Nov 12

images.pngA couple weeks ago I set out to try and figure out, how to install the same application twice on the iPhone. The results where slim to none and there was only one site I found that had promise, but every time I tried it the app would crash before it could fully load. So I decided to take the little information I had learned and figure it out on my own. And I am happy to say I had success and have had the same application on the iPhone working for a week with no issues.

Watch the video or follow the step by step directions and if you have any issue getting it to work just let me know what app and I will see what I can do.

Directions

  1. Open iTunes
  2. Go into the Application section
  3. Right click on the application you want to duplicate
  4. Select Show in Finder (Show in Explorer on PCs)
  5. Right click on the .ipa file and copy it to you desktop (or where every you’d like)
  6. Replace the .ipa with .zip – An IPA files is just another type of a .Zip file
  7. Un-compress the zip file
  8. Open the new folder and Go into the Payload folder
  9. Right click on the App and select show package contents (MAC ONLY STEP, Should just be a folder on the Windows)
  10. Find the Info.plist files and open it in you favorite editor. (I prefer Plist Editor Pro)
  11. Change the “Bundle display” name to whatever you’d like. This is the name that will be displayed on the iPhone (optional step)
  12. Change the “Bundle identifier” (I recommend just putting a 2 at the end.)
  13. Save the file
  14. Open your favorite FTP software and connect into your iPhone/iPod Touch
  15. Navigate to the root directory and then into the Application folder
  16. Transfer the application into this folder
  17. Reboot or Respiring your iPhone/iPod and the application should now be somewhere on your home-screen
  18. Open the App and enjoy

If you have any issue please watch the video above.

14 Responses to “Installing the same app twice on the iPhone”

  1. FW 3.x: dubbele app naast elkaar installeren - iPhone Forum - alles over de Apple iPhone, iPhone 3G en iPhone 3GS Says:

    [...] Ik vond dit op uit eindelijk via GOOGLE, lijkt te werken op die manier. Installing the same app twice on the iPhone – BrianMinor.com [...]

  2. Jerod Says:

    I got it to duplicate the icon but when i try to open it it just crashed. any ideas?

  3. Gerhard Says:

    Tried that with NewsTap.
    2nd copy crashes on launch.

  4. Brian Minor Says:

    Thats odd I just tried it following the instructions above and it worked fine for me. I added a video link below to show that it did work.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvZDKBbvpOQ&feature=youtube_gdata

    You may want to give it another shot. I recommend changing the display name of the app to incase you didn’t do that.

  5. Gerhard Says:

    Thanks for testing, Brian.
    As I wasn’t aware of “your” NewsTap, you obviously wasn’t aware of \mine\.
    I meant the Usenet Newsreader NewsTap by Alexander Clauss
    That’s the one that doesn’t work.
    BTW: How do you change the application’s icons?

  6. Brian Minor Says:

    I just tested out the free version of the app and it is also working. You may want to try deleting the app from your itunes and re-downloading it. and using that version to modify. As long as you don’t delete it from the phone too, you shouldn’t lose any setting.

    If you use cydia to install winterboard and then install themes then you can find and add icons to the themes. When you SSH into you phone the themes are located in the /var/stash/themes.(random characters)

    in the themes folder you will see a icon folder you can add a created icon there with the same name of the app to set the new icon.

  7. Gerhard Says:

    Ah, you didn’t modify the iTunesArtwork file to change the icon?
    I tried it that way to have a different icon in iTunes, too.
    And BTW which programm did you use to transfer the files to the phone?
    I used PhoneView, so maybe that’s causing the failure, perhaps due to wrongly set permissions.

  8. Alex Says:

    Great blog but How about for cydia apps?

    Cheers

  9. Jerod Says:

    Is there a reson that it crashes? Or does it really just matter what app you are trying to duplicate?
    Thanks

  10. Riaz Says:

    i tried this with the mxit app… and it keeps on crashing can you help me out???

  11. tdoosqs Says:

    SSH into you phone to /private/var/stash/Applications.(Random Characters) ,
    Right Click on your duplicated Folder ,
    open Properties and set Permission to 0777 dont forget check a box for permission “recursevily” dont have to restart Springboard .

  12. js Says:

    i have a question to point 3 “save the file”:

    save to which format?? after i used the editor i saved the info.plist. than i tried to copy the folder into root/applications. but all the other folder in aplications end wit .app!!! do i have to change the name of my folder???

  13. Youri Says:

    Tried the above with the App ‘Done’, didn’t work, crashed on launch.

    But I managed to get it work with the following approach:

    - I copied Todo.app from /var/mobile/Applications/A7657E…-…-ETC/ to /var/stash/Applications.(random chars) with iFile.

    - Changed the bundle name from Todo.app to GetItDone.app.

    - Edited Info.plist in SomethingElse.app:
    CFBundleDisplayName: SomethingILiked (doesn’t matter)
    CFBundleIdentifier: net.chillidesign.getitdone (was net.chillidesign.done, a 2 at the end also should have worked)
    CFBundleName: GetItDone (should be the same as the bundle name in the Applications directory!)

    - Did a respring, was happy.

    The difference is that I also changed the bundle name and the CFBundleName in the Info.plist, otherwise the App will interfere with his twin brother/sister (and crashes on launch)

  14. Youri Says:

    - Edited Info.plist in SomethingElse.app

    I meaned: – Edited Info.plist in GetItDone.app

Leave a Reply