iOS 9/iTunes 12.3 not syncing app through devices

They may show in the update list and as open but they are updated, and they disappear from the list a few days later on iPads and iPod Touch. I've had that happening for some time prior to ios9. On my iPhone if updates are listed, and I don't download to the phone but to computer and synch, the apps updated via synch disappear from the update list.

I have the same problem with iPhone 6s

Although it seems the lack of synch from device to computer is what Apple have designed, it is frustrating for those of us with higher capacity devices who don't have a problem over the size of the app. I do not use the cloud, I usually download to my iPhone 6plus as whether on wi fi or using data, it downloads apps pretty fast. My computer downloads apps extremely slowly (but not music or films). A 5GB film downloads in just over an hour usually, yet a 20 Mb app can take up to 40 minutes - but on my phone it takes one minute if that. I then would sync to computer and then at some point sync my other Apple devices with iTunes and all up to date.

At present there's masses of app updates, some apps are updating twice a day as well. I'm on unlimited broadband but get throttled if I use a lot of data a day and in the past couple of weeks that has happened a lot due to the amount of updates and my purchase of some films.

I also have some apps that are no longer in the app store, these are all held on my computer and backed up elsewhere and my advice is that any app you find useful could disappear from the app store so it is worth having a back up.

I don't need to save space on any device or my computer (128 Gb devices and a 2 Tb hard drive on computer).

I am about to acquire the 6s plus and really hope that will not, as has been suggested by someone on here, need all the apps re-downloading direct to the phone as I suspect that having got all my apps up to date on my computer, they should transfer to the phone when I use the restore from my existing iphone 6plus back up. I have 21.33 Gb of apps on my iPhone and I doubt my broadband provider would like me to download that amount of data in one session.

It was a nice idea of Apple's to help those with 16Gb devices to store more on their phones but might have been worth their doing some research as to how people deal with apps. As one user on here said, woe betide your finding you have to restore your phone in an emergency without an internet connection if the apps do have to be re-downloaded from the cloud rather than from computer.

For the time being I will have to download all apps to computer and transfer to device, I was away for a few days during which time 53 apps needed updates, I could have downloaded them to my phone as I have a mi fi mobile broadband device and sufficient data but there seemed little point doing that as I would still have to download to PC for my other devices. So rather than downloading one or two apps as they appeared when I got home last night I had 53 apps to download, all downloading slowly, and slowing down my computer almost to the point of it being unusable.

Note that when you transfer the updated apps to your devices, looks like the iPhone works out that the app has updated and removes it from the update list, but my iPad and iPod Touch still show the app in the update list, but the update button changes to 'open' and after a few days they disappear from the list.

Same here- ever since I updated iOs (& iTunes, I suppose?) no internet outside of my house - and I am on a 3g network. I have disabled the wifi assist.

iTunes does not sync my app screen/apps so, I cannot install them from iTunes or rearrange them, etc.

Today I updated again- hoping this would be fixed! Nope.

What the ****, Apple? If Steve were still alive- heads would roll, people would have been fired! How can you release updates without clearly having tested them?

Please please fix these issues. Expensive device to not be fully operational- which it initially was.

Denise Woodcock wrote:

....

I am about to acquire the 6s plus and really hope that will not, as has been suggested by someone on here, need all the apps re-downloading direct to the phone as I suspect that having got all my apps up to date on my computer, they should transfer to the phone when I use the restore from my existing iphone 6plus back up. I have 21.33 Gb of apps on my iPhone and I doubt my broadband provider would like me to download that amount of data in one session.

....

FWIW, I had just purchased an iPhone 6S. Before, I went through the gyrations

to make sure all the apps were up to date and in the iTunes library.

After I got home with the new 6S, I plugged it in to iTunes, went through the process

to restore new phone from backup and all apps and songs were put onto my 6S

arranged just as they were on my 5S. However, in my case, I only had apps totalling

about 5 gig and 23+ gig of music. Took awhile for the download to phone to complete

but all was good when it was done.

However, the lack of up loading added or updated apps from the phone still doesn't work

with the 6S or iOS9.02!!

The whole trimmed app and "fat app" reason for deliberately disabling the sync function is a whole

lot of doublespeak and an excuse for being to lazy to develop systems that the users really want.

Apple knows your devices, and somewhere has the trimmed apps stored, so there is no excuse

for the blah, blah, blah we are getting!!!!

😎

Thanks, this worked perfectly for me. A few minutes on Google sent me to this thread and the issue you described was the exact one I was having. Now it's fixed!

I have the same issue and have been looking everywhere for an answer. I found an article on the matter (http://www.macworld.com/article/2987657/streaming-media/ask-the-itunes-guy-ios-9 -issues-song-ratings-syncing-videos.html) explaining why it is not syncing automatically anymore and what to do to fix it.

I have not yet tried it but will. If anybody else get to try it first, please keep us posted on the result. Hope it works...

The article is advising users to turn on the ability to auto sync apps on the device, and explains why the change has been made.

That will work but for those like myself with more than one device, and who likes to keep their computer up to date with all apps so they are backed up (in case an app is deleted from the app store) it means using far more data than seems necessary. Some users may not have unlimited broadband contracts and would prefer to download just the once.

So it isn't an issue, it is a feature ...

I left Apple products for about 18 months and came back. I'm okay with this change because Android devices do something similar.

You go to the "Play Store" say you want an app and it automatically downloads to a device. When you update you update on that device going forward.

The confusion here is why do we need the apps in iTunes to begin with? Yes they should have communicated this, and yes many of us have CAPS, I can only do 25gb in a month. But, this is why, at least in the US, they have been trying to pass laws saying that broadband is a requirement for life now and as important as water and electricity.

So for me, the issue is bad design ... we don't need apps on a device or to synch to something, because that is an outdated way to do things, so, take the app menus out of iTunes.

RickfromTor wrote:

I have the same issue and have been looking everywhere for an answer. I found an article on the matter (http://www.macworld.com/article/2987657/streaming-media/ask-the-itunes-guy-ios-9 -issues-song-ratings-syncing-videos.html) explaining why it is not syncing automatically anymore and what to do to fix it.

I have not yet tried it but will. If anybody else get to try it first, please keep us posted on the result. Hope it works...

This also does not work!!! Automatic downloads in iTunes is also broken for

both Apps and Music at least. Purchases of music, end up just popping up

with a little iCloud symbol indicating you can MANUALLY download, regardless

of what boxes are checked. The added apps never show up and need to

go to purchases or available downloads to get them. Also, updates to apps

only appear in the update pane, again waiting for MANUAL download.

This has become frustrating as I have a MacMini set up as a server and part of its

function is an iTunes Home Sharing center where everything was available for

"cherry picking" access by all other Macs and iDevices. iTunes is running all the

time on it and is always logged into the iTunes Store. Yet, any new purchases

made anywhere else NEVER DOWNLOAD (note: all purchases or updates done

on same Apple ID) and updates NEVER DOWNLOAD. Albums or songs just get

the silly iCloud symbol to indicate they can be MANUALLY DOWNLOADED.

So, if you want "everything, everywhere", you need to MANUALLY download everything,

everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!

100% with you Chris. This new syncing/not syncing process is sickening. Without any warning. Arrogance personified. BTW, iPhone 7, iPad Air 3, and iPad Pro 2 are all coming out in ... a few minutes. "We're so happy to make your lives easier."

Sadly, you are correct. One other MAJOR con here. As a teacher, important to try the new app changes after updating. But, by updating via MAC only and syncing, the new updates do not appear in "Updates" tab on the App Store of the iPad - the ones with the "Open" button. We are used to updating an app on the iPad, opening it, and testing the new changes. And at some point, backing up with iTunes. Now, we're stuck with a bunch of apps in iTunes that have already been updated on the iPad, and won't update on the MAC. More surprise in store? "It just works", right? Well, "It just works the way WE want", Apple should say.

Evan2 wrote:

..... "It just works", right? Well, "It just works the way WE want", ...

because we're to lazy to make it work any other way!!!😠

Hi Sparta81,

AFAIK this is by design in iTunes 12.3, and relates to "App Thinning" introduced in iOS 9.x (app's downloaded to your iPhone may not necessarily be the 'whole' files - so your iTunes must download the whole, original file from the App Store).

This guy has a good explanation too.

At least we know (though perhaps Apple could have announced this behaviour a little better ....).