisioning profiles matching isn’t enough. Fortunately, we have successfully decoded the issue, and we also have established solutions that surely work.

To get rid of any problem in the future, make sure that you have the updated Xcode installed and you have set up the certificates and provisioning profiles successfully. Should you still encounter the problem after trying out every solution that we had, just contact Xcode support or leave a comment below.