How to install IPA files on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

You can jailbreak your Apple iPad, iPod touch and iPhone to unleash the true potential of your Apple device. The term Jailbreaking is not a secret anymore as it has been legalized by US government… that said, to install the paid apps, games on your device – you must install IPA files.

.IPA files are iPhone application files that are encrypted and is made available in the form of apps in the Apple Appstore. However, by jailbreaking you can even install the cracked IPA files; this means you can get paid apps and paid games from different sources, for free.

Installing iPA files

There are two ways to install an IPA file on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Firstly, you can download the cracked IPA files off the internet; a quick Google search reveals websites and torrents that packs IPA files in .zip format.

Download IPA files and transfer them to your iDevice using OpenSSH. This is an old method and can be a slightly daunting task if you haven’t used OpenSSH and WinSCP before. However, the second method, which I highly recommend, has been around for a while. It involves installation of apps and games ipa file, directly from your device.

Go to Cydia, tap on Manage and add any one of the following:

• http://cydia.iphonecake.com (after adding this, search for ‘Appcake’ on Cydia)
• http://cydia.hackulo.us/ (after adding this, search for ‘Installous’ on Cydia)

Make sure to download the app — either appcake or installous app; depending on the repository url you’ve added. For example, if you’ve added http://cydia.iphonecake.com as the source, then search on Cydia for Appcake. Download the file and install it.

Once the app is installed, exit from Cydia and fire up the app. You can see the set of categories ranging from games to utilities, each of them have been cracked. As soon as the download completes, installation is an absolute breeze because of the auto install feature.

Note: You must be connected to Wi-Fi network in order to access Cydia, Appcake or Installous. These apps can be accessed from all the jailbroken Apple devices(iPhone 4, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 4G, iPod touch 3G, iPod touch 2G and Apple iPad).

Written by Sidharth on November 8th, 2010

Self-proclaimed geek, editor of blogote, who loves all things tech.