iOS 26: pair AirCard-iOS with AirCard Injector

Steps

1. 01

   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. AirCard-iOS’s own documentation still says it needs iOS 27 or later; the only report that it works on iOS 26 so far is the Injector author’s own test, on an iPhone 14 Pro with iOS 26.5.2 and AirCard-iOS v1.3. Mak5er, the author of AirCard-iOS, shared its announcement⁠(opens in a new tab) on X, though one user has reported that their iPhone on iOS 26 is never detected.

   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. 02

   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. 03

   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. 04

   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 — and since the IPA you build next contains it, don’t share that either.

   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. 05

   Step 5: Build your own IPA

   In Step 2, choose an AirCard-iOS release from the menu — usually the one marked Latest Release — and Injector downloads it from GitHub; or click Choose Custom .ipa… and pick the original AirCard-iOS.ipa you downloaded. Then click Inject Pairing & Create Ready IPA and choose where to save it (the default name is AirCard-iOS-Ready.ipa). When you see “IPA created”, it’s done; Reveal in Finder shows you the file. It’s saved as a new file, so your original IPA isn’t overwritten.

   TipNo release menu (for example when offline)? Click Choose Custom .ipa… and pick the original IPA on your Mac. If you see “Failed to Create IPA”, check that it’s a complete original IPA (with a Payload folder containing the .app), then save again under a new file name.

6. 06

   Step 6: Sideload the new IPA

   Install the IPA you just built — not the original — 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.

7. 07

   Step 7: Turn on LocalDevVPN

   Install LocalDevVPN⁠(opens in a new tab) from the App Store and run it in loopback mode (10.7.0.1 or 127.0.0.1). 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).

8. 08

   Step 8: Change card art on the phone

   Open AirCard-iOS and look at Active Pairing on the Pairing tab. If it shows a green check with the pairing file’s name, you can skip Developer Mode pairing; if it says Not Paired, first put the pairing file into AirCard-iOS as described below. 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 build and install the IPA again.

   TipGoing by AirCard-iOS v1.3’s source code, it only reads the pairing file from its own folder, so it may not find the copy inside the IPA. In that case, put the pairing file straight into AirCard-iOS’s folder, as AirCard-iOS’s own documentation also describes: with the iPhone connected, select it in the Finder sidebar, click the Files tab, drag pairingFile.plist onto AirCard-iOS in the list, then reopen AirCard-iOS.

9. Done

   Find card art