Is it possible to target older iOS versions when using Xcode 4.2 and iOS 5 SDK?

Asked 13/10, 2011 at 22:0 Answered 13/2, 2015 at 17:1

103

I just recently downloaded the Xcode 4.2 with iOS 5 SDK package and I immediately noticed that I am unable to use my iPhone 3Gs with iOS 4.2.1 for debugging. I am only able to debug and test on my iphone 4 with iOS 5 installed.

For any of my devices running any iOS less than 5.0 Xcode just says "Finished running for iPhone3GS" and doesn't run it. I have my deployment target set to 3.0 because I am not using any features in my app above 3.0 and I want to be able to target all versions 3.0 or higher. I have all my provisioning profiles installed and up to date.

I have quit and restarted xcode, I have cleaned the build multiple times. I have tried adding armv6 in the archtecture build settings, but nothing will allow me to build and run my app on my old phone with ios 4.2.1.

My question is, is it possible to still make apps with the new SDK work for iOS versions lower than 5? How can I be sure that my app will still run on lower iOS versions if I am unable to install them on my old phone?

Edit: OK it looks like iOS SDK 5 dropped support for armv6 by default. What you have to do is add armv6 in the Architectures field under Build Settings for both your Target and your Project. Then your app will be able to run on iPhone 3G devices. Answer can be found here How to build for armv6 and armv7 architectures with iOS 5

Sesquioxide answered 13/10, 2011 at 22:0 Comment(1)

Note that your edit has to do with architectures, which is a separate issue to iOS versions. Also, please add the edit as an answer so you can accept the solution you found and this question can be marked as answered. – Gassing 14/10, 2011 at 3:29

153

I was having the same issue trying to get a newly created Xcode 4.2 project running on an iPhone 3G 4.2.1. Here is how I was able to get it to run.

1) Change the Target's "Build Settings" ==> "Architecture" from "Standard (armv7)" to "other". Add armv6 and armv7.

2) Change the Target's "Build Settings" ==> "Valid Architecture" to armv6 and armv7.

3) Change the Target's "Build Settings" ==> "iOS Deployment Target" to iOS 4.2.

enter image description here

4) Open the projects *-Info.plist, remove the setting "Required device capabilities" (note it required armv7) enter image description here

btw I figured this out when I tried to manually add the app via the organizer and it reported:

Can't install application

The Info.plist for application at /Users/.../TestsDebug.app specifies device capability requirements, which are not met by Dev iPhone 3G

All should work after that. Talk about a PITA.

Hickman answered 14/10, 2011 at 4:18 Comment(8)

Thank you very much! I owe you some beer! This indeed solved my problems, PITA indeed :D – Sesquioxide 14/10, 2011 at 5:6

Thank you! I'd read about the architecture settings elsewhere, but no one else seems to mention the "Required device capabilities" settings too. – Stomachache 17/10, 2011 at 4:58

I must add: both new and old projects are affected the upgrade! I tested my old stuff before googling, and they didn't work either! I owe you a beer, too! :) – Cocker 23/10, 2011 at 15:58

I have the same issue, but even if the project's settings were 'Standard armv7' for Architectures, Valid Architectures was already indicating 'armv6 armv7'. Furthermore, I had no 'Required device capabilities' property in the Info.plist. Will try the trick nonetheless, hope it will work! – Gaylenegayler 8/11, 2011 at 8:1

the "Required device capabilities" got me too – Thunderstruck 4/1, 2012 at 21:46

Keep in mind that you won't be able to use any frameworks from iOS 4.3+ though. – Clunk 11/7, 2012 at 20:54

+1 This is by far the clearest answer, the screens helped a lot. – Electrical 22/8, 2012 at 5:39

THANK YOU very much! I lost almost whole day messing with this. You have a beer from me too. Who would thought that XCode is not smart enough to report this issue by itself, FFS. – Leading 7/9, 2012 at 12:55

Go to Xcode > Preferences > Downloads and install debugging support for older iOS versions.

Decathlon answered 13/10, 2011 at 22:3 Comment(2)

I went to preferences and downloaded and installed debugging support for older OSes, quit xcode, reopened xcode did a clean and build, but the app still wont install on my older device. I am at a total loss now, as when I saw your response I thought for sure that would fix my problem :( – Sesquioxide 13/10, 2011 at 22:44

I owe you a beer, too! This solved ANOTHER problem I had after the Xcode 4 upgrade! I can now debug my iOS 4.2 device (iPod Touch 2nd gen)! – Cocker 23/10, 2011 at 16:3

mmorris got me close to resolving the issue... In the Info.plist, I had to set the Required Device Capabilities to armv6, not armv7 Hope this helps others out as well.

Muddle answered 18/11, 2011 at 13:44 Comment(0)

You need to connect the phone and then go to the organizer. Xcode should automatically request the older version.

See the developer page for more info. It was described in the notes for the 4.2 beta

Periodicity answered 13/10, 2011 at 22:3 Comment(1)

I did this and clicked "Use this device for development" and it seemed to do what it was supposed to, but I still can't get an app to run on my old device from xcode. – Sesquioxide 13/10, 2011 at 22:42

I found out that I had to add armv6 to architectures, but still did not work. And now I have removed armv7 from required capabilities, and that was it! It worked!

Yves answered 12/12, 2011 at 16:48 Comment(0)

I encountered a similar problem trying to run my app on an old iPod Touch. I upgraded to Xcode 4.3.3 and the app would no longer run in the debugger for me on older hardware.

I believe the other comments here about "Architectures" and "Required device capabilities" are important details to specify correctly. Unfortunately, they weren't enough to fix my problem.

In my case, I found the build scheme to be the culprit. Xcode 4.3.3 prompted me to switch from the GDB debugger to LLDB when it upgraded my project. When I changed the Run action of my scheme back to GDB, I was able to run the app again on my old hardware from Xcode.

Sergiosergipe answered 11/7, 2012 at 20:48 Comment(0)

This worked for me and should work for you if you had an older version of Xcode previously. If not then you should follow the advice given by others to obtain the SDK from an older version of SDK:

sudo cp -a /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS5.0.sdk /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS5.0.sdk

This command is only a little bit different from that shown by others, but those commands dropped the files in the SDKs folder itself for me - we want a subdirectory of it to be created with the appropriate name.

Sewerage answered 11/2, 2013 at 14:47 Comment(0)

In my case there was a redundant line in Required device capabilities enter image description here

I just removed it...

enter image description here

Hopefully it will help someone else.

Belligerent answered 13/2, 2015 at 17:1 Comment(0)

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