Gordon Hodgson

Q: Transfer Purchases no longer working

I've had this issue, since updating to iOS 9 GM-candidate, and the last version of iTunes, and it persists now to iOS 9.0 and iTunes 12.3.0.44 (today's updates).

 

Clicking 'File->Devices->Transfer purchases (etc...)' does nothing.

 

Is anyone else experiencing this?

 

I'm trying to back up a couple apps to my iMac, as they have been taken off the iTunes store, and I would like to keep a backup.

Posted on Sep 16, 2015 12:12 PM

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Q: Transfer Purchases no longer working

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  • by grampus1,

    grampus1 grampus1 Sep 23, 2015 7:10 PM in response to Jeff Anshus
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 23, 2015 7:10 PM in response to Jeff Anshus

    Not sure that the Beta suggestion is true.

    Never registered for Beta versions, have only downloaded official public release.

  • by Gene Surber,

    Gene Surber Gene Surber Sep 23, 2015 7:25 PM in response to grampus1
    Level 2 (239 points)
    Sep 23, 2015 7:25 PM in response to grampus1

    I can't say how utterly disappointed and sick I am of apple and its retrograding of products. Consideration of the consumer is quickly being demolished. Yosemite got rid of numerous longstanding (and time saving) features, making the user change the way they work from their standard to Apples. Longstanding bugs, such as disappearing books in iBooks, did not get addressed, but new "features" such as disabling the ability to back up apps to ones own computer to avoid having to go through and hand pick each app to reinstall if there is a need to restore the phone or iPad are introduced--Hobbling the system and just making it more of an ordeal for the end user.

     

    I'm sick of this company. It has lost its way. I though with them.

  • by Jeff Anshus,

    Jeff Anshus Jeff Anshus Sep 23, 2015 8:42 PM in response to grampus1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 23, 2015 8:42 PM in response to grampus1

    Interesting - am curious if other users have remained completely clear of this beta?

  • by grampus1,

    grampus1 grampus1 Sep 23, 2015 9:41 PM in response to Gene Surber
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 23, 2015 9:41 PM in response to Gene Surber

    Just released 9.01.

    Downloaded, and tested just in case.

    Still the same. no change..

     

    Rather an autocratic attitude.

     

    Apple, please don't assume everyone has unlimited download.

    (playing the pensioner card here).

    I keep away from the Icloud for just that reason.

  • by Lowpro71,

    Lowpro71 Lowpro71 Sep 23, 2015 9:54 PM in response to Jeff Anshus
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 23, 2015 9:54 PM in response to Jeff Anshus

    Myself and several of my friends for a short time had upgraded from iOS 8.4.1 to the official release of iOS 9.  None of us have ever downloaded and installed a beta version of iOS on any our devices.  Bottom line.  The current official release of iOS 9 breaks the "transferring purchases" feature from our iDevices back to iTunes.  Doesn't matter what version of iTunes we are running.  Most of us have subsequently gone back to iOS 8.4.1 and the "transferring purchases" feature when syncing from our iDevices back to iTunes is working once again.  I personally will remain on iOS 8.4.1 indefinitely until a future release of iOS 9 restores this functionality.  If that never happens I'll simple sell off my iDevices and go with a non-Apple line of products instead come the day it becomes too prohibitive to remain on iOS 8.

  • by apple-o,

    apple-o apple-o Sep 24, 2015 7:49 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 24, 2015 7:49 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson

    I'm on iPhone 5 under Windows 10 Pro (I know this forum is iTunes Mac but I don't see a comparable thread under iTunes for Windows, and it looks like this issue applies to both Mac and PC).

     

    My iOS version is 8.3, so I upgraded iTunes to the latest 12.3.044 on the computer in anticipation of upgrading phone to 9.0.1.

     

    The first thing I noticed in iTunes 12 was the Sync button was grayed out and the Backup button would not do anything.

     

    I clicked File > Devices > Transfer Purchases from 'iPhone' and that seemed to work in a reasonable amount of time.

     

    Then I navigated to iPhone > Apps > File Sharing and was able to xfer files from various apps to the computer.

     

    Next I tried rebooting Windows and the iPhone (holding down the power button and home button for a full reset).

     

    Navigates to iPhone Settings > Summary > Backups section and this time the [Back Up Now] button works.

     

    Undern section iPhone, I clicked [Update] to go to iOS 9.0.1 and it said I had not transferred purchases.

    I had done this already before the reboot, but just to be sure, I again clicked File > Devices > Transfer Purchases from 'iPhone'.

     

    Again it worked but this time MUCH more slowly!  It took upwards of 25 minutes where a few minutes earlier it had taken 5.

     

    For a while it looked like Transfer Purchases was locked up, so I hopped onto Google which led me here :-)

     

    That said, the Transfer Purchases seems to be done, but after reading this thread I am questioning whether I should skip updating iOS to 9.0.1.

     

    Any advice?

  • by apple-o,

    apple-o apple-o Sep 24, 2015 8:13 AM in response to apple-o
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 24, 2015 8:13 AM in response to apple-o

    After some more surfing, it looks like I found an explanation:

     

    Hope this helps someone...

     

    (If it is incorrect let us know!)

     

     

    Can't transfer purchases from iPhone to iTunes in iOS 9

     

    3down voteaccepted

    Actually, this is not a problem. Transferring purchases from devices with iOS 9 has been disabled by Apple. This is the response they gave to submitted bug reports regarding this issue:

    Apple Developer Relations 18-Sep-2015 02:51 PM

    This issue behaves as intended based on the following: Apps are no longer transferred from iOS 9 devices. We are now closing this bug report. If you have questions about the resolution, or if this is still a critical issue for you, then please update your bug report with that information.

    As NetherLinks explained in the comments, it's because of the App Thinning feature Apple introduced in iOS 9. Basically, a different version of each app is downloaded on any device. So, apps downloaded on an iPhone cannot be used on an iPad. See image below taken from App Thinning page in iOS Developer Library.

    App Thinning

    shareimprove this answer

     

     
    You can still update the apps directly in iTunes (and sync them to your iDevices) –  patrix Sep 20 at 7:01

     

     

    @patrix Of course. The reason I update my apps using my iPhone is that if I update all my apps using iTunes, the App Store's badge (which indicates how many updates are available) doesn't disappear and it's annoying.–  Behdad Sep 20 at 12:02

    3

    Is it possible that this may also be related to App Thinning in that the app transferred from your phone wouldn't work on other device types anyways? –  NetherLinks Sep 21 at 5:42

     

    @NetherLinks That's a really nice guess. Sounds completely logical. This image from Developer Library conveys the same thing. –  Behdad Sep 21 at 5:49

     

    @NetherLinks Do you mind if I edit my answer and add the information you gave? –  Behdad 2 days ago

    show 1 more comment

     

     

     

    App Thinning (iOS, tvOS, watchOS)

    The App Store and operating system optimize the installation of iOS, tvOS, and watchOS apps by tailoring app delivery to the capabilities of the user’s particular device, with minimal footprint. This optimization, called app thinning, lets you create apps that use the most device features, occupy minimum disk space, and accommodate future updates that can be applied by Apple. Faster downloads and more space for other apps and content provides a better user experience.

    This chapter describes the three components of app thinning: slicing, bitcode, and on-demand resources.

  • by grampus1,

    grampus1 grampus1 Sep 24, 2015 2:34 PM in response to apple-o
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 24, 2015 2:34 PM in response to apple-o

    Not sure if this makes sense to me.

    My backup is my PC.  I don't wish to use the cloud.

    I can understand the thinning and creating separate versions for different devices, and am happy to have 2 separate versions on my PC for backup..

    But it seems to me that if I was out and about, and have purchased or updated an existing App, I cannot then go and plug my IPhone, Ipad into my PC and store this new app or updated App on my PC for backup purposes without having downloaded it again onto my PC from the store.

     

    Have I missed a point here?.

  • by NonErIEN,

    NonErIEN NonErIEN Sep 25, 2015 7:07 PM in response to disco_bob
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 25, 2015 7:07 PM in response to disco_bob

    Hi, from my understanding of your truly excellent post, I am supposed to see those apps that I've updated on my phone under the 'Purchases' tab right ? I don't see them on my 'Purchases' tab.

  • by bnocturnal,

    bnocturnal bnocturnal Sep 25, 2015 9:35 PM in response to Gordon Hodgson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 25, 2015 9:35 PM in response to Gordon Hodgson

    Just to confirm how this new "restore" procedure works....

     

    When restoring from a backup:

     

    1. If you have the *latest* version of the app in your itunes library because you transferred it from a pre-9.0 device or downloaded it manually, it will sync to your phone.

    2. If not, the app will appear as "waiting" on the phone, and will download directly to the phone over wifi/cellular (depending on your settings).

    3. This process will take many hours, and you can not monitor the progress in any way. it is much slower than manually downloading an app from the app store. I have seen people complaining that their phone was downloading for over a day.

    4.  While installing apps in the background, your phone will often be unresponsive and slow.

     

    This is essentially the same thing that happens when you do an iCloud restore, unless you have the latest version of the apps already on your PC.

     

    This is really poor engineering.

  • by FRL1975,

    FRL1975 FRL1975 Sep 26, 2015 2:19 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2015 2:19 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson

    Same problem here. I hope Apple solves it vastly, I'm turning crazy...

  • by Chipstar1,

    Chipstar1 Chipstar1 Sep 26, 2015 2:59 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2015 2:59 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson

    I'm getting fed up.  I've been a Mac-only user for years.  Now it's time for a new smartphone and a new laptop and I'm seriously considering some non-apple product.  I started using Apple products because they were reliable and intuitive.  These are the Windows-type headaches I was trying to escape.

  • by ehabjadalla,

    ehabjadalla ehabjadalla Sep 27, 2015 4:28 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 27, 2015 4:28 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson

    The only temporary solution to this issue is to make iTunes as app store till Apple solve this issue.

    1. Stop automatic download of updates from your device (Setting>App and iTunes Stores>switch off Updates from Automatic downloads)

    2. Open iTunes on your Mac or PC.

    3. Go to apps section and click on updates on top middle screen.

    4. Download all the updates available for apps.

    5. Connect your Device with iTunes through USB or WiFi.

    6. Go to apps section on your device screen and click the update on the apps that needs update.

    7. When finish click on apply on the bottom right screen. This will sync all the updates to your device.

    I know that this solution is not practical but it is the only solution now if you have slow or limited internet connection (at least you are going to download once instead of downloading 2 or 3 times if you have more than one device)

  • by woodmeister50,

    woodmeister50 woodmeister50 Sep 28, 2015 9:35 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson
    Level 5 (5,532 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 28, 2015 9:35 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson

    The whole "app thinning" thing as the reason for the lack of a backup

    and sync issue seems like a total cop-out.

     

    There is no reason on God's green earth that you cannot keep a separate library

    backup up with the proper apps for the proper devices on the computer.  It seems to

    be simply an excuse for lazy programmers who don't what to be bothered with how

    the users "really want things to work".  After all, Apple has each of our devices stored

    in their databases and knows who owns what.  They also have the separate versions

    for different devices on their servers as well (otherwise how can they download device

    specific apps!)!!!

     

    The fact that my apps updated/downloaded on my iPhone don't sync to the computer

    pretty much defeats the purpose of backup and syncing, doesn't it????

     

    Also, for what its worth, automatic download of music to all devices also no longer works.

    For the past year, I have had a MacMini set up as a file server and an iTunes Home Sharing base.

    In the store preferences, I have had, and always have had the Automatically download check boxes

    checked on it.  The server always has iTunes running and is always logged in.

     

    Yet, recently I had purchased a couple of albums on one of my Macs and I synced it to my iPhone

    (before iOS9 or iTunes12.3) and all was good for them.  I recently just looked at my server, and iTunes

    did not automatically download these albums and only shows they are available for download from

    the cloud.  Why even bother putting in "automatically download feature" that no longer work!!!!!!!


    Maybe I am old fashioned or something, but I thought the purpose of backups and syncing

    was to be able to restore a device back to its original state should something go wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Not just "sort of" back to original state!!!

  • by 4bowmans,

    4bowmans 4bowmans Sep 30, 2015 10:06 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 30, 2015 10:06 AM in response to Gordon Hodgson

    Apple needs to wake up to the fact that all of the world doesn't have access to fast, unlimited internet.  I had updated all my apps on my iPad and iPhone just to discover last night that it will not transfer the purchases to  iTunes.  I cannot use the time or download allotment to update them there also.  I don't care about this space saving design.  Personally I buy the larger storage devices just for reasons like this.  How about we don't cater to the buyers of 16GB phones?  This way takes too much time and money!

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