Installing LGM Connect on iPhone

7 min · 12 sections

LGM Connect is not on the App Store. Publishing there costs $99 a year, so the app ships as an .ipa file that you install yourself, with your own Apple ID, using a free program called Sideloadly.

It takes about twenty minutes the first time and one minute every seven days after that. If that is not worth it to you, there is an alternative with nothing to install at the end of this page.

First: what Apple allows and what it does not

Apple only opens signed apps, and signing requires a developer account. What almost nobody knows is that your everyday Apple ID already works for signing your own apps, free of charge. What it does not do is last forever:

	With your Apple ID (free)	With a developer account ($99/year)
The app works for	7 days, then renew	A year
How many such apps at once	3	No limit
NAS alerts on the iPhone	No	Yes
Needs a computer	Yes, to renew	No

In other words: the free route gives you the whole app except the alerts, and you will have to plug the phone into the computer once a week.

NAS alerts do work the other way round, through the browser: see Install the panel as an app. That is the main reason to prefer it.

What you need

The iPhone, running iOS 14 or later, and its cable.
A computer running Windows or Mac.
Your Apple ID and its password.
The .ipa file, from lgm-os.com → Download. It is called LGM-Connect-<version>-sin-firmar.ipa. "sin firmar" — unsigned — is correct: you add the signature yourself in step 4, and that is what makes it yours rather than a stranger's.

Step 1: prepare the computer

Install Sideloadly from sideloadly.io. It is free and asks for no account.

On Windows you also need iTunes, and not just any copy: it has to be the one downloaded from apple.com, not the Microsoft Store one. Only Apple's version ships the drivers needed to talk to the iPhone; with the Store one, Sideloadly will not see the phone and will not say why. If you already have the Store version, uninstall it first.

On a Mac nothing else is needed.

Step 2: an app-specific password

Skip this step if your Apple ID does not have two-factor authentication. If it does — and almost all do — Apple will not let Sideloadly use your normal password:

Go to account.apple.com → Sign-In and Security.
App-Specific Passwords → create one and name it, for example "Sideloadly".
Apple shows a password in four groups of letters. Copy it now, because it cannot be shown again.

That is the one you will use in step 4. It is disposable: you can delete it from the same place without touching your account.

Step 3: connect the iPhone

Plug the phone in with the cable. The iPhone will ask "Trust This Computer?": say yes and enter your passcode. If it asks nothing, unlock the screen and plug the cable in again.

Step 4: sign and install

Open Sideloadly. Your iPhone should appear at the top by name; if it says "No device found", go back to step 3.
Drag the .ipa file into the window.
In Apple account, type your Apple ID (the email address).
Press Start. It will ask for a password: the one from step 2 if you have two-factor authentication, or your normal one if not.
Wait. It takes a couple of minutes and ends with "Done".

The LGM Connect icon is now on your home screen, but it will not open yet. One step is missing, and the iPhone does not explain it.

Step 5: trust the app on the iPhone

On the phone: Settings → General → VPN & Device Management. Your email address appears there under "Developer App". Tap it and press Trust.

This is where most people get stuck: without it the app opens and closes instantly, or says it is "not available", and never mentions that it needs to be trusted.

Now it works: open LGM Connect and find your NAS as you would on any other device. It is explained in LGM Connect, the app.

Every seven days

After seven days the app stops opening. Nothing is broken: it is the signature expiring.

Plug the iPhone into the computer and repeat step 4 with the same file. Your data, your saved NAS and your session are still there; only the signature is renewed. It takes a minute.

If that gets old, AltStore does exactly the same but renews it by itself, over Wi-Fi, as long as the computer is on and on the same network. Set it up once and forget about it.

If something goes wrong

What you see	What it means and what to do
Sideloadly says "No device found"	Windows: it is the Microsoft Store iTunes. Uninstall it and use the one from apple.com. On both: unlock the iPhone and answer "Trust" when you plug the cable in
"Could not find a valid Apple ID", or the password is rejected	You are using your normal password with two-factor authentication on. Do step 2 and use the app-specific password
"Maximum App ID limit reached"	A free Apple ID can only sign 3 apps at a time. Delete another app you installed this way, or wait (slots free up after 7 days)
The app installs but closes the moment you open it	Step 5 is missing: Settings → General → VPN & Device Management → your email → Trust
"App Not Available" when you tap the icon	Same thing: Trust is missing, or the 7 days are up. Repeat step 4
After a few days it stops opening for no reason	That is the 7 days. It is normal, not a fault
The NAS does not show up in the app	That is a different matter, not the install: see if something goes wrong

The "Enterprise" certificates sold online: no. Some sites offer to sign the app "forever" with a company certificate, no computer and no expiry. Those are certificates from other people's corporate accounts used outside their purpose, and Apple revokes them in batches: the day yours is revoked, the app stops opening all at once and there is nothing to do but start over. Sign with your own Apple ID, which is yours and cannot be taken away.

What this route does NOT give you

Two things, so you do not go looking for them:

NAS alerts. A free Apple ID cannot sign apps with notifications. The app works fully, but it will not make a sound when a backup fails or a disk dies.
Automatic updates. LGM Connect updates itself on Windows, Mac and Linux; on the iPhone you will have to download the new .ipa from lgm-os.com and repeat step 4.

The alternative with nothing to install

If what you want is the NAS on your iPhone and you do not mind it being the panel rather than the app: Safari → Share → Add to Home Screen. It gets its own icon, no browser bar, and alerts do work.

That is what most people use, and it is covered step by step in Install the panel as an app.