Q: iPhone 6s/iOS 9.3.5 Backup/Restore/Sync Confusion

No, you are not stupid at all. I don't know what happened in your case but the normal process would be to backup to iTunes (forget iCloud, IMO not as good), get your phone unlocked from the carrier and verify this, then restore the backup. There are some items that would not be included in the restore, like photo albums previously synced from a computer. You would have to resync those again separately but no big deal there.

Try the above one more time and if it does not help, post back with the specific details.

madlock wrote:

 

Thank you.  I indeed will nuke the phone again and retry the restore from tethered backup, as I've now lost an app which I rely upon heavily but has been withdrawn from the App Store.  It originally showed present (but greyed out) after the initial restore but now is gone.

 

Fingers crossed...

Sorry to tell your but unless you had configured your iTunes to download the full version of the old app to iTunes (on Preferences, Store, Automatic Download, Apps checked) and had done this before the app was removed your will not get it back from a backup. Apple instituted something called App Thinning (you can google it) to reduce storage on devices and unless you did as above, the app will not be on your backup. It is gone, sorry to say.

Sorry but no, unless you had checked Apps under download on iTunes PRIOR, now it is too late. It is possible that you could google for the app but I doubt you will succeed.

Hopefully, the old version of the app is in your trash or recycling bin. If it is, you can drag it onto the desktop and then drag it back into iTunes.

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/02/restoring-app-versions-hard-files

You could try copying the .ipa file - or move it from the old laptop into the iTunes library on the other computer and then you wouldn't have to restore the 9 month old backup on the old computer. If the app data still resides in the backup of the current computer and you recover the app from the old machine, you should (in theory) be OK.

Locate and organize your iTunes media files - Apple Support

That's what I would try. This is how I would do it, and do not sync or backup yet. Make sure that you have the .ipa file on your desktop.

Kill the restore. Turn off auto syncing in iTunes by launching iTunes (don't connect the phone) then go to Edit>Preferences>Devices. Click the box at the bottom of the window that says Prevent iPods, iPads and iPhones from automatically syncing. Click OK. Close the Window if it doesn't close on its own. Drag the .ipa file into the apps tab of iTunes. Make sure that it copied into the apps section by clicking on Apps in iTunes and look for it.

Quit iTunes, then restart your computer. Connect the phone, launch iTunes - when you turn off auto sync it will not launch on its own. Check one more time to be sure that the app copied into iTunes. Select your phone from the devices icon in the upper left. Click on Restore backup in the Summary window on the right. Select the correct backup and restore. After the backup restores, sync with iTunes again, if it does not sync on its own. IIRC, it should sync after you restore the backup, but if it doesn't, initiate it yourself.

Once again, theoretically, if everything works out, and if the app data is still in the backup and not damaged, this should work.

madlock wrote:

 

Well, the restore finally completed but I must confess to being REALLY confused.  The backup set from last year restored and installed the current iOS 9.3.5.  Is this as it should be, or should it have restored the iOS version on the phone when it was backed up?

Restoring the backup doesn't usually install a new iOS version, as far as I know. iTunes installed the latest iOS after you restored from the backup. I believe that you should have seen evidence of that when it started, but it is not a bad thing in any event.

I received the message saying that the restore couldn't complete some items which would need to be downloaded.  Now, I look on my (old) computer and all of the apps, including the missing ones, seem to be present.  Even though the app in question does not appear on the phone (or it possibly did for a moment while I entered the passcodes etc, in iTunes it clearly reads "Will Install" - which i presume bodes well.

Now I am a little confused. I though that all that you wanted from the old computer was the app that you could no longer download from the App Store and that you were going to copy it into the iTunes library on your "syncing" computer - th one that had the backup that you wanted to restore.

"Will Install" is what you want to see next to the app. When you sync with iTunes, that means that the app will be installed onto the phone.

The new challenge is that even when attempting to sync with the old computer, it says it is synced to a different library on it, and syncing will erase the phone's contents and so forth.

 

I really only care about getting back this app if I can, I can rebuild the rest.  What would you do from here?

 

Can't tell you how grateful I am.

You don't sync want to with the old computer, you only copy the app from that computer into the iTunes library on the other computer which I assumed that you did. You wanted to put that app into the library that you sync with and I thought that was the computer that had the backup that you wanted to use.

madlock wrote:

 

Well, the phone is restored from the old backup.  And after completing what looked to be just a partial sync, the app now is restored to the phone - with 85 updates pending. 

 

i have no idea how to get from where I am to where I want to be, but getting back that app seemed to be the most difficult step.

Once all of the updates are complete, this should be where you want to be. If it isn't, what did not install that you were expecting to be installed? Did the backup restore all of your data and settings? Does everything seem to be in order now?