iOS 16.4 Will Let You Specify an Apple ID to Use for Beta Access

by

With the iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates, Apple is changing the way that developer and public beta opt-ins work. Going forward, an Apple ID associated with a developer or public beta account is required, and with today's iOS 16.4 beta, you can use two different Apple IDs for access.

separate apple id beta updates
The prior betas made it clear that users would be required to sign in to a developer account or opt in to the public beta to access a developer beta or a public beta, respectively, but there was no option for individuals who have separate Apple IDs for their personal use and for their beta use. iOS 16.4 beta 3 adds an ‌Apple ID‌ field that can be tapped to sign in to a separate ‌Apple ID‌ to account for this situation.

You can sign in with a different Apple ID that is enrolled in the Apple Beta Software Program or Apple Developer Program.

When you tap on the ‌Apple ID‌ button under Settings > General > Software Update, Apple allows you to enter a separate ‌Apple ID‌ for downloading the beta. That function lets you download betas as normal through a developer or public beta ‌Apple ID‌, while using a standard ‌Apple ID‌ for all other iPhone functions.

This change to how beta updates are downloaded will primarily impact people who use Developer Center profiles to install betas that they would not normally have access to. There will be no mechanism for installing a beta from a profile going forward, and each person running the developer beta will need to have access to a developer account.

The public beta is available to anyone who chooses to sign up, but public betas trail developer betas, so non-developers who want developer beta access currently use developer profiles that are available to anyone with the link.

This crackdown on beta access will impact betas after iOS 16.4, and it will mainly be noticeable during the iOS 17 beta testing period that is set to happen later this year.

While the change does prevent non-developers from installing betas through a developer profile, it also simplifies the beta update process. Users can choose to enable the developer or public beta they have access to directly from an ‌iPhone‌ or iPad without having to go through extra steps to install a profile.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Read Full Article • 89 comments
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
Read Full Article • 137 comments
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Read Full Article • 111 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Read Full Article • 82 comments
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
Read Full Article • 98 comments
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Read Full Article • 44 comments
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Read Full Article • 68 comments
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...
Read Full Article • 31 comments

Top Rated Comments

roar08 Avatar
roar08
36 months ago
For those of us that have had Apple IDs for so long, it'd be great if they finally let us merge them — at least functionally — so we wouldn't be penalized for being long-term platform users and unable to benefit from features like 4TB of iCloud storage when subscribing to the top tiers of Apple One while paying for 2TB of storage.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
zorinlynx
36 months ago

Reinventing the wheel. Honestly this is so stupid. The profiles were completely fine for this and the use of UUID to limit access to devices was also perfectly fine for restricting access.

Instead of all this running in circles recreating a process that was already effective. They could have just monitored their developer accounts more closely to check for abuse. Or god forbid, limit access and improve the device registration process.

This whole separate developer account bs is honestly something many of us have been trying to get away from unless we are building specific test scenarios against iCloud functions.

The amount of waste here just irritates me.
I suspect non-devs installing betas has resulted in a support burden for Apple and they just don't want to deal with it.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
atomic.flip Avatar
atomic.flip
36 months ago
Reinventing the wheel. Honestly this is so stupid. The profiles were completely fine for this and the use of UUID to limit access to devices was also perfectly fine for restricting access.

Instead of all this running in circles recreating a process that was already effective. They could have just monitored their developer accounts more closely to check for abuse. Or god forbid, limit access and improve the device registration process.

This whole separate developer account bs is honestly something many of us have been trying to get away from unless we are building specific test scenarios against iCloud functions.

The amount of waste here just irritates me.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theotherphil Avatar
theotherphil
36 months ago

Was the "non-devs installing developer betas" really THAT big of a deal that Apple dedicated money and manpower to it? ?

They could have done something more important, like maybe work on more memojis! :p
I think it was more the fact that devs have to agree to NDA's which include not sharing videos or pictures of unreleased software.

The randoms downloading dev betas using dodgy profiles are not contracted at all.

This will likely cut down on the "me first" YouTube videos of iOS before final release. Apple doesn't want any bad press on features in testing which may or may not make it to the final release.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tdar Avatar
tdar
36 months ago
This was my original complaint about this process. I have a special email address for my developers account and I need a place to add it. Apple has now made this work exactly like I wanted it to work. Thanks Apple.

Sorry non developers . We pay for our access to the beta and you should not be able to get it for free.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aston441 Avatar
Aston441
36 months ago

Was the "non-devs installing developer betas" really THAT big of a deal that Apple dedicated money and manpower to it? ?

They could have done something more important, like maybe work on more memojis! :p
How about they try and imprison the idiots that put three dots at the top of my iPad.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments