IPCC

An IPCC (.ipcc, iPhone Carrier Configuration ???) is the file a carrier bundle is shipped in. It is a plain ZIP archive with a single Payload/ folder:

Payload/
    ATT_US.bundle/
        Info.plist
        carrier.plist
        ...

Nothing outside Payload/ is used. There is no outer signature on the archive; the files inside are signed (see Carrier Bundle § signatures/), and the manifest gives a digest of the archive itself.

Naming

On Apple’s servers the file is named <BundleName>_<family>.ipcc:

Suffix	Files in the manifest	Notes
`_iPhone`	3291
`_iPad`	863	cellular iPads, published under `ByProductType`
`_Watch`	301	cellular Apple Watch
none	about 300	the 2008-2010 files, e.g. `ATT_US.ipcc`, `Bell_ca.ipcc`

The same bundle name is used for all three families, so 1and1_de_iPhone.ipcc, 1and1_de_iPad.ipcc and 1and1_de_Watch.ipcc are three different bundles with three different version histories.

Hosts and paths

The manifest lists 4967 files (4855 distinct URLs) on four hosts. Most are still HTTP.

Host	Files	Years	Path
`appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite.net`	259	2009-2010	`/content.info.apple.com/iPhone/CarrierBundles/061-4732.20090203.gj3ef/ATT_US.ipcc`
`appldnld.apple.com`	3053	2010-2015	`/iOS7/CarrierBundles/031-2099.20131204.rVQEN/2degrees_nz_iPhone.ipcc`
`updates-http.cdn-apple.com`	43	2018	`/2018/ios/carrierbundles/091-80246-20180504-CC3E1C52-4D8B-11E8-BA4C-38D21A00AB6B/AIS_th_iPhone.ipcc`
`updates.cdn-apple.com`	1612	2018-	`/20261001/carrierbundles/142-29613/9763C9C0-86F5-4D14-8B50-2C02ACE04457/ATT_US_iPhone.ipcc`

The parts are, in each scheme, an Apple part number (061-4732, 142-29613), a date, and a random tag (gj3ef) or a UUID. From 2015 to 2019 the date and UUID were joined into one folder name (031-04427-20150119-AC94FC46-...); since 2023 the date is its own folder. One 2019 iPad URL has a malformed date, 041-56849-2019503-....

The oldest file still listed is ATT_US.ipcc 3.1 from 2009-02-03. Some of the HTTP hosts no longer answer on HTTP, and some no longer answer on HTTPS, so a client fetching old bundles has to try both. appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite.net now answers with a 301.

Digests

Each manifest entry carries the archive’s digest. Which key and which hash depends on the era:

Keys	Entries	Hash
`Digest` (20 bytes)	3980	SHA-1
`Digest` (20 bytes) + `Digest3` (48 bytes)	411	SHA-1 and SHA-384
`Digest` (48 bytes)	270	SHA-384. Watch and country bundles use the plain `Digest` key for it
none	306	the 2009-2010 files

Copies inside iOS images

iOS images (IPSWs) contain their own copies of most bundles, already unpacked: carrier bundles in /System/Library/Carrier Bundles/iPhone/, country bundles in /System/Library/CountryBundles/iPhone/ (no space). If you zip one up you do not get the published .ipcc back: the file order, timestamps and compression differ, so the digest never matches, and the image copy only has the overrides for the phones the image is for. Compare the version numbers instead (72.0.2 in the image, 72.1 published).

Loading an IPCC by hand

Finder (and older iTunes) can install a local .ipcc once carrier testing is turned on:

defaults write com.apple.AMPDevicesAgent carrier-testing -bool YES

then Option-click “Check for Update” with the phone connected. Only bundles Apple signed will be accepted.