Update | Hacker explains how to install Epic Games Store and Fortnite on iPad outside the EU

August 17, 2024 update: Saunders Tech has uploaded a tutorial to his YouTube channel (video embedded below) explaining how to install Fortnite and the Epic Games Store on an iPad outside the EU. However, not only does the process require specific beta versions of iOS or iPadOS, it also only works on Wi-Fi iPads and the device will need to be factory reset during the installation process. The installation process also requires a Windows or macOS computer, creating a new Apple ID, and a router with a VPN installed on it to bypass Apple's region lock on installing third party app stores. The original article follows below.  

Fortnite finally made its triumphant return to Apple's iOS devices in the EU this week after the Union introduced the Digital Markets Act. However, users in other parts of the world are still left out in the cold, thanks to what has been described as Apple's de facto monopoly on iOS apps. Saunders Tech apparently refused to take no for an answer, announcing on X that he has found a way to install the Epic Games Store and Fortnite on any iPad, worldwide, as long as it runs iPadOS 18 Beta 6.

Judging from another post on X, Saunders has forced an installation of the Epic Games Store on his iPad Pro M2 and iPad 10, given the Epic Games Store permission to install apps, and used that third-party store to install Fortnite on his iPad. Saunders is located in England, so his iPad would not benefit from the new DMA laws that allow users to install third-party app stores in the EU. 

In a demo video, Saunders shows off the Epic Games store running perfectly on his iPad, with the ability to install apps and games via the app store. All-in-all, he says the process took 10 hours of brute force, which is actually an impressively short time, given how determined Apple is to keep Fortnite off its non-EU iPads. 

Saunders is yet to post a tutorial explaining how other worldwide iPhone and iPad users can install Fortnite, but he has apparently already recorded the tutorial and plans to upload it to YouTube “in a couple of hours.” Saunders's X posts, however, suggest that the process is fiddly and the installation requires some serious compromises from the user. 

For starters, according to the YouTuber, Apple will almost certainly figure out a way to patch out this capability in a future update, so, for now, he recommends sticking to iOS 18 Beta 6. This obviously poses some problems for those who like to be on the latest software versions for security or similar reasons. The other massive downside to installing Fortnite on the iPad is that the game is currently locked to 30 fps, which is certainly playable, but far from ideal — especially in today's world of high-refresh-rate iPads and smartphones. 

Saunders also says that he should be able to get the hack working on an iPhone running the same software version, but installing Fortnite on an iPhone will require additional equipment and steps. While the equipment for the iPhone installation is already on order, he has not committed to making a tutorial for installing Fortnite on iPhone just yet. 

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