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Resolved iPhone backups to Finder on MBP with huge size discrepancy vs iPhone local storage.
- Thread starter Alpha Centauri
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TheIntruder
macrumors 68020
The biggest potential loss with restoring from a backup, whether local or iCloud (or is that iC?, LOL), are the apps that are no longer available for download from the App Store.
Since .ipa files went away, users are at the mercy of the store, and there are many possible reasons for an app to no longer be available.
Not true. The Manage Backup button is still present in the device window, and though that, specific backups can be marked (via option-click) as Archived, which means that the next backup of that device will generate an entirely new backup folder.
The Restore Backup button presents a popup list of backups to choose from.
For all the hubaloo about Apple killing iTunes, all they really did was separate those functions from the music player, and put them in the Finder. The functionality and underlying code are carried over.
Since .ipa files went away, users are at the mercy of the store, and there are many possible reasons for an app to no longer be available.
Not true. The Manage Backup button is still present in the device window, and though that, specific backups can be marked (via option-click) as Archived, which means that the next backup of that device will generate an entirely new backup folder.
The Restore Backup button presents a popup list of backups to choose from.
For all the hubaloo about Apple killing iTunes, all they really did was separate those functions from the music player, and put them in the Finder. The functionality and underlying code are carried over.
Thank you for your post, tbh I've never restored an iPhone from such a backup. Just for laughs and giggles I just tried and pressed the Restore Backup button and still only my last backup showed up to choose from. The up/down arrows merely just highlight this one and only (latest) backup in blue.
Manage backups + option click also only shows the latest backup:
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conmee
macrumors 65816
Two things Apple didn’t carry over: 1) the ability to arrange iPhone apps in iTunes was convenient especially for managing multiple pages of apps or multiple folders, made it easy to see entire phone layout of apps and move multiple apps between multiple pages; 2) app backups so you could always go back to a particular version or install an app that was/is no longer available on the App Store. Not sure I’d take advantage of these two features if they came back, but they were nice to haves back in the day.
TheIntruder
macrumors 68020
There is only a sole option because in normal practice, each time a local backup is made, it is an incremental update of the folder that was created when the device was first backed up.
To have something like Time Machine, where snapshots are taken at various intervals, you must first mark that backup as Archved before initiating the next backup process, which creates a fresh new folder. You can do that as often, or as seldom, as you wish, keeping mind the space requirements for each one of those backup folders.
Ah, forgot about #1, which would be useful given how on-device organization can still be a frustrating hit and miss process, especially when an app icon darts between screens.
#2 was rendered obsolete when App Slicing was introduced, with tailored bundle payloads being delivered to each device.
I still have a folder full of .ipa app files I've kept on a backup drive, but even if there was a tool that would install them, I suspect they would not work, due to the variations in bundles, never mind a signing requirement.
conmee
macrumors 65816
iMazing used to be able to install legacy ipa files for a while post-Mojave. I don’t think I have any old backups with any ipa files to try. iMazing does still let you backup current ipa files but I noticed that it now checks for any app updates and if there are any it downloads and installs the update instead of restoring the app from the backup. I used an old (2009) calorie counting app called Tap N Track that got an update at the beginning of this year. But instead of restoring my backup ipa from an iOS 18 backup, it downloaded the newer version in my iPhone 17 Pro. The interesting thing is that I could restore the original ipa to iOS 18 on my iPhone 14 Pro and then go in and turn off automatic app updates really quick and just always skip the calorie counter app in the available updates. But it wouldn’t restore the old version to iOS 26. I haven’t bothered to email iMazing support to see if I could turn off the updating or force an install because I gave up on that particular calorie counting app that I’d used since 2009. It did the job and didn’t require an online account or subscription (which the update now at minimum requires creating a login account with the new owner of the app). Using FitBee now which I like even though I have to login with Apple ID.
TheIntruder
macrumors 68020
I was tempted to try iMazing but didn't have enough of a need to purchase it. It didn't become any more attractive once the licensing model changed.
Whatever magic it performs still has to conform to Apple's functionality.
The one I app I'd hate to lose is a camera app, which through some unexplained circumstances became ensh!tiffied and now requires an active internet connection to even launch. Yeah, I'm sure that will work well when I'm on vacation and want to capture a good snap in the wilderness.
I've had other apps go bad after ownership machinations, which is what I suspect what happened.
Thankfully, after some update mishaps, and device restorations, I discovered the the older version is still available for download, but it would have been a ream bummer if it wasn't.
I guess I can safely delete those old files if there is no seeming way to install them, even on an old phone running an earlier version of iOS 9 or later, which is when App thinning came into play.