Guide

How to install your own iOS app on an iPhone from Windows, without iTunes

Put the apps you build in Borel on your iPhone from a Windows PC with Borel Companion and a free Apple ID, step by step, no iTunes needed.

Updated 18 October 2026

In short

Borel Companion puts the apps you build in Borel on your iPhone from a Windows PC, signed with your own Apple ID.
A free Apple ID is all you need, and no iTunes or other Apple software on the PC.
Each install runs for 7 days, and Companion signs it again for a fresh 7.

Install it with Borel Companion

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Step 1: Get Companion
Download it from borel.one/companion for Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. If Windows says “Windows protected your PC” the first time, click More info, then Run anyway.
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Step 2: Sign in with your Apple ID
In Companion, on your computer. A free Apple ID works, and your password stays on your computer.
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Step 3: Plug in your iPhone
Unlock it and tap Trust. Windows Update adds Apple’s iPhone driver by itself; if it’s still on its way, Companion opens Windows Update’s optional updates for you.
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Step 4: Install from Borel
In Borel, press Run on your device beside the preview, then Download this app to your iPhone. Companion downloads the build, signs it with your Apple ID and installs it.
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Step 5: Turn on Developer Mode
The first time, in Settings, Privacy & Security, turn on Developer Mode, tap Restart, then swipe up, tap Enable and enter your passcode. If iOS asks, trust your Apple ID in Settings, General, VPN & Device Management.
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Step 6: Update it over Wi-Fi
From then on, Companion installs each new version over the same Wi-Fi while it’s open.

How Companion talks to an iPhone without iTunes is in iPhone apps on Windows.

Keeping it fresh every 7 days

An app signed with a free Apple ID runs for 7 days at a time. Companion shows Expires in N days for each one.
Reinstall signs the copy Companion kept for a fresh 7 days, and Companion does it by itself when fewer than 2 days are left, while it’s open and your iPhone is on the same Wi-Fi.
Every version of one app keeps the same App ID, so updates leave the 10 App IDs Apple allows every 7 days for new apps.

What a free Apple ID covers

Any Apple ID can sign apps for its owner’s own devices; Apple calls this a Personal Team. It covers up to 3 devices and 3 apps on each. The Developer Program adds sharing with other people.

What a free Apple ID and the Apple Developer Program offer for installing your own app
	Free Apple ID	Developer Program
Your app on your own iPhone	Yes	Yes
Testers' iPhones		TestFlight, up to 10,000 external testers
Price	Free	99 USD a year

More in Free Apple ID vs the Developer Program.

No iTunes needed

Apple’s Windows app, Apple Devices, syncs, backs up, updates and restores an iPhone. Companion adds the part it leaves out, installing an app you made, and brings its own connection to the iPhone. If Apple Devices or iTunes is installed, Companion simply uses Apple’s.

With a Developer Program membership

Membership adds two ways to share: registering testers’ iPhones for test builds, and TestFlight, where testers install from Apple’s TestFlight app. Borel’s publish flow puts each build in TestFlight on its way to the App Store. Companion is made for apps built in Borel; for an Xcode project of your own, Xcode on a Mac installs it with the same Apple ID.

Make your iPhone app in Borel

Describe it in your own words. Borel writes it in Swift, builds it on its own Mac and puts it on your iPhone.

Start building How it works

More guides

Make your own iPhone app, just for you Make an iPhone app without a Mac (2026)Publish to the App Store from Windows SwiftUI vs React Native for a first app Free Apple ID vs Apple Developer Program