So Marvin’s Gone!

[carbonel]

I just replaced my old iPhone SE (2nd gen) with a 3rd gen refurb. I backed up my old phone first and everything reinstalled just fine except for Marvin. I found the instructions and video for using iMazing to reload Marvin. Unfortunately, when I got to the point where I was supposed to load the .ipa file onto the new-to-me iPhone, I got this message:

"Marvin is not linked to any Apple account and therefore cannot be imported into your library. You can only import .IPA files downloaded with iTunes. If you need to install a developer or ad-hoc app, please use the "Device" tab's "Install .IPA file" action.

So I tried using the Device tab instead of the Library tab to see what would happen. It appeared to work, but when I tried opening Marvin on my new iPhone, it just expanded as if opening then went back to the main screen.

I searched for this error message on the forum and I didn't find it, so I'm wondering if this is new or if I missed a step somewhere. Is there any way to work around this? Or can I use iTunes to side-load it somehow?

Any help appreciated.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

Thanks for the heads up. I use my ipads mostly for reading, so I just will stop updating them at IOS 18.7. There is nothing new in IOS26 that I need. Yes, ultimately I'll have to lose Marvin, but that is not today.

You don't know what you'll lose. Some apps will be updated to use iPadOS 26 and some will come out needing iPadOS 26.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by carbonel

I just replaced my old iPhone SE (2nd gen) with a 3rd gen refurb. I backed up my old phone first and everything reinstalled just fine except for Marvin. I found the instructions and video for using iMazing to reload Marvin. Unfortunately, when I got to the point where I was supposed to load the .ipa file onto the new-to-me iPhone, I got this message:

"Marvin is not linked to any Apple account and therefore cannot be imported into your library. You can only import .IPA files downloaded with iTunes. If you need to install a developer or ad-hoc app, please use the "Device" tab's "Install .IPA file" action.

So I tried using the Device tab instead of the Library tab to see what would happen. It appeared to work, but when I tried opening Marvin on my new iPhone, it just expanded as if opening then went back to the main screen.

I searched for this error message on the forum and I didn't find it, so I'm wondering if this is new or if I missed a step somewhere. Is there any way to work around this? Or can I use iTunes to side-load it somehow?

Any help appreciated.

Maybe this is a new feature of iOS26.

[Turtle91]

I don’t think iTunes works… it still wants you to download the app from Apple Store … or at least verify your ownership … even if installing from an ipa.

Did you follow the directions found in the other thread “So we thought Marvin was gone…”???

[carbonel]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

I don’t think iTunes works… it still wants you to download the app from Apple Store … or at least verify your ownership … even if installing from an ipa.

Did you follow the directions found in the other thread “So we thought Marvin was gone…”???

I did use the directions (and followed the video exactly), and it appeared that everything was working just fine until I got to the final step of uploading the .IPA file to the new iPhone. That's when I got that error message.

If anyone else can make it work with iOS 26.0.1 or higher, I'd be interested in hearing about it, since that seems the most likely culprit, but if it works for other people, then it has to be something at my end.

In the meantime, I already had MapleReadCX (the free version) installed from years back, and I'm giving that a try.

[carbonel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Maybe this is a new feature of iOS26.

If that's the case, I'll be *really* annoyed, because when I started up the new phone, it asked me if I wanted to update the OS and I said yes. Maybe I wouldn't have this issue if I'd waited.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by carbonel

If that's the case, I'll be *really* annoyed, because when I started up the new phone, it asked me if I wanted to update the OS and I said yes. Maybe I wouldn't have this issue if I'd waited.

I installed Marvin on the iPhone Air on 26.0.1 so I don't think the update was the issue.

By any chance did you use separate accounts for iCloud and iTunes/App Store at some point? It's possible that the app was under a different account.

Before Family Sharing, our household each had our own iCloud account but we used a shared account for iTunes/App Store.

[peaceridge]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You don't know what you'll lose. Some apps will be updated to use iPadOS 26 and some will come out needing iPadOS 26.

True, maybe I'll just update my 11" as I seldom use Marvin on it - it's my pdf reader and Procreate device. My mini is only used for epub reading, so it can stay as it is. Thanks for the comment, had me rethinking.

[carbonel]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

I installed Marvin on the iPhone Air on 26.0.1 so I don't think the update was the issue.

By any chance did you use separate accounts for iCloud and iTunes/App Store at some point? It's possible that the app was under a different account.

That's a relief, actually, even if it still leaves me hanging.

I went from the old phone to the new phone by backing up the old phone to iCloud. But the only account I used was my Apple ID login, which has a non-email username and password, no other account reference like email address. I do have an icloud.com email address, but I never use it for anything.

One possible bit of relevant data is that when I went to sideload Marvin to the new iPhone, I was asked to sign in with my Apple ID. I don't think that was part of the process in the video.

Any suggestions as to what I might try doing differently if I try again?