iTunes Downloading Duplicate Copies of Apps

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Level 1

5 points

iTunes Downloading Duplicate Copies of Apps

I have a VPP account, and I have installed apps on 250 iPads using configurator. Some of the apps that we purchased have been updated since we deployed the iPads. For example, QuickOffice is now on version 5.x as opposed to version 4.5 that we put on the iPads when deployed. I want to update the Apps in configurator so that any future iPads that I configure will have the most up-to-date versions of the apps. I have tried to update the app files (.ipa) through iTunes, but whenever I do, it gives me the following message:

So, like the obedient user I am, I "Check For Available Downloads." And there are literally over 700 downloads. These are all repeats of iMove, QuickOffice, and GoodNotes. Like, 250 of each. And it will download each and every one and just replace the old .ipa file. Over and over. To make things worse, it's not even the updated version, just the version that was available when we purchased the apps! I know this because I deleted the original .ipa's and checked out the new ones only to find they were the out-of-date version (e.g. the version of QuickOffice that just downloaded was 4.5, not the new 5.0.1 even though the new version has been available for a while.)

Any suggestions other than wating and seeing what happens after those 3 apps download 250 times apiece? I don't feel like wasting that much time only to find out that the apps still are the old version.

OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Jan 7, 2013 3:29 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 23, 2013 8:19 AM in response to WMAATech

I'd love to see an answer to this, I've now seen it at two different location and no idea why it's happening. Hopefully someone will share some information.....

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Answer 2

Jan 23, 2013 8:44 AM in response to WMAATech

Also, I don't have "Always check for available downloads" checked and it STILL went and grabbed all the duplicates!

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Answer 3

Jan 28, 2013 5:45 AM in response to WMAATech

We are trying to updates apps we have already purchased via the VPP store so that we can import those apps into Apple Configurator and update our iPads. We have nearly 1,600 iPads that we're ready to do quarterly refreshes on and now I have this problem as well.

I attempted to update the apps and get the message that the item has already been purchased but needs to be downloaded. Check available updates. When I do that, I have 6,039!! It's a repeating list of all the apps I already have in my library and just need to update. I thought I'd try to let it run and see if it would clear itself out over the weekend. All that did was fill the hard drive.

I did file an issue with Apple using their iTunes store support form. At least a 24 hour wait for any help there.

I use 2 different computers and Apple IDs to manage these iPads. One of my computers is not having this problem at all. The other is. They are mirrors of each other in every way except for the Apple ID.

What is going on??

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Answer 4

fpcs2

Level 1

0 points

Feb 14, 2013 12:16 PM in response to WMAATech

Same problem here. We have 1,200 iPads and used VPP to purchase five apps for each. Now, iTunes wants to download one copy of each app for each iPad. I've deleted the apps queued for download in iTunes, but when I restart iTunes, they re-appear - I've tried that multiple times.

If anyone figures this out, please let us know.

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Answer 5

soliday

Level 1

0 points

Feb 15, 2013 10:48 PM in response to WMAATech

I have the same problem i now have over 15,000 app on our backup computer and most of the are dubbles what is the path to the itunes ipa files so i can deleate them my self im on macbook pro Retina, 2012 10.8.2

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Answer 6

Apr 18, 2013 9:44 AM in response to WMAATech

Same issue here. Sometimes I am waiting hours for apps to re-download from iTunes.

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Answer 7

fpcs2

Level 1

0 points

Jun 28, 2013 1:45 PM in response to WMAATech

This problem never went away for me, even after updating iTunes to 11.0.4, I still showed over 3,800 apps queued for download - the list showed random combinations of the same five apps. I have been clicking "Pause All" for months now, but I had to update Keynote, Pages, Numbers and Notability for next school year. I was going to let it download all 3,800, but noticed that each download took up disk space - even though only a single instance was shown in the download folder. So, I called Apple Education Support. They had not heard of this problem, but checked our Apple ID, cleared the download que for the ID, I closed iTunes, re-opened iTunes, went to the app library and selected Update for each app. It worked great. I was able to update the apps in Apple Configurator. If you are still having this problem, call Apple Support.

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