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How do i change ITunes settings to backup my iPhone apps to my computer?

In the past we could backup our iPhones to our computer via iTunes. Then came I cloud. I have found out how to backup my pictures and music to my computer, but how to I backup my apps to the computer? I have turned off the iCloud backup on my iPhone. Thanks.

iPhone 6, iOS 9.2.1

Posted on May 5, 2016 12:06 PM

Question marked as Best reply

Posted on May 5, 2016 12:11 PM

A feature introduced with iOS 9 referred to as app thinning or app slicing allows each device to download only the code and resources needed by that device, resulting in smaller downloads and better use of storage on the device. As a consequence the device no longer holds the universal version of the app that could be installed on any device so transferring apps is no longer supported. You can however download past purchases from iTunes and/or enable automatic downloads of app purchases to make sure that iTunes always has the apps that you want on your device. A further change to the way restores are implemented means that all private app data is restored and apps that are not in the library are queued for download from the iTunes Store over Wi-Fi, in a similar fashion to the way restore from iCloud works. Not having the apps in your library isn't the drawback it once was, however you are still at risk of losing a favoured app if it is removed from the store and you don't have a local copy.


tt2

3 replies
Question marked as Best reply

May 5, 2016 12:11 PM in response to Community User

A feature introduced with iOS 9 referred to as app thinning or app slicing allows each device to download only the code and resources needed by that device, resulting in smaller downloads and better use of storage on the device. As a consequence the device no longer holds the universal version of the app that could be installed on any device so transferring apps is no longer supported. You can however download past purchases from iTunes and/or enable automatic downloads of app purchases to make sure that iTunes always has the apps that you want on your device. A further change to the way restores are implemented means that all private app data is restored and apps that are not in the library are queued for download from the iTunes Store over Wi-Fi, in a similar fashion to the way restore from iCloud works. Not having the apps in your library isn't the drawback it once was, however you are still at risk of losing a favoured app if it is removed from the store and you don't have a local copy.


tt2

How do i change ITunes settings to backup my iPhone apps to my computer?

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