How to Install Fortnite on Your iPad Outside the EU

Epic Games relaunched Fortnite in the EU a few days ago, after a four-year legal battle with Apple over a 30% cut in App Store revenue. Apple announced changes to app distribution in the EU earlier this year, and Epic is finally taking advantage of those changes to bring Fortnite back to Apple platforms.

The steps in this tutorial require: Apple Developer Paid Accountwhich costs $99 per year. There may be some other ways to install it without a paid account, but they won’t be covered in this article today.

If you have a paid Apple Developer account, it’s super easy to get started! It took me about 20 minutes, and most of that time was spent waiting for Fortnite to download all of its assets once they arrived on my iPad.

Step 1: Find the decrypted IPA file

An IPA file is an archive of an iOS app, and is encrypted by default. To decrypt an IPA file, you generally need a jailbroken iOS device, although a number of people have decrypted IPA files themselves and posted them online.

We won’t provide you with IPA files ourselves, but they shouldn’t be hard to find. Most of the IPA files available will be for iPad only, although there are some that are compatible with both iPad and iPhone.

This is due to a process known as IPA trimming. Since most IPA files are extracted from jailbroken iPads, they are only compatible with iPads. I believe that IPA files compatible with both iPhones and iPads come directly from Epic’s server, and people then try to figure out how to decrypt them themselves.

Step 2: Set up a custom package ID

This is where the paid developer account comes in. You will need to log in to Developer Sitethen go to the “Account” tab. Once you get to the “Account” tab, you will need to click on “Identifiers” under “Program Resources.”

Next, you will need to click on the add button next to “IDs” on the new page. You will register a new app ID. When you are asked to select the type, click “Apply,” and then you will be taken to a page where you have to complete the important steps.

On this page, you’ll need to type in a description (it can be anything you want), and a bundle ID. The bundle ID is important, and you’ll need to remember it later. You can make it something like “com.yourname.fortniteios”. You’ll also see the capabilities below it, which you’ll need to review.

In the capabilities list, you will need to enable both of the following:Extended Virtual Addressing“And”Increase memory limitIf you don’t enable both, your app will likely crash when launched. This is a very basic step.

Once you’ve identified these capabilities, you’ll need to click “Register”, and you’re good to go! This is the last thing you’ll need to mess around with in the developer portal.

Step 3: Download Fortnite on your iOS device

For this step, you will need a computer to install Fortnite on your device. I am using Sideloadbecause it allows you to easily modify the package ID. Download and install Sideloadly, then connect your iOS device to your computer.

Sideloadly will ask you to sign in to the Apple account associated with the paid developer program, which is a bit risky, though I personally didn’t mind it. Once you’ve signed in, you’ll need to select your device, drag the decrypted IPA file into the app, and click the Advanced options button.

In the advanced options, you will need to uncheck “Use automatic bundle ID”, and change the bundle ID to the same one you entered on Apple’s developer website. You will not need to change any other settings.

Next, hit the Get Started button! You’ll need to select your team ID (if you only have one team, the option may not appear), and then Fortnite should begin installing. It may take a minute or two, but once it’s done, you should be able to open the game on your iOS device. You may need to enable Developer Mode to get it working, which you can do by going to Privacy & Security in the Settings app on your device.

Things should be smooth sailing from there. I can play the game at 120 FPS on my 2020 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which is pretty impressive. I’ll likely continue playing Fortnite on my PlayStation 5, but it’s nice to have the option. It’s been four years since Fortnite was removed from Apple platforms.

Are you excited to play Fortnite on your iOS device? Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks, Former developer!