Iphone complete backup with app + documents + data

Hi

The following support articles explain how to back up your iPhone and what is included within backups:

• How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support
• About backups for iOS devices - Apple Support

The developers of many applications do not allow one to backup documents and data with the iPhone backup. It is up to them to code their documents and data area to be backed up by iTunes or iCloud. This is the responsibility of the developer. If they do not code it that way, then you cannot backup that information.

If the application is coded to be backed up, then the documents and data will be backed up.

The best thing I can say is that Apple recommends that developers have their apps set to put their files in a certain section and to have that available for the backup. Not all do. That is a question to ask the developer. When your backup is taken, it backs up a certain section of the phone, and if the app data is not there, it doesn't get backed up. As you attempt to compare to Android devices, you need to remember they are an open system, and the iPhone is not. It is sandboxed on purpose to prevent problems with things accessing areas they shouldn't.

I would check to see if your data is backed up by restoring the device from backup. If something is not backed up, then contact the developer as to how that is supposed to happen. I am not aware of any kind of listing of what apps don't backup, but I know I've read of some that do not have their own backup system.

Apps themselves are not part of any iOS backup. Since the Apps already exist in Apple's cloud-based App Store, and can be redownloaded at will, it would be pointless to include gigabytes of App installers in a backup.

A backup only contains user data and settings. When you restore from backup, the Apps are either downloaded and reinstalled, or if using iTunes and you've kept local copies of installers in iTunes, they can be installed from those.

But it is not possible to "backup" actual iOS apps to iCloud or iTunes. As to what documents, data and settings get backed up those are spelled out in the links you've already been given, and in the explanations by others.

Basically, an iOS backup is an all or nothing affair. You enable backup to iCloud and it runs, or you enable backup (or encrypted backup) to iTunes and it runs. Within the limits of settings for iCloud backups on our device, and within iTunes, you have some, very limited, ability to customize a backup. That's it though.

Unfortunately copyright issues occur, and Apple has to respect the rights holder. If they remove the app from the App Store, that is their prerogative. As far as receiving a refund, you are not entitled to a refund if the developer removes the app from the App Store unless they decide to do that when you contact them. There is no way for you to be able to see on the computer backup if the data is there or not. The backup is not visible like that. If you no longer have the application that uses the data then there is nothing you can do unless the app developer provides some other method to access the documents and data. You are at the mercy of the developer.

The only way to save older installers of apps is to download that App in iTunes (which downloads the installer, not the functional app itself) and then archive them to your hard drive somewhere outside of the native iTunes repository (so they don't get auto-purged with a changed or new installer).

A backup of your device won't do that. But if you have the old(er) version of the installer, you can use iTunes to install it. Then, if you had a backup made when the device was using that app, and thus had its data in the backup, you could restore that backup and that should put things back as they were.

But you would need both the archived app installer, and an archived backup of your device from when you last had that app installed and working.

Unfortunately, nothing in the license you purchase to use an App guarantees continued access to the app, nor a specific version of an app. So a developer can pull an app, as can Apple if there are legal issues with it or for any reason really.

If the app is still on the old device and you have made a complete backup, you should be able to restore the backup of the old phone and it appear on the new phone. However, if the app is not in iTunes on the Mac, and it tries to get the app from the App Store, that is where it could fail. As long as you have the information on the other phone, you can test this on the new phone. The worse that could happen is that it doesn't work. And from what I can tell, right now you don't have it on the new phone. With the changes to how apps are loaded on the iPhone with app thinning, things work a little different. It could depend on how long the app has been on your phone and if the purchase was transferred to the Mac while that was still being done. I would try it, but that is up to you.

As mentioned, it all depends on if you still have access to the App installer in iTunes. If the installer is still there, you can install it to the new device. Otherwise, the backup will not help at all, as there will be no place to restore that particular apps data to.

As mentioned, the backup itself does not contain the app installer nor the app itself at all, just the app data. If you cannot re-download the app from the App Store, and you don't have the installer available on your computer in iTunes, then having the backup won't help at all.

So what you first need to do is connect the new device to your computer and iTunes, and in your list of available apps to install, see if that particular app is listed, and if it is, will it install onto your new device. If it does, then your backup should work to put that app's data back for use with the app.

how can u guys help..... any 3rd party app suggestion ?

What would you like this 3rd party app to do?

Circumvent Apple's established processes? You've been given an explanation of your situation several times in this thread.

If an app gets pulled, you *may* be able to get it back if you have followed the steps given. If an app developer does not provide for data backups, that's on the app developer.

Data retention or backup is never assured by Apple or any other OS provider.

If this app still works on one of your devices, you may want to figure out how to manually and without the aid of an app, get it somewhere else for safekeeping. The reality is that device could "fail" at any given point and you would lose that data.

You won't benefit from iOS feature and security updates as you keep skipping them to avoid losing that app.