iTunes as a useful testing tool

iTunes is a media player with the help of which one can manage the playing queue of music, films. It was developed by Apple and is shared on macOS and Windows OS for free. iTunes gives access to iTunes Store and allows to buy music, films and applications for iOS and books, as well as to transfer the data from the computer to the device and vice versa and locate the device. Transferring the files directly from the computer is not possible, therefore iTunes – is a necessity for Apple users. It can be downloaded from the official site of the company.

However, this tool can be used not only to organize the audio and video content. iTunes functionality can be also useful for testing as well as for preparation for it. It can help:

• to view the device information; 
• to update iPhone/iPad/iPod software; 
• to synchronize the device with a PC and obtain the crash log files of the application; 
• to install the application using the .ipa files.

1. How to view the device information

Using iTunes, one can receive the detailed information about the iOS device, such as the model, serial number, OS version, memory storage. To see this information, one must:

1. Connect the iOS device to the PC with the help of the wire. iTunes must be already installed on the PC.

2. Start iTunes.

3. Choose the device.

Information about the device is available in the «Summary» tab.

2. How to update iPhone/iPad/iPod software

Often, the newest software is needed to perform testing. iTunes tools can be used to update the operating system on the iOS device. To update the operating system, follow the next steps:

1. Connect the iOS device to the PC with the help of the data-wire. iTunes must be already installed.

2. Start iTunes.

3. Choose the device.

4. Open the «Summary» tab and click the «Check for update» button.

3. How  to synchronize the device with a PC and obtain the crash log files of the application

In crash-logs of one’s device the detailed information about the crash is situated. It is needed for the identification of the source of the bug. Using iTunes, it is easy to obtain log-files of the application. Follow the next steps to do it:

1. Connect the iOS device to the PC with the help of the data-wire. iTunes must be already installed.

2. Start iTunes. 

3. Choose the device.

4. Click the «Summary» button and click the «Sync» button.

5. After finishing the synchronization, follow the next directory C:\Users\name_of_current_user\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\Logs\CrashReporter\MobileDevice and open the folder with the name of the mobile device needed (for example, iPhone – ca9c895d).

In the folder you can find the log-files of the applications that are installed on the mobile device.

4. How to install the application using the .ipa files.

There are a lot of ways to install the app which needs to be tested. When the application is on the stage of active development, the App Store is not always the option to install it, due to this reason, one of the common ways to install an app is installing it with the help of the .ipa file. This functionality is available for the iTunes 12.6.3 and newer versions. So, to install in such way, follow the steps below:

1. Connect the iOS device to the PC with the help of the data-wire. iTunes must be already installed.

2. Start iTunes.

3. Choose the device. 

4. Click the «Summary» button and click the «Sync» button.

5. Open a directory with an .ipa file. 

6. Open the file with iTunes.

7. In iTunes go to the «File exchange» tab. 

8. Click next to the application that is needed to be installed.

9. Click the «Sync» button and wait until the end of the installation of the application on the mobile device.

iTunes is a useful tool for a tester and an ordinary user too, as it allows to perform different manipulations with a device and its data. We have looked through it in the article above, nevertheless, these are not the only way to use it. It is worth mentioning that there are free and paid versions of this application (such as iTools, iPhone Tunnel Suite), that allow to perform similar tasks.