What's a Capability in an Apple Provisioning Profile?

[Graham Samuel]

I’m trying to get my iOS app, now ready for beta test, transferred to an actual phone, after what I think are all the earlier steps both in the Apple certification system (Franz Kafka would be proud!) and in LC and in the simulator. I have also tried to follow advice generously given on this list, especially from Bill Prothero.

However, XCode refuses to put my app on the phone, and among other things seems to suggest that my Profile doesn’t have the right Capabilities. But when I return to the Apple Developer profile and look at the Profile I generated, sure enough it says ‘Enabled Capabilities: none’, but the editing function for the Profile doesn’t give an option to add any.

Does anyone know what a Capability is in this context, whether I need one, and if so, what to do to get one (or more)? If i don’t need one, why is Xcode complaining?

It is so hard to keep going in these circumstances.

Graham