Transfer Purchases no longer working

This is really a retrograde step for me.

I have a fairly limited download subscription.

Now with Ipad, Iphone IOS automatic downloads, I can have my subscription blown away at the drop of a hat.

My App upgrade path was to generally find a free WiFi and download and then ensure that my backup was done to the PC.

This plus the new Microsoft Windows 10 path of automatic downloads, no capability of on demand where I can control the timing, will eventually lead to a lot of frustration.

Same here - unable to backup apps. Spoke with a genius yesterday who echoed that many people have been having troubles. He suggested it was connected to:

registering a device for the 9.1 public beta

installing 9.1 public beta

uninstalling 9.1 public beta incorrectly (DFU mode, detailed elsewhere)

iTunes backup of any of these steps

iCloud backup of any of these steps

Permissions differ for beta vs. public versions of software for security. This was explained to me by a developer a long time ago/semi translated from the genius yesterday: Apps installed while a device is in beta-testing do not transfer back to iTunes because they haven't necessarily been through the Apple App review process. Prior to now, beta testing iOS software was only used in the sandbox of devices connected to developer accounts (limited distribution for bug testing). This protection acted as a pseudo-app-review process in case nefarious code needed to be traced back. This failsafe is no longer in place with a public beta. Even though apps are almost always installed via the app-store, it is not always the case.

Either Apple is safeguarding the computers upon which we backup - or - such protections remain in place inadvertently when "public beta" was created.

Upgrading to 9.0.1 now - hopefully this fixes everthing.

Hope this helps.

Not sure that the Beta suggestion is true.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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?

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. shareimprove this answer edited 2 days ago answered Sep 20 at 6:45 http://apple.stackexchange.com/users/71015/behdad Behdad 310214

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.

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?.

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.

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. 😟

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

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.

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)