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IPA won't install because iPhone thinks it is already installed

S

Squeak825

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 5, 2007
443
311
So, here is a series of events:

1) Installed an app by copying the .app file to /Applications on the iPhone
2) Attempted to launch the app, but it would crash
3) Deleted the folder from /Applications
4) Found an .ipa wrapper for it and installed it into iTunes
5) When iTunes attempts to sync the app over, I get an error saying it cannot install it because it is already installed.

Any idea what remnants could still be left over on the iPhone that makes it think the app is still there? I looked in all the folders in /var/mobile/Applications, but none appear to be for this app.

Thanks
 
You're looking in the wrong folder. Look in /private/var/stash/Applications, or just /Applications (it's really just a link to the previous folder. See if anything's left there. Also, after removing the .app folder you should respring. do a killall SpringBoard in a terminal.
 
goombah88 said:
You're looking in the wrong folder. Look in /private/var/stash/Applications, or just /Applications (it's really just a link to the previous folder. See if anything's left there. Also, after removing the .app folder you should respring. do a killall SpringBoard in a terminal.
Click to expand...

As I wrote in my original message, I deleted the folder completely from /Applications -- there is nothing there.

Also, I have probably rebooted the phone 3 times, with no luck.
 
are you sure you have the right patched mobileinstallation file? that's what did it for me, i had to try 2 i think
 
The General said:
It's like the mods don't care anymore. There's a thread with like 50 links to copyright infringing pwned firmwares in this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/562707/
Click to expand...

This is an interesting point. Does in fact jailbreaking constitute copyright infringement? It's not piracy per se...people who jailbreak are not stealing anything they don't already have on their phone, it's just a modified version of it. If it were illegal, wouldn't Apple be coming down hard on places like hackint0sh and the dev team's blog?

Cracked IPAs are an entirely different story.
 
mcdj said:
This is an interesting point. Does in fact jailbreaking constitute copyright infringement? It's not piracy per se...people who jailbreak are not stealing anything they don't already have on their phone, it's just a modified version of it. If it were illegal, wouldn't Apple be coming down hard on places like hackint0sh and the dev team's blog?

Cracked IPAs are an entirely different story.
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter if it's jailbroken or not, even if they just redistributed stock firmwares that would still be copyright infringement because they do not have permission from Apple to redistribute it. In fact, they have expressly accepted NOT to redistribute the firmware when they installed it. Surely arn has an iPhone and installed this software on his phone. Either way it doesn't matter, still a violation of copyright.

Section 2
http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iphone.pdf

you may not distribute or make the iPhone Software available over a network where it could be used by multiple devices at the same time.
Click to expand...

And since MacRumors is publishing links to such files, I would consider MacRumors at fault here and it is my understanding that MacRumors is in violation of the iPhone Terms and Conditions and US copyright law.

"jailbreaking" is not the illegal part.

Posting links to, or hosting copywritten material for others to download is illegal.
 
From a legal standpoint, you would appear to be totally correct. Maybe Apple has bigger fish to fry than stopping a relative handful of hackers from jailbreaking.

What irks me is recent onslaught of noobs on the forum asking for cracked IPA info, as if the site was called Macwarez.

I recently saw a movie called Idiocracy. It was supposed to be a comedy. I saw it more as a cautionary horror story.
 
mcdj said:
From a legal standpoint, you would appear to be totally correct. Maybe Apple has bigger fish to fry than stopping a relative handful of hackers from jailbreaking.

What irks me is recent onslaught of noobs on the forum asking for cracked IPA info, as if the site was called Macwarez.

I recently saw a movie called Idiocracy. It was supposed to be a comedy. I saw it more as a cautionary horror story.
Click to expand...

I want to make perfectly clear what I'm saying:

Links to downloading iPhone firmware other than from Apple: copyright infringement.
Jailbreaking: I was going to say perfectly fine, but the way we do it is illegal. Apple encrypts the firmware files, and I don't know if that would be considered a form of copy protection or not, but in order to jailbreak, we have to circumvent it. If it IS considered copy protection, then it may or may not be illegal still. One would argue that we do it for fair use or for the purposes of interoperability (two exceptions of the DMCA) ... but IANAL so I don't really know much more about it other than to analyze it to death like I'm doing now.

Still, the only part I'm concerned with is the fact that:

1. There are warez n00bs here that the mods don't care about now.
2. MacRumors is posting links to warez now.

What is up with that?
 
alanisrox69 said:
Just because you don't want to jailbreak doesn't mean we can't.

-Derek-
Click to expand...

LOLWUT :confused::confused:

I don't even know how to respond to you. You CLEARLY misunderstood all of my posts. My phoen is jailbroken and I have pirated ipas on it as we speak. ;)

I've been jailbroken since the very first jailbreak for the very first iPhone firmware. Remember iPhoneInterface, anyone? ;)

You can't talk about pirating apps here because it's against the rules. I'm not against it, that's just the way it is. You also probably shouldn't post links to download pre-pwned firmwares since that is a violation of US copyright law.
 
alanisrox69 said:
Just because you don't want to jailbreak doesn't mean we can't.

-Derek-
Click to expand...

Hes saying that its illegal to have links to those files, and they have no place on this well established site.



(ive been jailbroken since the day i got my ipod)
 
Dunno why you guys care so much then. Seems like a waste of keyboard strokes complaining about it.
 
OK, I figured this out using the program "Categories"...While adding files to my Games folder (within Categories), I noticed that NettersAnatomy.app (the app that was giving me the same problem as the OP) was still available to be chosen from my Springboard to be added to the new folder (it had a question mark next to it as its logo). So I deleted it from the Springboard through Categories...then I connected to iTunes and tried installing the IPA again and it worked...Good luck.
 
majid23 said:
OK, I figured this out using the program "Categories"...While adding files to my Games folder (within Categories), I noticed that NettersAnatomy.app (the app that was giving me the same problem as the OP) was still available to be chosen from my Springboard to be added to the new folder (it had a question mark next to it as its logo). So I deleted it from the Springboard through Categories...then I connected to iTunes and tried installing the IPA again and it worked...Good luck.
Click to expand...

I am having the same problem, but this solution did not work for me. I actually deleted the com.apple.springboard.plist to completely reset the springboard, hoping this would fix it, but no. I have also removed another plist that was directly related to the app I am having trouble with. Deleting the springboard.plist forced me to remove all apps from categories folders (I know I could have just used poof to re hide them but they needed to be resorted anyway).
I now cannot find any reference whatsoever to the offending app, and yet it still wont sync, saying it is already installed. Are there any other plists that may have a reference to installed apps?
 
Hi! After many hours of investigation on this issue, I finally found the file /private/var/mobile/Library/Caches/com.apple.mobile.installation.plist, which saves a record of any application installed. Even Cydia, Installer and SSHed apps are registered there.

If you are getting the "app is already installed" message on iTunes, I recommend you to check on that file (with a Plist editor such as PlistEdit Pro), and delete any entries you see of the application you want to install.

That worked for me. Good luck!
 
Can't reinstall .ipa

I had a bunch of ipa's installed but when I updated to 2.2.1 and tried to reinstall everything, less than half are put back on. I tried everything on this post but no luck.. Any ideas?
 
cba2m5 said:
I had a bunch of ipa's installed but when I updated to 2.2.1 and tried to reinstall everything, less than half are put back on. I tried everything on this post but no luck.. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Yeah, go to the App Store and BUY them. ;)
 
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