tonight I backed up my iPhone (a full, encrypted backup via cable to iTunes), then I did a system restore, and then restored from the new backup. Everything seemed to go fine. But now a ton of my apps are missing. is there a way to find them and get them back? I didn't keep a list.... I thought that was the point of a backup!
iPhone 5, iOS 8.4.1
I did read your message. But I don't want every app I've ever had (which "download all" will do) so I'm going to have to go through the list one by one. And I usually lose a few no-longer-available apps when I do this, but this time it's a lot. I wonder if it's apps that haven't been updated for ios9 yet?
Your apps themselves are not contained in an iTunes backup, as they are available from the iTunes Store. (The data content of your apps is, however, in the backup).
To locate and restore all your apps (assuming they were current), go to the iTunes App Store from your computer. Click a link on the right side that says "Purchased". Then find the "Not in my Library" tab. There is then a "Download All" button in the lower right.
Yeah I know the backup doesn't include all the apps, but I thought it would at least keep a list so I wouldn't have to find/reinstall them all manually! There should be a way to make this (backup/restore) a simple(r) process. It always ends up taking me days. Not to mention re-organizing all the apps into folders. I also don't understand why SOME apps are there. is there a reason some are automatically restored and some aren't?
Please re-read my original response. You do not have to "find/reinstall them all manually" as I explained above.
Your symptoms are anomalous, as most folks do get all apps restored. So perhaps you have some (many?) apps that are no longer supported for current iOS versions, and/or are no longer in the App Store.
How do you restore/reset the phone?
Help!! Apps missing after backup/restore!
