Clicking on Download in Xcode didn't do anything - the progress bar did not progress (does that make it a regress bar?).

This is what worked for me:

  1. Open Xcode, open preferences, go to the Components section.

  2. Open the Console App, clear the console.

  3. Go back to the Xcode preferences. Start the simulator download, then cancel it.

  4. Now in the Console, you will see something about the cancellation with the download URL.

  5. Copy the URL from the Console. Then in Terminal in some suitable scratch folder, download it:

    curl [the url you copied] -O (the letter O, not a zero)

  6. Finally, copy this file to ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.dt.Xcode/Downloads
    Remove all *.dvtdownloadableindex files (maybe it doesn't matter, but I removed them).

  7. In Xcode, in the Downloads section, start the Simulator download again, it should find the file you downloaded and install it.

How easy was that! Only 7 steps, hah!

Answer from emp on Stack Overflow
🌐
Stack Overflow
stackoverflow.com › questions › 29058229 › download-xcode-simulator-directly
ios - Download Xcode simulator directly - Stack Overflow
Top answer
1 of 16
194

Clicking on Download in Xcode didn't do anything - the progress bar did not progress (does that make it a regress bar?).

This is what worked for me:

  1. Open Xcode, open preferences, go to the Components section.

  2. Open the Console App, clear the console.

  3. Go back to the Xcode preferences. Start the simulator download, then cancel it.

  4. Now in the Console, you will see something about the cancellation with the download URL.

  5. Copy the URL from the Console. Then in Terminal in some suitable scratch folder, download it:

    curl [the url you copied] -O (the letter O, not a zero)

  6. Finally, copy this file to ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.dt.Xcode/Downloads
    Remove all *.dvtdownloadableindex files (maybe it doesn't matter, but I removed them).

  7. In Xcode, in the Downloads section, start the Simulator download again, it should find the file you downloaded and install it.

How easy was that! Only 7 steps, hah!

2 of 16
173

To add iOS Simulator in XCode perform below steps:

  • Download iOS Simulator from Below Link:

  • After download completes, copy this file to ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.dt.Xcode/Downloads In some cases, we have to remove all *.dvtdownloadableindex files (maybe it doesn't matter, I didn't remove them).

  • In case directory ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.dt.Xcode don't have download folder then, just click Show package content create Downloads folder, before moving the dmg file.

  • In Xcode, in the Downloads section, start the Simulator download again, it should find the file you downloaded and install it.

(Newest on top. only the latest revision is kept in the list.)

  • Simulator Link:

iOS 18.1

iOS 18.0

iOS 17.4

iOS 17.2

iOS 17.0.1

https://download.developer.apple.com/Developer_Tools/iOS_17.0.1_Simulator_Runtime/iOS_17.0.1_Simulator_Runtime.dmg

iOS 15.5

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK15_5-15.5.1.1653527639.dmg

iOS 15.4

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK15_4-15.4.1.1650505652.dmg

iOS 15.2

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK15_2-15.2.1.1643410298.dmg

iOS 14.5

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK14_5-14.5.1.1621461325.dmg

iOS 14.4

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK14_4-14.4.1.1611903691.dmg

iOS 14.3

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK14_3-14.3.1.1611873653.dmg

iOS 14.2

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK14_2-14.2.1.1605311653.dmg

iOS 14.1

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK14_1-14.1.1.1604100028.dmg

iOS 14.0

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK14_0-14.0.1.1604100028.dmg

iOS 13.7

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK13_7-13.7.1.1599165590.dmg

iOS 13.6

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK13_6-13.6.1.1597276955.dmg

iOS 13.5

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK13_5-13.5.1.1591226335.dmg

iOS 13.4

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK13_4-13.4.1.1586370836.dmg

iOS 13.3

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK13_3-13.3.1.1580170331.dmg

iOS 13.2

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK13_2-13.2.1.1575590084.dmg

iOS 13.1

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK13_1-13.1.1.1571440502.dmg

iOS 13.0

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK13_0-13.0.1.1571440502.dmg

iOS 12.4

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK12_4-12.4.1.1568665771.dmg

iOS 12.2

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK12_2-12.2.1.1557987768.dmg

iOS 12.1

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK12_1-12.1.1.1543439531.dmg

iOS 12.0

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK12_0-12.0.1.1537588161.dmg

iOS 11.4

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK11_4-11.4.1.1527703358.dmg

iOS 11.3

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK11_3-11.3.1.1524350608.dmg

iOS 11.2

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK11_2-11.2.1.1516308624.dmg

iOS 11.1

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK11_1-11.1.1.1510784422.dmg

iOS 11.0

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK11_0-11.0.1.1508875951.dmg

iOS 10.3.1

https://devimages-cdn.apple.com/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK10_3-10.3.1.1495751597.dmg

🌐
LambdaTest
lambdatest.com › software-testing-questions › how-to-install-ios-simulators
How to install iOS simulators?
From the dropdown menu, select Xcode > Preferences > Select Components and select the simulator version you wish to download. You can also check out LambdaTest’s iOS Simulator Online or iOS Simulator For Mac to test your websites, web apps, and iOS apps.
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stackoverflow.com › questions › 76968932 › how-to-install-ios-17-beta-simulators-in-xcode-15-beta
download - How to install iOS 17 beta simulators in Xcode 15 beta - Stack Overflow
Top answer
1 of 2
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After a bit of googling I found the answer here:

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/installing-additional-simulator-runtimes

Just move to the bottom where it says "Install and manage Simulator runtimes from the command line".

The steps to make it work are:

// Select  version of Xcode
xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode-beta7.app

// launch it
xcodebuild -runFirstLaunch

// and here I add the path to the simulator I downloaded!
xcrun simctl runtime add "~/Downloads/iOS_17_beta_7_Simulator_Runtime.dmg"

This worked great and when I opened Xcode again it did recognize the new runtime!

ps. There is also a great command to download all simulators from the command line directly if you need watchOS too!

xcodebuild -downloadAllPlatforms
2 of 2
1

As per Apple documentation the following steps should work. DOC

xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode-beta.app
xcodebuild -runFirstLaunch
xcrun simctl runtime add "~/Downloads/iOS_17_beta_Simulator_Runtime.dmg"

But unfortunately, this does not work for me.

I found the solution here. I just follow the steps.

  1. Right click on the Xcode 15 Beta application and select Show Package Content.

  2. Double click to open the iOS_17_beta_Simulator_Runtime.dmg file

  3. Inside the simulator dmg file, find the Runtime folder. This is the folder we are going to copy into Xcode.

  4. Place the Runtime folder at Developer → Platforms → iPhoneOS.platform → Library → Developer → CoreSimulator → Profiles inside the Xcode 15 beta Show Package Contents.

If you move the Xcode-beta application to the Application folder,you can use Finder to go to /Applications/Xcode-beta.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Profiles.

Restart Xcode if you already have it open, and your iOS simulators will be there.

🌐
Medium
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Manually Install iOS Simulators in XCode | by Matt Johnston | HackerNoon.com | Medium
July 17, 2017 - Once you are sure the simulator download has started in XCode, cancel it. When the download is cancelled, a new log will appear in Console with the url of the file that was being downloaded. This is the url for the file you want to manually download. For my iOS 9.3 Simulator, the url was: https://devimages.apple.com.edgekey.net/downloads/xcode/simulators/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneSimulatorSDK9_3-9.3.1.1460411551.dmg
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Install iOS Simulators in Xcode Manually · GitHub
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iOS Simulator Download | Apple Developer Forums
You can actually download the specific iOS versions you are looking for from this GitHub.
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How to install iOS 17 simulators in Xcode 15 – Lickability
Since the publishing of this post, official Apple docs have been published on this topic, which also offer instructions on using xcrun simctl runtime add from the command line to install simulator runtimes, which may save you some time. ... xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode-beta.app xcodebuild -runFirstLaunch xcrun simctl runtime add "~/Downloads/ios_17_beta_simulator_runtime.dmg"
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Install development tools for simulators and emulators—ArcGIS AppStudio | Documentation
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GitHub - timsutton/speedwagon: Download iOS/tvOS/watchOS/xrOS simulators without Xcode or macOS
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reddit.com › r/xcode › can i install ios 26 simulator on xcode running macos sequoia?
r/Xcode on Reddit: Can I install IOS 26 simulator on Xcode running macOS sequoia?
June 11, 2025 -

Don't know If this is a stupid question, I haven't messed much with Xcode

Top answer
1 of 4
2
Yes. However, you need 15.4 for the Xcode 26 beta, which contains all 26 simulators.
2 of 4
2
I'm surprised no one mentioned it yet. Try https://www.xcodes.app/ It's like an Xcode version manager that allows you to install multiple xcode versions There's a GUI or CLI version and its free and open source.
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June 29, 2024 - Let’s use it to download the runtime and combine it with some custom script to install the downloaded image. $ brew install blacktop/tap/ipsw $ echo "iOS 15.5 Simulator" | ipsw download xcode --sim Downloading file=iOS_15.5_Simulator_Runtime.dmg 4.35 GiB / 5.04 GiB [=============>-----| 33s ] 38.69 MiB/s 5.04 GiB / 5.04 GiB [===================| ✅ ] 37.54 MiB/s $ dmg_file=$(ls *.dmg) $ sh install_runtime.sh "${dmg_file}" Mounting iOS_15.5_Simulator_Runtime.dmg on /var/folders/rl/swm2ljqn187g5y81d6mp8h840000gn/T/tmp.NFC0jygSj0...
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