Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Getting old app off phone and onto another

S

Stepmcnul

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 20, 2012
13
0
Shanghai
An app I paid for, and used a lot, is no longer available on the App store but I do have a copy of it on an old phone. Is there a way I can get the app off the old phone and into iTunes so I can install it on my current iPhone 7? I've synch'ed the old phone, and even tried to transfer purchases, but the app never transfers.

Thanks
 
as far as I've tried, there doesn't seem to be anything available to do that :(
that's why I tend to keep a copy of those kinds of apps on iTunes downloaded just in case :)
 
I wonder if you could extract the app file from a backup of the phone then import it into your iTunes library? I've done that with photos and videos. I have no idea whether you could do it with an app file.
 
You shouldn't need any tricks or hacks. On your new iPhone, launch the App Store. Go to the Updates tab. At the very top is "Purchased"; select it. Select "My Purchases". Drag down to find the "Search" bar. Search for the app you want (it will show everything you've bought even if it is no longer for download in the app store). Find the app and install it. This will download the latest version of the app that is compatible with your device.

As of iOS 9, you can't pull apps out of a backup and transfer it to iTunes.

Another (more complicated option): you can take a backup of the old phone in iTunes. Then plug the new iPhone into iTunes and restore it from the backup of the old phone. Again, you shouldn't need to do this.
 
minifridge1138 said:
You shouldn't need any tricks or hacks. On your new iPhone, launch the App Store. Go to the Updates tab. At the very top is "Purchased"; select it. Select "My Purchases". Drag down to find the "Search" bar. Search for the app you want (it will show everything you've bought even if it is no longer for download in the app store). Find the app and install it. This will download the latest version of the app that is compatible with your device.

As of iOS 9, you can't pull apps out of a backup and transfer it to iTunes.

Another (more complicated option): you can take a backup of the old phone in iTunes. Then plug the new iPhone into iTunes and restore it from the backup of the old phone. Again, you shouldn't need to do this.
Click to expand...
That's true only if the app is still available for download (even apps you have previously purchased). Some old apps have been pulled from App Store for one reason or another.
 
I've done this to redownload apps that have been pulled from the App store.

Specifically Tiny Thief; the developer stopped supporting it and pulled it. It won't work on newer versions of iOS (it freezes at a loading screen). It works fine on my older iPad. Even on newer devices I can download it just as I described above on any of my iOS devices through the App Store even though I can't find it when I search the app store - only when I search "Purchased". Of course the app freezes on them...

For apps that have been pulled by Apple (such as the occasional tether app that sneaks in) that may not work.

I guess it depends on how it was pulled from the App store and by whom.

Still worth a try. If it doesn't work, then the backup/restore option should work because you won't be going through the App store.
 
The app is called Qingwen - it's a Chinese dictionary. It's not available on the store any more so doesn't show up on the purchased section of the App Store.

Also, you can't find the file on the file system like you can a photo or video. I guess this is to stop people from pirating apps - it must be encrypted somehow.
 
In the purchased part of the App Store how do you remove apps from the cloud you no longer want ?
 
When you plug in the old phone into iTunes and hit backup, doesn't it give you the option to transfer apps or purchases that are on the phone and not in iTunes?
 
I did something like this to restore an old WAZE because the newer version would crash me phone.

Happened to have saved my old App, I forget what was the exact command, SAVE APP, TRANSFER PURCHASE, I forget, and you may have to run an older iTunes if they took out this feature, but if you have done it, the result is, you have a bunch of .ipa files under iTunes\Mobile Applications. Now plug in your new phone, go to the App screen, and drag, from explorer/finder window the desired .ipa, to the App pane in iTunes.
 
Ca_lvn said:
In the purchased part of the App Store how do you remove apps from the cloud you no longer want ?
Click to expand...

I think you can't. Why would you want to do that? I just download an app through there where no longer in App Store.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back