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rgijzen

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 2, 2009
2
0
When I restore my ipad from backup, will the ‘old’ version of an app (the one that was in the backup) be restored, or will automatically a newer / the latest version (if available) be restored?
 

At Sea

macrumors regular
Mar 31, 2016
144
60
The Midwest, USA
When I restore my ipad from backup, will the ‘old’ version of an app (the one that was in the backup) be restored, or will automatically a newer / the latest version (if available) be restored?

Whatever version of an app you backup is what ends up on your device when you restore
 
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Mike Boreham

macrumors 68040
Aug 10, 2006
3,931
1,909
UK
I thought one of the reasons that backups are small is that they contain pointers rather than the actual app. In a restore, the pointers are used to download the app from the store....which I think would give the latest version.

I think the above is probably true for restoring from an iCloud backup and may also be true for an iTunes backup.

One reason I say this is that after the last iTunes restore I did, I got a message that some apps were no longer available on the App Store, implying it tried to download them but couldn't.

If you still have the old app file I believe there are ways of restoring/installing it but I haven't done this.
 

Arni99

macrumors 6502a
Feb 26, 2011
551
268
Vienna, Austria
It restores the latest version of your apps. Otherwise you would see all your apps needing an update after the restore process has completed when you open the app store app and check for updates.
And that’s definitely NOT the case.
Done this more than 50 times...
 

Paddle1

macrumors 603
May 1, 2013
5,160
3,635
It restores the latest version of your apps. Otherwise you would see all your apps needing an update after the restore process has completed when you open the app store app and check for updates.
And that’s definitely NOT the case.
Done this more than 50 times...
It restores whichever version was installed when you backed up. So as long as you have them (at least mostly) updated and don't wait long to restore you should be okay.
 

Minorite

macrumors 6502a
May 8, 2018
521
123
Poland
Since Apple removed AppStore from iTunes it will always install latest version available on the AppStore after the restore. Works like this: App data is stored in the backup, .ipa not saved (since iOS 9) > Restore the backup, app data is restored to the device > iOS downloads all .ipa files from the AppStore, installs them and restores app data.

There's a way to restore exactly same versions of the app with iMazing if they are supported by current version of iOS, but you need downloaded .ipa files. And you can download them only while they are available on the AppStore... Not the best workaround but still. Check this guide if interested.
 

Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,172
10,187
Whatever version of an app you backup is what ends up on your device when you restore

It restores whichever version was installed when you backed up. So as long as you have them (at least mostly) updated and don't wait long to restore you should be okay.
That is not true. It downloads the most recent version from the App Store. Apps are not stored in the backup, only the App Data. Before, to retain older version of apps, you must have kept the ipa in iTunes.
 
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