I have an "in house" hybrid app built with PhoneGap that is distributed via direct link so it does not use the App Store. The iOS provisioning profile is expiring soon but the certificate is good until next year. I already went into my Apple Developer account, edited the expiring provisioning profile and then clicked "Generate" to update expiration date to a year from now - so the provisioning profile itself is now updated. I have also tested on an iPad by changing the system date past the previous expiration date but before the new expiration date and the app still works; however, when I change the date past the new expiration date it no longer works as expected with the message: "App Name" is No Longer Available.
My question is: Do I need to rebuild the PhoneGap app with the provisioning profile that now has an updated date and the then redistribute to all (hundreds) users or will it continue working without an update now that the provisioning profile date is updated?
In my testing, it seems the app does not need to be rebuilt with the updated provisioning profile date but I am having a hard time getting a clear answer on this.
Additional Information:
Adjusting the iPad system time more than 70 days past the previous expiration date no longer allows the app to be installed.
Running an app on an iOS device simply requires that there is a valid provisioning profile on the device when you launch the app. If your app is the only one ever installed on the device (meaning the old provisioning profile is the only one that's been installed on the device), when you hit the expiration date, the app will not lunch again.
You have a few options. All of them will require the new provisioning profile to be installed on the device.
First, you can rebuild the app with the new provisioning profile and install the new build of the app on your devices.
Second, if you have access to the devices, you can manually install the new provisioning profile on the devices through Xcode. This can be done through the devices window in Xcode. This will not require you to rebuild and reinstall the app.
Third, if these devices are managed with an MDM system, you can push the new provisioning profile to the devices using your MDM provider.
A fourth option, which would only work if you're using a wildcard identifier in the provisioning profile, would be to install another app with the new provision profile on it. This will allow the profile to be installed on the device, without having to rebuild the original app.