How to backup and restore the IPA app backups in iTunes 12.7

apple-storeapplicationsbackupipa

Today, Apple released iTunes 12.7. Surprisingly for a point-release this version removes the iOS App Store and iOS app management features: https://www.macrumors.com/2017/09/12/apple-itunes-12-7-no-app-store/

Apps can now only be downloaded on an iOS device using an iOS device, and the same goes for ringtones.

I have diligently saved IPA backups of apps I have purchased from the iTunes / iOS App Store for the eventuality of when an app publisher removes an app from the App Store – or if the developer of an app changes a feature in a way that I don't like. This happens regularly:

  • Electronic Arts has a poor reputation for removing its games from the App Store when they stop being notable, including apps that you needed to pay for to download.
  • And many non-game apps often add new features that users don't like, or remove features that are useful to many users (either for making things simpler for other users, or for a copyright or patent infringement reason).

Unfortunately, with iTunes 12.7 removing the ability to backup and restore IPA files I seem to be now SOL. Fortunately I still have iTunes 12.6 installed on my computer, but here's my question:

"If I have saved an IPA backup of an app that has since been removed from the iOS App Store, or if I have saved an older version of an app that has been upgraded such that I want to continue using the older version, how can I install that on my new iPhone 8?"

Best Answer

This looks reasonably promising - but I don't know how it will work for future releases...

Manually add items from your computer

If you have media on your computer that you can't redownload from the App Store or iTunes Store directly on your iOS device, such as custom ringtones or iOS apps, you can drag and drop the media from your computer to your iOS device using iTunes.

  1. Connect your device to your computer.
  2. Open iTunes. Make sure that you have the latest version.
  3. On your computer, find the item you want to add to your device. If you're looking for Apps, Tones, or Books (for Windows) that previously appeared in your iTunes library, you can find them in your iTunes media folder.
  4. Drag the item from your computer to your iOS device in the left sidebar of iTunes.

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