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iOS 26: pair AirCard-iOS with AirCard Injector

Create a pairing file on a Mac with AirCard Injector and import it into AirCard-iOS on your iPhone. Set it up once, then change card art on the phone alone.

  • About 15 min
  • 7 steps
  • For AirCard Injector v2.0.1 + AirCard-iOS v1.3.2
  • Updated October 6, 2026

Before you start

iPhone
iOS 26 or laterMinimum
Mac
macOS 14 Sonoma or laterMinimum
Cable
A USB cable that carries data (not charge-only)
IPA
AirCard-iOS.ipa (from GitHub Releases)
Install via
A sideloading tool: SideStore, AltStore or LiveContainer
Helper app
LocalDevVPN (loopback mode)

ImportantApple patched the iOS flaw AirCard relies on in iOS 27.2, so AirCard doesn’t work on iOS 27.2 or later. To keep the card art you’ve already changed, or to keep changing it, stay on the version you have now (such as iOS 27.0.1, or iOS 27.1 on iPhone Duo), don’t update to iOS 27.2, and turn off Settings › General › Software Update › Automatic Updates.

ImportantSince AirCard-iOS v1.3.1, importing a pairing file is officially supported, so iOS 18–26 works too: if you already use SideStore or LiveContainer, go straight to the AirCard-iOS guide and import the pairing file they made — you don’t need this guide. This one is for when you have a Mac but none of those tools: Injector makes the pairing file on the Mac. If you only want to change the art once and have a Mac, AirCard for Mac is simpler.

To check: on iPhone, open Settings › General › About. On a Mac, choose Apple menu › About This Mac.

Steps

  1. Step 1: Download AirCard Injector

    Open AirCard Injector’s GitHub Releases page⁠(opens in a new tab) and download AirCardInjector.dmg from the Assets of the latest release (currently v2.0.1). Open it and drag the app into Applications.

    ImportantAirCard Injector is a third-party tool by merybist⁠(opens in a new tab), not part of AirCard-iOS. The only test report so far is the author’s own, on an iPhone 14 Pro with iOS 26.5.2 and AirCard-iOS v1.3, and one user has reported that their iPhone on iOS 26 is never detected. Mak5er, the author of AirCard-iOS, shared its announcement⁠(opens in a new tab) on X.

    TipOnly download from the official repository — avoid modified builds from elsewhere. It bundles jkcoxson’s open-source idevice_pair⁠(opens in a new tab) to create the pairing file.

  2. Step 2: First launch

    Double-click AirCard Injector in Applications. If macOS says it can’t be opened, follow Apple’s guide to opening a Mac app from an unknown developer⁠(opens in a new tab). If macOS then asks whether it can access files in your Documents or Downloads folder, click Allow — that’s where it looks for the pairing file.

  3. Step 3: Connect and trust your iPhone

    Connect the iPhone to the Mac with a USB cable and keep it unlocked. If the iPhone asks “Trust This Computer?”, tap Trust and enter your passcode; if the Mac asks “Allow accessory to connect?”, click Allow. When Injector’s Step 1 shows “iPhone connected via USB”, you’re connected. After changing the cable or reconnecting, click Refresh to check again.

    TipSeeing “No iPhone detected via USB”? Make sure the iPhone is unlocked and trusts this Mac, try a different cable that carries data (some only charge) and another USB port — ideally straight into the Mac rather than through a hub — then click Refresh. If the iPhone doesn’t appear in the Finder sidebar either, the problem is the cable or trust. If the trust prompt never appears or you tapped Don’t Trust, follow Apple’s steps⁠(opens in a new tab) to reset it and reconnect.

  4. Step 4: Create the pairing file

    In Injector, click Launch Key Generator (idevice_pair) to open the bundled idevice_pair. There, pick your iPhone from the device menu (it’s marked USB), choose Remote pairing and click Create; when the iPhone asks again whether to trust this computer, tap Trust and enter your passcode. Then click Save to file… and save it to Documents or Downloads with the default name, pairingFile.plist. Injector picks it up automatically — once the badge at the top right turns green and reads “RemotePairing ready”, you can move on.

    ImportantThe pairing file holds credentials tied to this iPhone. Don’t post it in issues, on social media or in chats, or show it in screenshots.

    TipKeep the iPhone unlocked on the Home Screen while pairing (it needs a passcode set). If Injector doesn’t pick the file up, click Browse… next to the path field and choose the .plist you saved. If the badge shows something other than “RemotePairing ready” — such as Legacy Lockdown or Missing alt_irk — it isn’t the RemotePairing file you need: go back to idevice_pair, choose Remote pairing and create it again.

  5. Step 5: Sideload AirCard-iOS

    Download AirCard-iOS.ipa from the latest release (currently v1.3.2) on the AirCard-iOS GitHub Releases page⁠(opens in a new tab) and install it with a sideloading tool such as SideStore⁠(opens in a new tab), AltStore⁠(opens in a new tab) or LiveContainer⁠(opens in a new tab), the same way as in the AirCard-iOS guide.

    TipTrollStore⁠(opens in a new tab) only supports iOS 17.0 and earlier, so it can’t be used on iOS 26.

  6. Step 6: Turn on LocalDevVPN

    Install LocalDevVPN⁠(opens in a new tab) from the App Store and run it in loopback mode (10.7.0.1). The pairing file only replaces the Developer Mode pairing step — AirCard-iOS still needs LocalDevVPN to reach system services on the device.

    TipLocalDevVPN isn’t listed on the China mainland App Store — use an Apple Account from another region. It’s also open source⁠(opens in a new tab).

  7. Step 7: Import the pairing file and change card art

    AirDrop pairingFile.plist to the iPhone and save it to Files. Then open AirCard-iOS, tap Import Pairing File… on the Pairing tab and pick it. When Active Pairing shows “Ready to exploit ✅”, you’re paired. Then follow the AirCard-iOS guide from “Get your card art”. From now on you change card art on the phone, with no computer needed.

    ImportantAfter erasing the iPhone, or tapping Reset Location & Privacy in Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Reset (which removes trust from every computer), go back to the Mac, create a new pairing file and import it again.

    TipCan’t use AirDrop? In the Mac’s Finder sidebar, select the iPhone, click the Files tab and drag pairingFile.plist onto AirCard-iOS in the list, then tap Use next to it under Discovered in Documents on the app’s Pairing tab (pull down to refresh if the app was already open).

  8. Done

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