Install and Activate iOS 5 Beta 5 Without Developers Account On iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Ads
on August 9, 2024

Merely two days ago, Apple released iOS 5 beta 5 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Basically, Apple releases beta firmware for developers only, who are required to register the UDID of their devices before they can run iOS 5 beta. Many non-developers get their hands on beta firmware when its uploaded to file sharing websites, but they don't have the UDID of their iDevices registered with a Developers Account. What do they do? They follow this tutorial to install iOS 5 beta 5 without Developers Account.

A Developer Account with Apple costs $99 per year and if you are not a developer, its highly unlikely that you will pay that price if you just want to play around with iOS 5 beta firmware for a bit. If you don't know what your UDID is and how you can locate it, follow this tutorial. Without a UDID registration, if you install iOS 5 beta firmware you will be shown the following error: this device is not registered as part of the iphone developer program.

A sincere word of advice for those who throng the internet for developers who offer UDID activations in exchange for a price. They mostly are scams as they usually take people's many and then never contact them back. Also, Apple has been taking down developers that are selling UDID activations. Read the full report on that, here. However, if you are bent on getting the UDID of your device activated, you may try your luck with us as we have been offering free device UDID activation for iOS 5 beta testing. It's completely free and won't get slammed down by Apple. You may fill out the form and see if you get an activation!

Regardless of that, use this simple tutorial documented below in order to install and activate iOS 5 beta 5 on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch without requiring a developers account.

Install iOS 5 Beta 5 Without Developers Account On iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Step 1: Download iOS 5 beta 5 for your iDevice.

Step 2: Download iTunes 10.5 beta 5 for Windows and Mac. You need the latest pre-release beta of iTunes so that it sync with iOS 5 beta 5.

Step 3: Install iOS 5 beta 5 on your device using your computer. Don't actually set up your device on iOS 5 beta as first you need to jailbreak it. Follow this tutorial to jailbreak iOS 5 beta 5 tethered and after that, boot your device tethered.. Keep in mind that this does not work with the iPad 2.

Step 4: Basically, you need to delete a key and string from within the filesystem of your device in order to install iOS 5 beta 5 without developers account. To gain access to the filesystem, you need software. i-Funbox for Windows and iPhone Explorer for Mac are the two most perfect software for this job.

Step 5: Launch the relevant software and go to this path: filesystem/library/coreservices/systemversion.plist. Once you locate the systemversion.plist file, right click on it and then open it in notepad. Once opened, locate and remove: <key>ReleaseType</key> <string>beta</string>. When you remove it, save changes to the file.

Step 6: Once you have done this process, reboot your device. Because it is jailbroken, you will have to boot it tethered. Voila! Your device is now running iOS 5 beta 5 without developers account or a UDID activation. No more this device is not registered as part of the iphone developer program errors! If you did this on an iPhone, you shall be able to use cellular services as well.

We strongly caution you not to upgrade your software unlocked iPhone to iOS 5 beta firmware as you will lose your unlock. Factory unlocked or officially unlocked iPhones can be updated to iOS 5 beta 5 using this procedure without any risks.

If you face any difficulties at all, don't hesitate to leave a comment here and seek help from our experts. You may also submit your query to us on Facebook or on Twitter.

  • HJDSF

    DOES THIS METHOD “WITH OUT INSTALLING CYDIA” PREVENTS OTA UPDATE?

    • Shameer Shahab

      Nope you can do it but i herard for beta 4 to 5 you have to wipe your device

      • Puneet Bhambhani

        my ifunbox doesnt show any folder like coreservices?
        wad do i do ???

        • Dgdfgdf

          it wont show . search for systemversion.plist in search in i fun.

        • Dgdfgdf

          I works now.
          install iTunes 10.5 beta 5
          1.Jailbreak ipod to ios beta 5
          2. with fun box save- search the systemversion.plist file
          3. copy file to desktop & open with note pad & remove ReleaseType beta. (using fun box) & save
          4. copy the edited file to ipod (using fun box)
          5. switch off ipod & switch on
          6. tether it after switch on
          7. open new itunes
          8 . restore the ipod with last saved backup(old eg: xxx ipod) backup data.
          9. sign in ipod with apple id. its done!!!

          very simple. try it

  • etat90

    if i want to go back to version 4.3.5 do i just restore it from back up?

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      No you have to download 4.3.5 ipsw and restore it.
      Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone provided by Ufone

      • etat90

        how about the other files like contacts and other stuffs how can i restore them back? sry im just new to these kind of things. haha

      • etat90

        how about the other files like contacts and other stuffs how can i restore them back? sry im just new to these kind of things. haha

        • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

          Restore via backup.
          Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone provided by Ufone

        • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

          Restore via backup.
          Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone provided by Ufone

        • etat90

          so does it mean that after restoring to 4.3.5, i need to restore it again from back up, right? ^_^v

          • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

            Yes. T
            Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone provided by Ufone

        • etat90

          thx!!!!! XD

  • BenJ

    i-Funbox doesn’t seem to want to save changes to the systemversion.plist file. any advice?

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      Copy the file to your desktop, open it in notepad and do the changes. Save it and copy it back to the filesystem of your device.
      Sent from my iPad

      • BenJ

        Thanks that’s just what I did. Worked a treat.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1398103676 Nick Crispi

    Are you able to remove the jailbreak after you remove the files to have a unjailbroken iOS 5.5 beta device?

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      Simply do a clean restore of iOS 5 beta and the jailbreak will be gone.

  • Ubtik

    ive done all of this and i have jailbroken ipad 1 with ios 5 beta 5 but when i connect my device to itunes i cant sync my ipad for import musics or install applications on it ! why ?

    • Benno4678

      I’m having the same problem!

    • Benno4678

      I’m having the same problem!

  • http://facebook.com/AD1986 Nitsua Nairda

    I just want to say, Lota Man, you are a lifesaver. I was on 4.2.10 and it was a pain in the a**. I would much rather be on 5.0 & the tutorial worked like a charm. Grateful that I came across the site. Thank you very much.

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      You’re welcome !

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=522089676 Andrew Knabel

    I just did it on my iPad 1 WiFi. As soon as I start safari it crashes. Why?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=522089676 Andrew Knabel

    I just did it on my iPad 1 WiFi. As soon as I start safari it crashes. Why?

  • Dksksk

    safari crash

    • Lones2000

      my safari crashed to on ios 5 beta 4 what i did i downloaded download manager lite your able to use web then

  • Spectre057

    If this fails for anyone there should also be a ./systemversion.plist file or somethign to that effect, It was the fix for me

  • Anonymous

    I can’t access anything through iphone explorer, these are my only options (see image)

  • Eltourist

    Works perfect on iPhone 4 GSM. Thanks for all.

  • Climbojan

    thanks man it really works. 1000 thumbs ups

  • Anees80

    how do u find the file

  • Anees80

    how do u find the file

    • Anees80

      where do u search for the file systemversion.plist

      • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

        Follow the path mentioned in the post.

  • Spencer Clark

    Can anyone confirm that this actually works? I did this on iOS 5 beta 4 after being on 4.2.8. None of the apps from the appstore would work, they would all just crash. So I ended up having to restore my phone to 4.2.10 which doesn’t have a reliable jailbreak, so basically I got hosed. But I would like to do this is if it actually does work.

    • Benno4678

      it works.

      • Spencer Clark

        Do all of the appstore apps work?

        • Benno4678

          pretty much, theres a couple that will crash but not many

        • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

          Yes they do.

  • http://twitter.com/JistenBieber Pill0w

    It won’t work if you follow this tutorial using Windows unless if you copy the plist to your computer, delete it from the iDevice, edit it with note pad (on the computer) and then put the edited plist back where the original one was.

  • Benno4678

    Cheers mate, but when i try and sync with itunes it tells me my software version is too old, is there a way to fix that? copytrans and other alternatives arent compatible with ios 5 yet

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1571554035 Zep Clavel Valenton

    the case is when u open the system.plist on notepad, it will be saved as text… so for this to work, you have to to do is save as system.plist after you remove the string…

  • Lones2000

    my safari crashed to on ios 5 beta 4 what i did i downloaded download manager lite your able to use web then

  • momo1526

    I used iPhoneBrowser worked fine. Except Safari. Good thing is there is no need to boot tether, the iDevice still works, just not Cydia but you still get root access!

    • Christian95

      Same with me. You can notice the bugs. Hopefully they fix it in beta 6 update this thursday….but does anyone know if we will be able to update OTA since we installed beta 5 without developers account?? Or do we have to do this whole hactivate thing over again but with beta 6?

  • Christian95

    Does anyone know if we will be able to update OTA since we installed beta 5 without developers account?? Or do we have to do this whole hactivate thing over again but with beta 6?

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      You will be able to update OTA/

  • Adam S

    So what I’m hearing is:
    1.Anyone should be able to activate iOS 5 beta 5 on their iPhone jailbroken no UDID registration (anyone get bricked?)
    2. Wifi sync with iTunes 10.5 beta does not work
    3. Safari browser does not work

    Anyone correct me on any of these?

    • Benno4678

      safari works fine for me

    • Benno4678

      safari works fine for me

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      Safari browser works.
      WiFi Sync also works.
      No one got bricked.

    • Ebthepcguy

      Safari crashes, also I can’t boot tethered, RedSn0w crashes at: “Uploading First Stage” when booting tethered.

      • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

        what version of redsn0w are you using?

    • Ebthepcguy

      Safari crashes, also I can’t boot tethered, RedSn0w crashes at: “Uploading First Stage” when booting tethered.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DSZYBGGEHE7VZ5F7L5FIWZU2LE Dilshod Appleseed

    Loving iMessage and wi-fi sync

  • Anees80

    messed up my ipod

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      Let us know and we’ll help you out.

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      Let us know and we’ll help you out.

  • Christian95

    Does anyone know if we will be able to update to Beta 6 tomorrow OTA if we have this hactivate?

    • Guest

      I’m not a dev- but being that it adds/changes things in the OS, I wouldn’t until I see others doing it.

      • Christian95

        Alright thanks!

      • Christian95

        Alright thanks!

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      Yes you will be able to get OTA update.

      • Christian95

        awesome!!! how do i get the update? where do i go to? and its suppose to come out today do u know what time!?!?!!?

  • YokoO

    The process worked for me. Safari did crash on mine. Is anyone using iCloud also (non-dev)? I skipped.

  • Alganthony

    i cant find the system version.plist

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      is your device jailbroken?

  • Dgdfgdf

    It works now.
    install iTunes 10.5 beta 5
    1.Jailbreak ipod to ios beta 5
    2. with fun box save- search the systemversion.plist file
    3. copy file to desktop & open with note pad & remove ReleaseType beta. (using fun box) & save
    4. copy the edited file to ipod (using fun box)
    5. switch off ipod & switch on
    6. tether it after switch on
    7. open new itunes
    8 . restore the ipod with last saved backup(old eg: xxx ipod) backup data.
    9. sign in ipod with apple id. its done!!!

    very simple. try it

  • Michael

    did everything on this guide using 3gs with simple mobile sim (if it matters) and using ios5 beta 5 redsn0w 0.9.8b5 and after removing string and saving and rebooting tethered still get activation screen so i checked plist again and it was as it should be with string removed so i rebooted tethered again and still get the activation screen. I am a apple developer and i did try adding my udid to my account and then try to activate that way and i get message not a supported carrier sim card inserted. so i tried everything again from scratch and still get activation screen. help???

    • Craig

      Hi Michael, do you also get the Apple symbol glowing blue randomly over the activation screens too? I’m having the same problem as you..

    • Craig

      Hey Michael.. I’ve worked it out:
      You remove the string, save it (drag it back in to the phone) check it’s updated. Turn off the phone (hold button & swipe) turn it on using redsn0w and if, like me, the home screen flashes up then you see an Apple, it goes blue then you see the activation screen go through step 1 (language) and 2 (location) and then 3 (use GPS) and when it asks for you to connect to WiFi say no (button at bottom - do it from iTunes) and then load iTunes and instead of saying activate it asks if you want to set it up as a new phone or from a backup. Bam! Restored…

  • Kateb1111

    It work fine with me thanks

  • George V.

    PLEASE ANYONE, HELP ME
    ITUNES EXPIRED?
    AND NOW I CANT ACTIVATE/HACKTIVATE ((

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      Just remove previous installation of iTunes and install the latest version.

    • Henry Hicks

      If you’re on Mac OS X Lion, removing iTunes will not be possible as you will get a message saying that iTunes is required my Mac OS X.
      1) Fire Up Terminal.
      2) Type in sudo rm -fdr /Applications/iTunes.app.
      iTunes will be removed after you’ve done this!
      after you’ve done that, install the new Version of iTunes!

  • Fcisneros80

    Does your IPhone 4 have to have a sim card so this whole thing could work or no need

    • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

      Not necessarily, no.

  • JamesBond

    for me, it says “Please Try again later, or contact customer care” during the activation process. can someone please explain why?

  • kwr66

    working ipod 4g ios5 beta 6. problem: with itunes, when i upgraded it gave me “64bit please reinstall” or something. so i uninstalled everything itunes in a certain order, google it if you have the problem. then reinstalled with the newest. works fine, tethered boot. problem 2: safari and mail crash. cant use them at all. problem 3: no wifi sync? the buttons grayed out. says its waiting on my device.
    other than that its a beautiful os.

  • kwr66

    ok if safari mail or any other stock app crashes, even cydia, just do a tethered reboot with jetblue. problem fixed. all i have right now is to fix the wifi sync. “sync will resume when ____ is availiable”. ??

    • Btamm

      did you ever fix that “sync will resume …” problem? Did it have anything to do with the Window’s firewall?

      • http://www.iphoneism.com Lota Man

        No, Windows Firewall does not affect it in any way.

All Rights Reserved. Content licensed under Creative Commons.