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Xcode stops the build with Communication with Apple failed and this line. A report on Apple’s forums from December 2025 quotes it in full:
The reports on Apple’s forums also show a second error: No profiles for '<bundle id>' were found: Xcode couldn't find any iOS App Development provisioning profiles matching '<bundle id>'. Mobster builds the helper app with xcodebuild -allowProvisioningUpdates, which lets Xcode make the profile but doesn’t register a phone. When the helper’s build fails with an error Mobster has no fix for, such as this one, Mobster for Mac shows The helper app didn't install with Xcode’s last error: line, and Details shows what Xcode said. A related error says the phone isn't registered in your developer account. For that one, Mobster shows This iPhone isn't registered with your Apple team. The fix below is the same.

Why it happens

A development profile lists the iPhones an app may run on. Your team has none registered, so Xcode has nothing to put in the profile. Xcode registers a phone for you only when it builds for that phone with automatic signing and is allowed to register it. The team you sign with matters. A phone registered on one team doesn’t count for another.

Fix

  1. Plug the iPhone into the Mac, unlock it and tap Trust if it asks.
  2. Let Xcode register it. In Xcode, open an iOS app project, or make one with File › New › Project › App. Under Signing & Capabilities, turn on Automatically manage signing and choose your team. Choose the iPhone as the run destination, then Product › Run. Xcode registers the phone and makes the profile.
  3. From the command line instead, add -allowProvisioningDeviceRegistration next to -allowProvisioningUpdates. It needs both:
    With Appium, set "appium:allowProvisioningDeviceRegistration": true.
  4. With a paid team, you can register the phone by hand. You need the Account Holder or Admin role. Get the UDID:
    It prints a line like • udid: 00008120-…. The Identifier column of xcrun devicectl list devices is a different value. Then, at developer.apple.com, open Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles › Devices, choose +, and enter the UDID.
  5. Check that the build signs with the team the phone is on. For the helper, that’s the team you picked when you set up the iPhone.
  6. Build again.
A free Apple Account (a Personal Team) can register up to 3 devices, and each registration lasts 7 days.

Check it worked

The build passes the signing step. For the helper, mobster doctor prints ✓ Helper app installed. Checked 5 Nov 2026 against Mobster 0.4.0. The commands were checked with Xcode 26.4. Back to Troubleshooting.