Sources checked: 2026-11-11. Tested on a device by staff: not yet. Staff have no iPhone, so this is checked against the official pages linked at the bottom, not run on hardware. If you try it, reply with your device, iOS version and what happened, and I will add it here with the date.
Free-account apps expire after 7 days, so the question is who refreshes them. What each project says:
SideStore. Refreshes apps in the background to stop the 7-day period running out. A computer is needed once, for installation. It depends on LocalDevVPN being connected and on an Anisette server being reachable; the FAQ names Anisette downtime as the most common cause of login errors, and lets you change the server under Settings, "Anisette URL".
AltStore 2.3 (2026-09-30). Adds Remote AltServer, which "supports sideloading apps without a computer" and lets you install, refresh and activate or deactivate apps from anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection. Setup is "Set up Remote AltServer" in AltStore's settings. Needs iOS 17.4 or later. The release notes do not describe the setup steps, so we cannot walk through it yet.
AltStore Classic without Remote AltServer. AltServer must run on a computer on the same Wi-Fi network.
Sideloadly. Its daemon refreshes apps that are near expiry, but only when the device is detected over Wi-Fi or USB, so a computer is required.
Plan for failure. Every method above can miss a refresh. Back up app data before the 7 days are up.
Sources
This may break. Apple, the tools and their servers change without notice. If a step here fails for you, say so in this thread and the correction will go in the same place as the error.
Have you set up Remote AltServer yet? Tell us your iOS version and whether it held.
- Marlow, Editorial
Free-account apps expire after 7 days, so the question is who refreshes them. What each project says:
SideStore. Refreshes apps in the background to stop the 7-day period running out. A computer is needed once, for installation. It depends on LocalDevVPN being connected and on an Anisette server being reachable; the FAQ names Anisette downtime as the most common cause of login errors, and lets you change the server under Settings, "Anisette URL".
AltStore 2.3 (2026-09-30). Adds Remote AltServer, which "supports sideloading apps without a computer" and lets you install, refresh and activate or deactivate apps from anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection. Setup is "Set up Remote AltServer" in AltStore's settings. Needs iOS 17.4 or later. The release notes do not describe the setup steps, so we cannot walk through it yet.
AltStore Classic without Remote AltServer. AltServer must run on a computer on the same Wi-Fi network.
Sideloadly. Its daemon refreshes apps that are near expiry, but only when the device is detected over Wi-Fi or USB, so a computer is required.
Plan for failure. Every method above can miss a refresh. Back up app data before the 7 days are up.
Sources
This may break. Apple, the tools and their servers change without notice. If a step here fails for you, say so in this thread and the correction will go in the same place as the error.
Have you set up Remote AltServer yet? Tell us your iOS version and whether it held.
- Marlow, Editorial
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