Getting started
Install PinDrift, set up your phone, and run your first spoof. Five sections; about ten minutes start to finish if it's your first time. The compatibility tables at the bottom let you confirm your hardware before you buy.
1. Before you begin
You'll need:
- A Windows 10 or 11 PC (Mac support is coming)
- An iPhone running iOS 17 or newer, or an Android phone running Android 12 or newer
- A USB-C or Lightning data cable for the first connection (charge-only cables won't work)
- Your PinDrift license key, delivered by email at the time of purchase
PinDrift is $4/month, $20/year, or $50 one-time (Lifetime), but you don’t have to pay anything to start. See pricing. Every fresh install gets a real free spoofing trial - the clock starts when you run your first spoof, no card required. Installing PinDrift and setting up your phone don’t burn trial time; only an active spoof starts the trial timer. After the trial runs out, you pick a plan or PinDrift stops spoofing.
2. Install PinDrift
- Download the installer from pindrift.app. The file is code-signed by Microsoft Trusted Signing, so Windows SmartScreen should accept it without warnings.
- Run
PinDrift-Setup.exeand follow the prompts. The installer ships only PinDrift, no bundled toolbars, no "PC optimizer," no third-party offers. - Launch PinDrift from the Start menu.
3. Activate your license
- Find your license key in the receipt email from PinDrift (subject: "Your PinDrift license"). It looks like
PD-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. - Paste it into the activation screen the first time PinDrift launches. PinDrift contacts the license server, registers this PC, and saves a signed token locally. After that, PinDrift works offline.
- Confirm activation succeeded, the bottom-right corner of the app should show "License Active."
Lifetime is licensed for one active host PC at a time, with one free transfer per 180 days. To move PinDrift to a different machine, click Move to a new PC in Settings → License (or sign in to pindrift.app/account from any browser to release the slot remotely), then activate the new PC with the same email + license key. The transfer itself is free and instant. After it lands, a 180-day cooldown applies before you can transfer again. Emergency moves (theft, hardware failure) can be expedited with documentation.
4. Set up your phone
Your iPhone needs a one-time switch flipped before PinDrift can talk to it. The good news: no Mac, no Xcode, no jailbreaking. Just two settings on the phone. The Android tab below documents the planned setup flow; Android itself is on the roadmap and isn't in the shipping build yet.
4a. Enable Developer Mode on iPhone
iOS 17 introduced Developer Mode as a security gate. PinDrift needs it on. The toggle is on the phone itself, no Mac required.
- Plug your iPhone into the PC. PinDrift will detect it and offer a one-click Reveal Developer Mode button. Click it. (This makes the toggle appear in iPhone Settings; without it, the toggle is hidden.)
- On the iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → scroll down → Developer Mode → tap the row → turn on.
- Restart the iPhone when prompted.
- After reboot, the iPhone shows a one-time confirmation: "Turn On Developer Mode?" → tap Turn On → enter your passcode. The phone reboots one more time.
Apple makes it mandatory regardless of the tool you're using. Even Xcode requires the same on-device tap and passcode entry. It's a one-time anti-coercion gate, once on, it stays on until you turn it off or update iOS.
4b. Trust the PC
The first time you plug the iPhone into a computer, iOS asks "Trust This Computer?" Tap Trust and enter your passcode. You only do this once per (phone, PC) pair.
Unlock the iPhone, unplug it, and re-plug it. iOS only shows the prompt to an unlocked phone. If it still doesn't appear, install Apple's Apple Devices Store app on your PC, it bundles the device drivers Windows needs to even ask the iPhone for trust.
4c. Confirm everything is ready
In PinDrift's Device tab you should now see four green checkmarks:
- Device(s) trusted
- Developer Mode enabled
- Tunnel connected
- Developer Disk Image mounted
If any are missing, see Troubleshooting.
4a. Enable Developer Options
Android hides Developer Options behind an easter egg by default. To unhide it:
- Settings → About phone (on Samsung: About phone → Software information).
- Tap Build number seven times. After the seventh tap, the phone shows a toast: "You are now a developer."
- Enter your PIN if prompted.
4b. Enable USB Debugging
- Settings → System → Developer options (on Samsung: Settings → Developer options, no nesting).
- Turn on USB debugging. Confirm the warning dialog.
4c. Plug into the PC and authorize
- Plug the phone in with a USB cable.
- On the phone: the "Allow USB debugging?" prompt appears. Check "Always allow from this computer" and tap Allow. (You only do this once per PC.)
4d. Install the PinDrift Companion app
Android requires that mock locations come from an app that's been registered as the mock-location provider. PinDrift ships a tiny companion app (about 1 MB, no network access, no telemetry) that does exactly this and nothing else.
- In PinDrift on the PC, click Install Companion App when prompted. PinDrift sends the app to the phone over your existing USB connection.
- On the phone: Settings → Developer options → Select mock location app → pick PinDrift Companion.
iOS provides a developer-mode location feed that PinDrift can drive directly from your PC. Android's permission model requires that mock locations come from an app on the device. PinDrift's Companion app is the smallest possible one, it does only this, has no other features, and is sideloaded directly from PinDrift over USB. No Play Store, no Google account, no Play Services needed.
4e. Confirm everything is ready
In PinDrift's Device tab you should see the phone listed with a green status pill. If it shows yellow ("Companion not selected") or red ("Mock provider unauthorized"), recheck step 4d.
Samsung's Knox security layer can interfere on retail firmware. If PinDrift reports "Mock provider rejected" on a Samsung phone, restart the phone and re-select PinDrift Companion under Mock location app, that resolves it almost every time.
Setup is one-time per phone. After this, the phone remembers Developer Mode (iOS) or Developer Options (Android) and the trust pairing with your PC. Plug in or connect over Wi-Fi any time and PinDrift picks up where you left off.
5. Run your first spoof
- Click the Location tab in the sidebar.
- Pick a place. Drag the red pin on the map, click anywhere on the map, type an address into the search bar, type lat/lng directly, or pick a Preset (Times Square, Apple Park, Eiffel Tower, etc.).
- Click Spoof This Location on the bottom-left card. The phone's GPS now reports the picked location to every app.
- Verify on the phone. Open Apple Maps (or Google Maps on Android), tap the locate button, and confirm the blue dot lands at the spoofed location. Force-quit Maps and reopen if it shows your real location, Maps caches GPS aggressively.
Click Stop Spoofing on the bottom-left card. The phone goes back to real GPS within a few seconds.
The spoof also clears automatically if you unplug the phone or close PinDrift, that's an iOS limitation, not a PinDrift one. PinDriftBox works around it for set-and-forget use.
6. Multiple phones at once
Any paid plan (Monthly or Lifetime) supports up to 10 phones connected and spoofing at once on a single PC. Each phone needs its own Developer Mode / USB Debugging gate flipped (do step 4 on each), and each one needs the trust pairing the first time it’s connected. After that, all connected phones show up in PinDrift’s Device tab and you can edit any subset of them simultaneously. Multi-device feature tour.
7. Compatibility
What PinDrift works with today. We update this section within a week of every iOS / Android release.
Host operating systems
| OS | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 | Supported | Primary target. All builds are tested here first. |
| Windows 10 (22H2+) | Supported | Fully supported. Earlier 10 builds are not tested. |
| macOS | Roadmap | Apple Silicon and Intel both planned. No firm date yet. |
iPhone compatibility
| iPhone | Status |
|---|---|
| iPhone 17 series (17, Air, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max) | Supported |
| iPhone 16 series (16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, 16e) | Supported |
| iPhone 15 series (15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max) | Supported |
| iPhone 14 series (14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max) | Supported |
| iPhone 13 / SE 3rd gen (on iOS 17+) | Supported |
| iPhone 12 and earlier | Not supported |
If your iPhone supports iOS 17 or newer, PinDrift supports it. iOS 17 introduced the Developer Mode framework PinDrift relies on; older iOS versions don't have it.
iOS versions
| iOS | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| iOS 26 (current) | Supported | Including 26.x point releases. |
| iOS 18 | Supported | |
| iOS 17 | Supported | Minimum supported version. |
| iOS 16 and earlier | Not supported | Lacks the Developer Mode framework PinDrift requires. |
Android compatibility
| Phone family | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Google Pixel (6 and newer) | Supported | Cleanest experience. Stock Android. |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 / S23 / S24 / S25 series | Supported | Knox occasionally interferes; restart the phone if Mock provider gets rejected. |
| Samsung Galaxy A series (A54+) | Supported | |
| OnePlus, Nothing, Xiaomi (recent global ROMs) | Tested | Working in our tests; report issues if you hit any. |
| Huawei (HMS-only ROMs) | Limited | USB Debugging works; some OEM-specific quirks possible. |
Android versions
| Android | Status |
|---|---|
| Android 15 | Supported |
| Android 14 | Supported |
| Android 13 | Supported |
| Android 12 | Supported |
| Android 11 and earlier | Not supported |
USB cables & ports
PinDrift works with any cable that carries data, charge-only cables won't work.
| Cable | Status | |
|---|---|---|
| Apple-supplied USB-C and Lightning cables | Always works | |
| Third-party MFi-certified data cables | Works | |
| USB-C-to-USB-C with PD support | Works | |
| Charge-only USB-C cables (common with car chargers) | No data, won't work | |
| USB hubs | Sometimes | Powered hubs work better than bus-powered ones. Direct PC ports are most reliable. |
What we don't support, on purpose
- Jailbroken iPhones. PinDrift is a clean tool. We don't expose any features that depend on jailbreak.
- Rooted Android phones. Same reason.
- iPads. Possible in principle, not tested. Contact us if you need this.
- Carrier-locked iPhones in restricted modes. Most carrier locks don't affect Developer Mode, but a few enterprise MDM profiles can. If your phone is enterprise-managed, your IT admin's policy applies.
8. What's next
- Feature tour, routes, multi-device, favorites, presets, match clock
- Wireless & headless, ditch the cable, run on a Pi for 24/7 spoofing
- Troubleshooting, if something isn't working
Stuck? Send your iPhone model and iOS version via the contact form.