# Install Fregata Mobile

> What Fregata Mobile needs, how to join the free TestFlight beta on iPhone and iPad, how the Apple Watch app arrives, and the permissions it asks for.

Fregata Mobile is free, with no account to create and nothing to subscribe to. It's in public
beta on TestFlight, Apple's app for testing apps before they reach the App Store.

## What you need

- **An iPhone or iPad on iOS or iPadOS 26** or later.
- **Frigate 0.17 or later**, or any version of **Fregata**, the native port of Frigate for
  Apple silicon Macs. Older versions of Frigate aren't supported.
- **The address of your NVR** and **a username and password** for it, the same ones you use in
  its web interface. An administrator account lets the app set up alerts for you; a viewer
  account works for everything else. See [Administrator or viewer](https://mobile.fregata.app/docs/getting-started/connect/#administrator-or-viewer).
- For the Apple Watch app, **watchOS 26** or later.
- For [AI descriptions of alert pictures](https://mobile.fregata.app/docs/alerts/ai-descriptions/) and for starting a
  shortcut when an alert arrives, **iOS 27** and an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence.
  Everything else works on iOS 26.

The app is in English, Spanish, French and German, and follows your iPhone's language.

## Join the beta

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the invitation: [testflight.apple.com/join/VP8qbJNw](https://testflight.apple.com/join/VP8qbJNw).
2. If you don't have TestFlight yet, the page offers it from the App Store. Install it, then open the invitation again.
3. Tap **Accept**, then **Install**.
4. Open Fregata Mobile. The welcome walkthrough starts by itself: see [Connect your server](https://mobile.fregata.app/docs/getting-started/connect/).

TestFlight installs new builds as they come out, and tells you when one is ready. A beta build
expires after 90 days, so keep TestFlight's automatic updates on.

## Apple Watch

The Apple Watch app comes with the iPhone app; there's nothing separate to install. If your
watch installs apps automatically, it appears on its own. If not, open the **Watch** app on
your iPhone, scroll to **Available Apps**, and tap **Install** beside Fregata Mobile.

The watch takes its servers and sign-in from your iPhone, so there's nothing to set up on it.
See [Apple Watch](https://mobile.fregata.app/docs/beyond-the-app/apple-watch/).

## Permissions

Fregata Mobile asks for three things, each the first time it needs it.

| What iOS asks | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| **Notifications** | During the welcome walkthrough, on **Allow notifications** | Alerts can't arrive at all without it. Choose **Allow**. |
| **Local Network** | The first time it connects to your NVR | It reaches your NVR over your home network. Without it, an address like `192.168.1.10` can't be reached. |
| **Add to Photos** | The first time you save a clip or snapshot | It saves what you export to your photo library. It never reads your photos. |

If you turned one down by mistake, change it in the iOS **Settings** app under **Apps ›
Fregata Mobile**.