Transfer Applications from iPhone to iTunes
Written on July 22, 2008 by Jenny Kortina and 138 people have commented
I was having a lot of trouble getting my iPhone applications to sync with iTunes. I tried doing backups and full syncs to no avail. Finally, in a moment of desperation, I righted clicked on my iPhone and chose the option “Transfer Purchases” and to my suprise and glee I successfully moved my applications onto to my computer.
To transfer applictions to iTunes from your iPhone:
- Right click on your iPhone in the left hand explorer bar
- Select “Transfer Purchases”
- You should see a progress bar in iTunes and your phone should read “Sync in Progress”
- If everything went as planned, all of your applications that were purchased on your iPhone should now appear in iTunes
Nick on July 22nd, 2008 at 8:44 am
Marvellous !
I was getting a bit worried about why mine weren’t getting sync’d either.
Thanks for this tip !
N
Mike on June 24th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
This is sooooo simple, why wouldn’t it be in any tutorial or help menu? I agree Nick, this was a lifesaver!!
Sherkaner on July 22nd, 2008 at 9:11 am
Weird, I was just encountering this problem and posting on the Apple discussion forums about it. Unfortunately, although others suggested this over there, it doesn’t work for me and others. Some (notably, more recent ones) applications on my iPhone just won’t transfer to iTunes. Also oddly, the “Applications” section in iTunes tells me I have one “1 update available” for my applications, but when I try to view it, it tells me no updates are available, but the “1″ refuses to go away.
I’d be tempted to try to restore my iPhone, but I’m not sure that I’ll be able to get back various apps I’ve paid for on my iPhone.
christian on July 22nd, 2008 at 9:28 am
Wonderful! I was just trying to sync my apps last night to no avail.
Now if only I could stop my iPod Touch from crashing 5-6 times a day.
Jenny Kortina on July 22nd, 2008 at 10:24 am
@ Sherkaner: Even if you do the restore you will be able to re-download all your apps for free…but that may be a pain if you have a lot like me.
Me :) on June 16th, 2009 at 11:55 am
How ? plz tell
LawSchoolGuy on July 28th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Thanks for this! Very useful after my hard drive crashed on my MacBook (only a week after getting an iPhone) without unfortunately a Time Machine backup.
Imran on July 28th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Found this when i googled “applications transfer iphone itunes”
Just wanted to say thanks!
Partners in Grime on August 1st, 2008 at 10:05 am
Ah, ha. Excellent. Thanks!
svenn on August 11th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
thanks so much!
i was starting to get irritated myself.
lin2log on August 14th, 2008 at 2:51 am
I can only second what Sherkaner wrote TO THE T. iTunes merely goes thru the motions (at EVERY sync) but not ONE of the approx. 5 “on-the-phone-only” apps show up on my computer. I also have the “update-button-number” that won’t disappear every so often.
I’m glad (in a morbid way I guess) that I’m NOT ALONE!! Seems to me, that the whole ecosystem “iPhone” is still VERY MUCH in the making and is only very shaky at best!
But, nonetheless, my iPhone or rather THEE iPhone is the best damn phone I have ever had or seen, bar none!! I can live with few non-lethal quirks and this still very much fledgling stage. I’m not moronic enough to think things could or will ever be PERFECT. I trust, given maybe another 6 months and a few incremental update’s, Apple will progressively make this into an even more amazing product than it already is…
ChupatriBra on August 18th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
My problem was that the computer was not authorized. As a result of that (I assume), iTunes was removing the apps from my iPhone when I synced. It would warn me with a message about copying the apps from the iPhone to the computer, but I would check the Transfer option and it removed them anyway. Each time, I stopped the syncing, but would lose an app anyway. Since I have them on my home mac, I believe I’ll be able to regain them.
Once I tried to implement the tip, it gave the more valuable warning about the computer not being authorized. I authorized it, transferred the apps to the computer, and now all is well. Thank you very much.
By the way, Imram and I think alike. I found this when I googled “transfer iphone applications itunes”
Cagdas on August 27th, 2008 at 10:53 am
My problem is there is no Applications tab on my itunes :( I’m still using 1.1.4 version of iPhone…
Can someone help me plz…
siddharth on September 1st, 2008 at 1:08 am
my problem is when i transfer purchases it says ur computer in not authorized…
how di i authorize it for free….
plzzz help i hav got like 30 games from my friends comp now i wanna add other apps from my laptop
lin2log on September 1st, 2008 at 4:27 am
So basically you’re asking us how you can best STEAL software that you haven’t paid for. That’s clever. Since if you HAD bought it, you would merely need to log into iTunes with your account and you could simply reload everything for free.
And it’s great to see that comment’s here are CENSORED without warning. Hooray… that really speaks highly of this blog.
NOT.
Just lame.
No Longer Frustrated on September 1st, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Thanks so much…it worked after trying all night long!!!
downloading dummy on September 3rd, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I tried getting apps for my iphone. My comp said I had to download the new 7.7 itunes. I did. It still said I needed to download it. I downloaded it 4 times. Help! Is it me or my computer??
Bill B. on September 3rd, 2008 at 10:44 pm
I have the same problem as others. I have two apps I purchased on iTunes and it won’t let me transfer them to my iTunes. I’m not sure what to do about it — if I should download them iTunes or if I should restore the phone and start over (which seems like a pain). I don’t want to pay for them again.
deol on September 4th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Worked for me. You’re that kind of fortunate geniuses.
S. Kwan D'ohlas on September 12th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Thank you for this. I wasn’t sure how to transfer management of my iPod Touch apps to iTunes on our new iMac. This thread came up first on Google. Problem solved.
S. Kwan D'ohlas on September 12th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Thank you for this. I wasn’t sure how to transfer management of my iPod Touch apps to iTunes on our new iMac. This thread came up first on Google. Problem solved.
Becki on September 20th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Thank you so much! I just got a new iTouch and MacBook and I was getting so frustrated that I had to keep syncing the iTouch to my husband’s PC. Thank you Thank you Thank you!
Christiannn on September 20th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Omg, thank you very much. I would be so pissed if my ipod was to crash or reboot without my bought apps. Thank you thank you.
Johnny Miglino on September 23rd, 2008 at 10:53 pm
When I downloaded the iPhone 2.1 software to my iPhone (and synced for the 1st time), the applications on my phone don’t work. I’m guessing because the applications didn’t transfer/sync to my computer. Now it says “your computer is not authorized to play these applications”.
How do I authorize my computer?
Eric on September 24th, 2008 at 7:06 am
WOW, so simple, thanks
xcvx on September 29th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
store>authorize computer
Lost itouch fan on October 4th, 2008 at 10:14 am
hi,
im having problems syncing my applications that ive downloaded from itunes on my pc onto itouch. The problem is that there is no “Application tab” for me to click on to transfer purchases from itouch when its synced to the computer….(theres summary, music, movies, tv shows, podcasts, photos and info.. no Videos and Applications)
i need help! any would be nice! thanks.
jeannette on October 17th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
i’ve tried “transfer purchases to itunes,” i’m authorized. this is so frustrating. i’ve finally emailed apple about it, but there’s no telling if i’ll hear back.
anyone know any other tips that haven’t been mentioned here?
caroline on October 28th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
i just got an ipod touch 8G i have downloaded apps from the store but have no idea on how to load them on to my ipod. i have tried tons of things like transferring purchases but nothing seems to work! i would really appreciate the help!
Derek on November 12th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Finally…
After unchecking and checking the sync applications in the applications tab of the iphone and right clicking on the iphone to select the transfer purchases with no luck. I finally double clicked one of the application icons in the applications folder of my library which allowed me to authorize my account. I was then able to check the sync all application and transfer purchases without any problems.
Hope it helps the others that are still having problems and thanks to those who previously posted.
Paul on November 18th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Every now & again you get a clear and precise answer to a question googled. This was exactly one of those of-so-few occasions.
Many thanks!
Jessi on November 18th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Had to go into iTunes -> Store tab -> Authorize computer, takes 30sec – 1 min to authorize and will confirm with ex.” 2/5 computers were authorized” …then re-synched phone they are now on there. Success.
jun on November 26th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
is it possible to have more than 5 authorized computers?
Richard Walsh on December 11th, 2008 at 12:35 am
Thank you so much, I have been trying to do this all night since my hard drive failed last night. I almost thought I was going to have to buy them all again. Thank you!
Joe on December 11th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Thanks for the tip, but I returned my new #G model because it was blanking the screen while I was talking to anyone and then I could not turn it off or on until the other person hung up. Anyway the three apps that I bought originally on the edge Iphone showed up with the little circled 3 next to the app store icon on the new flawed 3G, but when they transferred over the phone to the new one I no longer have the icon with the circled three so I do not know how I can get what I paid for back. Any tips on this one.
Thanks
Michael Heimes on December 12th, 2008 at 1:53 am
So I have a question about one detail.
Lets say my hard drive had errors. I reformat. I select to “Transfer Purchases” from my iPhone. The application I downloaded to my iPhone are now there. The only thing that scares me is this: When i go to sync my apps, it warns me that all applications and data they contain will be deleted and replaced with what is in iTunes. Does that mean that preferences, notes, voice recordings, etc that are in my apps will be gone? Or is that data imbedded in the apps that are in my iTunes?
I thought that maybe if I deleted all the apps from iTunes and tried to sync…maybe it would automatically transfer the apps to iTunes along with the data they contain, but iTunes warns me that if I wipe out the apps in iTunes then sync…it will wipe out my apps on the iPhone.
If someone had similar experience, let me know how it worked out. I basically want to know what happens when you transfer apps from the phone to iTunes, then sync. Does the data get erased? Do you have to re-arrange the apps on the iPhone back to the way they were? THANKS!
stephane on December 13th, 2008 at 4:22 am
that last comment is what just happened to me, my computer crashed, and I had to reinstall Itunes, and now tells me the same thing, the apps will be deleted since the apps on my iphone were from another itune library……what can I do ?
Chris on December 14th, 2008 at 12:21 am
I have same problem like other did. I can sync address, calendar & music but not application. I even delete itunes application and re-install again but still now working. What can I do?
stephane on December 14th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
ok not sure what happened, I rebooted my computer and some how, my application appeared in my itunes, so cannot explain how, but now syncing my apps, I had to add the new one that i added not long ago, I lost a few, but was easy to put them back, I click on sync app then i saw the app from app store and then added the one I got somwhere else, i got tired ot trying so I took the chance, and it works fine, but of course, make sure you make a list of the apps first, and you can always download diskaid to copy the apps from your iphone to your computer and back to your phone after you synced….good luck to you all..
the travelling chef on December 21st, 2008 at 5:35 am
Thanks a lot for that great tip!
I spent the whole morning trying to figure this out and getting stressed about buying applications all over again.
This has saved me a lot of worry and time, thanks once again:)
opo on December 21st, 2008 at 6:40 pm
@Derek
Thanks for your finding, it shure did help me.
They say something about Apple quality software and stuf…. This is a very lame error from Apple programers part, aldo iTunes is so slow….
Kate on December 22nd, 2008 at 10:39 am
Heya guys…i found this site via google but it appears i have a slightly different problem…my apps appear on the apps tab but there is no way i can check the little sinc box cuz itunes don’t allow it (the lill box is grey and uncheckable)….any help is soooo very welcome…
thx…:-D
nahtass on December 24th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Wow, it worked so thanks. I am helping someone out on the IPhone – so much thanks to your post.
Otherwise my G1 kills the IPhone on usability. Of course it is a lot less dummy proof. There was no dialog to denote file location. So my back up is some where on the PC.
Ouch. Hopefully the restore knows where Itunes put this stuff (I tell ya, it ain’t in the folder with the apps we just backed up). I only found the apps stuff because I was smart enough to watch the file names and search.
Again OUCH.
Viva la open source.
IPODGUY on December 28th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
thanks for the tip
i was worried there for a second becuase i tunes wouldnt sync my apps
rick on December 29th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
thanks a bunch!
Tyberius on December 30th, 2008 at 3:26 am
Thanks so much for that, my wife and i just got iPhones and we use 2 computers. It’s good to know little things like this =D
camu on December 30th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I have downloaded my apps directly to my phone, but they won’t go onto my computer… even when I click transfer purchases. Any recommendations? I want them on my computer in case I lost my phone or something happened to it – thanks
K on January 6th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Thank you, thank you, thank you. May your days be full of sunshine for you being the first search hit on this…I almost went crazy. THANK YOU.
Andy on January 7th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
I had the same problem with authorizing a new macbook with my existing iPhone so I could transfer all my apps from the iPhone to the new macbooks iTunes. You have to authorize your computer by going to the “Store -> Authorize Computer” menu item.
Apple seems to let you authorize up to 5 computers with iTunes – no idea on why the limit. But all that said and done once you have the computer authorized you can go to the “File -> Transfer Purchases from …” menu item to transfer your iPhone to your iTunes.
Suds on January 10th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Hey Andy, thanks a lot man…this was really helpful. without authorizing the computer, u cannot transfer the apps…I was trying all the sites to get an answer to transfer the apps from iphone to itunes…this is the perfect answer…Greate
1213 iPhone on January 14th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Hi,
I’ve installed a free applications from iTunes store in my Office computer. and i copied applications to my home computer’s iTunes Library which there’s no internet connection to authorise..
So is there any trick to sync application without authorization (No internet connection).?
Is there any solution where i can bring from the Office iTunes Library to Home library..?
Cheers,
hawaii guy on January 18th, 2009 at 8:04 am
I have done both suggestions numerous times and I still can’t get all my apps to transfer to the iTunes library, it is bewildering at this point. As for the iphone “applications window” in itunes it only shows 1 application and that is the one I re-downloaded this morning directly from the itunes app store. I figured i’ll just re-download all my apps that way but when I got to a “purchased” app it wanted me to pay for it again even though its in my purchase history and i downloaded and paid for it through my iphone. Not sure which direction to go from here, I wish you could mount the phone as a disk and just drag and drop the apps that way, but I guess were not supposed to do to much physical labor, ie, all the automation itunes supposedly has… reminds me of brazil and some vaccum tubes, ha ha.
loser on January 18th, 2009 at 10:09 am
thanks for this. i just got a new comp and didn’t know how to transfer my apps to it.
TonyTooth on January 20th, 2009 at 11:56 am
There is clearly a bug with the apps not showing up in itunes. My girlfriends works fina and I can’t get one of mine to show up even after following all directions I can find on the internet. FYI, I have the latest version of itunes.
currie on January 21st, 2009 at 3:45 am
Hi all, hoping someone can help? I synced my iphone 3g apps with my macbook, didnt seem to be a problem, except it removed them from my iphone! i have tried to sync again to get them back onto the phone but it doesnt work. i have tried disconnecting and reconnecting the phone to try and select the apps individually within itunes to sync but again doesnt work. its only the apps i want back on the iphone – any ideas anyone??
Richard on January 27th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
This problem has been driving me mad for ages…thanks so much for the hint!
ALT on January 31st, 2009 at 9:15 am
This is annoying. My computer IS authorized. I have never purchased any songs from iTunes. I’ve only purchased Apps. I deauthorized my computer and authorized it again. I still encounter that same “Some of the purchased items on the iphone could not be transferred to your itunes library because you are not authorized to play them on this computer” error… Any help? People keep saying play one of the songs purchased from iTunes, but I’ve never purchased a song from iTunes, just applications… Now what?
JJ on February 1st, 2009 at 9:19 am
Thanks! Now transferring all of my apps to my new PC is waaaaaaay easier
paul on February 7th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
You the Man!!
DigitaiZen on February 8th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
iTunes fraking SUCK!!! Suck, suck, SUCK, SUUUUUUCK :O !!!!! Arghhh, it makes me so mad that I constantly have problems with it, one way or another! It’s a piece of crap software, period. I just wonder when Apple’s gonna wake up and completely rewrite it and redo its stupid policies that go with it, ha?! Syncing is stupid, I think. It’s only needed in certain cases, not as the main pillar of the iTunes crapware. I love the iPhone but maa-an, iTunes really piss me off. It’s slow and craps out so often and so UNRELIABLE it hurts!!! If there would be one thing preventing me buying iPhone – it DEFINITELY would be the crappy iTunes!!! (2nd being tied up to the AT&T, the cohort of shady government in spying and abuse of rights besides being the monopolistic abuser in general).
Lisa on February 8th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Just got this working. I just got a new mac and my applications weren’t showing up. I tried what was suggested here with no luck. I was authorized and all.
So I decided to see if the applications were anywhere on my computer… and they were! They were all in my iTunes folder under the folder Mobile Applications. There were multiple copies of each application, presumably each update for the app. So I just imported that folder into iTunes, it began to ask me if I’d like to replace my current version of with the older copy. I clicked yes for some, no for others… it didn’t really matter.
What this did was brought back the Application tab. If any files were replaced with the old, I just clicked Check for Updates to make sure I got the most recent.
Basically it seems like the apps are already on your computer, so when you tell iTunes to transfer the purchases it says “ok, well i’ve got them already, no need to do that” But for some reason the tab is gone.
Hopefully this will help some
aplH8r on February 15th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
So… Once you sync your phone with iTunes you then need to go to the Applications panel. Double click an app and re-enter your password. Then it is “authorized”. That is so frickin RETARDED! Apple is retarded. You know who the biggest retard is? Me. I keep buying their crap.
Jason Wagner on February 16th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Thanks so much!! This was exactly what i needed.
Christel Hoff on February 17th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Youhou !!! thank you so much for the trick. I was desperate to get my applications back on my computer.
Shane Link on February 18th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Hey aplH8r….Thanks for the input…that is exactly what I needed. I too was having difficulties syncing apps. Wish I would of read your post before I restored. Thanks!!
fas on February 19th, 2009 at 4:19 am
thanks for this
hilomike on February 20th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Thank You!!! So simple, but I would have never thought to right-click the device LMAO
Lisa on February 21st, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I suspect this is INCREDIBLY obvious — but how do I do this in reverse? I accidentally deleted something off my iPhone (3G) but can’t figure out how to get it BACK on from the “applications” section on my itunes (where it IS showing up.)
HELP! (And thanks!)
Lisa on February 21st, 2009 at 2:06 pm
(ignore my previous question… I really am a moron and just figured it out on my own… Sorry…)
Deb on February 23rd, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I found a lot of the information on this forum helpful, however I’m trying to download an app that I bought thru iTunes onto my iPhone. When i tried to download thru my iphone, it said that it was too large, so i opted to do it via my computer. Now it will not let me transfer to my iphone. Am I stupid, or just confused. Thanks!!
dc. on February 24th, 2009 at 4:16 am
what if when i sync my itouch but there is no application tab on the syncing devise thing?
Zain on February 24th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Post # 30 cured my problem. Thanks to Jessie and all those who have contributed.
adam p on February 25th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
thankyou very much for this tip. My itunes lost all apps during my nightmare virus situation. THANKS!
Allyson on February 25th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much joy you just brought me.
Taylor on February 28th, 2009 at 12:45 am
Thank you! Every time I purchase a new computer I always have a problem getting all of my iTunes content transfered properly. I finally got all of my music transfered after having to battle with 5 out of 5 computers authorized and then my applications wouldn’t merge. This solved it, thank you!
GAR on February 28th, 2009 at 5:28 am
Thanks, That was a lifesaver. I knew that option was there but feared it would erase everything on my Touch since it was authorized on a different computer and none of the apps were on the new computer. Syncd right up just fine.
James on February 28th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Somehow this is not working for me. If I buy an app on the iPhone and then sync with my iMac, the status bar *says* it’s downloading apps from my iPhone, but they never appear in iTunes. I have got around this by redownloading the apps through iTunes (luckily, unlike music, you can do this multiple times with no additional charge) but it seems like a bug. I have made sure to reset my warnings on the phone, and have made sure my iMac is authorized, but nothing seems to help. Any ideas?
Arial on March 1st, 2009 at 11:16 am
OMG OMG OMG!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I had an iPod that was stolen out of my car (yes, they broke the window and everything!) and just recently purchased an iPhone. My computer was down for almost a month with my iTunes library and I wasn’t going to wait to play with my iPhone. In order to purchase some of the apps, I synched it with my work laptop as a temporary fix.
Now that I spent time and money on the applications and loading all kinds of information into these neat apps only to find I couldn’t transfer them to my desktop! Needless to say, I was pretty upset!
Thank you for posting this and making my life easier!!!
Warmest regards,
Arial Burnz
Enfuego on March 1st, 2009 at 10:23 pm
I didn’t read all of the posts but regarding not being able to transfer and sync apps with the iphone. You need to authorize your phone with that computer. Do this by clicking “store” on the menu at the top and click authorize computer. Follow the instructions from there and finally, click transfer apps from the right-click menu of your iphone icon.
Casey on March 3rd, 2009 at 11:17 am
Thank you! Finally someone able to to helpfully explain how to transfer my iphone apps.
Janet on March 3rd, 2009 at 11:52 pm
if you can’t get your apps to sync from iTunes to your iTouch, check to see if the “applications” tab shows up on the iTouch window in iTunes. If not, then you need to purchase the updated software for your iTouch. It’s about $9.95.
Once you’ve downloaded the newer version of the software (free if your iTouch is already running 2.2 or something like that), then the download for the apps will sync right up.
good luck!
Collington on March 6th, 2009 at 4:18 am
THANK YOU!!
Does anyone know how to do the same things with songs? I’ve just added iTunes to my work laptop and HAVE been able to get my apps to sync… but now if I try to transfer any of the music from my laptop it warns me about deleting all of my existing music! I know you all have a clever solution!!
Thanks in advance!
Daniel on March 11th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
***Tip to anyone whos stuck*** If this method does not work go to the top menu and find authorize computer and then try it again. it took me about a hour to work it out…
jeffrey on March 14th, 2009 at 1:28 am
thank you so much i don’t know why i didn’t think to check that.
Rene on March 14th, 2009 at 2:01 am
hi..got problem with my formatted PC. it shows would you like to transfer APP to PC?so it shows transfering figure. But once I check on my iphone, there are no longer APPs available? Is that means I’ve removed it from my Iphone or there are still in my PC? How can I get back all those Purchased items? Pls someone help me…
Bobby on March 16th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Thanks very much!! Just updated my iphone and had to restore the damn thing and lost all my apps!!!! No i can sync the apps to save me going through hell to download them all!!!!
rasta on March 21st, 2009 at 10:36 am
AWESOME Thanks
Hayden on March 22nd, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Works great for me, but SUPER slow on the 1st gen iPod touch.
Del on March 22nd, 2009 at 8:11 pm
This is regarding #59 Lisa: who says;
” . . . So I decided to see if the applications were anywhere on my computer… and they were! They were all in my iTunes folder under the folder Mobile Applications . . .”
I have this exact problem, however when I go in to my iTunes Folder on my computer there is no such folder as “Mobile Applications” Please can anyone help me this is very frustrating as I have purchased 3 applications on my iPhone which were all working perfectly fine until my iPhone crashed and I had to backup and then restore it but then when I went into my phone after rebooting it, only 1 of my applications was showing, and the other 2 are nowhere to be found (not even on my iTunes anywhere. The only record I have that I have ever purchased these apps is on my iTunes Shop account under Purchase History. Please help if anyone knows how I can get my purchased apps back on my phone/iTunes/both!!
Dorian on March 31st, 2009 at 3:07 pm
@ Del # 87
C:\Users\YOURACCOUNTNAME\Music\iTunes\Mobile Applications
there they are :)
John T on April 1st, 2009 at 6:12 am
Wow. That right-click solution worked perfectly. Thanks for publishing this answer!
Wellington on April 2nd, 2009 at 9:42 am
In my iTunes it is not working…I have authorized my computer but when I try to transfer application it shows that is being transgered but when it finished it is not.
huzaifa khandwa wala on April 4th, 2009 at 12:58 am
hi..got problem with my formatted PC. it shows would you like to transfer APP to PC? pls help me……………..
josh on April 4th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
im having the opposite problem.. i cannot get purchases from itunes to my iphone. i want to bring them from my comp, to my phone.. cant do it
sahand on April 5th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
i dont know how to transfer games from itunes applications to my apple iphone could you please let me know because i purchased the games and i can not transfer them i only transfered the songs
many thanks
Armando Soto on April 11th, 2009 at 3:33 am
Thanks for the help!
For those using iTunes on Mac, with no right click capability, place cursor on the iPhone icon on itunes, hold the ctrl (control) key, and click. That will open the same menu described here.
Brian on April 11th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Thank you so much, you are a lifesaver! I don’t see why there isn’t a checkbox for this procedure where the Applications tab is…
Thanks again!
JS on April 13th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Thank you! You solved alot of frustration =)
Matt on April 15th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Thanks for the tip.. but this still doesnt work. Been trying to fix for months.
Dont care on April 16th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Thank you very much!
Ipod Touch (ohhh!) on April 21st, 2009 at 7:17 pm
OmG! LIFE SAVER!
lush push on April 22nd, 2009 at 12:55 am
oh GOD! in fact i am not getting a application button in my itunes…
Mark on April 22nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Thanks, that work great!
Veronica on April 23rd, 2009 at 4:31 am
Brilliant! Thanks so much. I’ve now got all my apps back in iTunes after having to reinstall.
Murf on April 28th, 2009 at 7:39 am
Thanx heaps for this…. so simple
renee on May 3rd, 2009 at 10:35 am
AWESOME!!!! Thank you so much…i just got a new mac and started to worry that I would not be able to get my gazillion apps on there. This worked perfect. THANK YOU!!!!!
springrider on May 12th, 2009 at 2:17 am
Brilliant tip! that problem really annoying!
Haze on May 15th, 2009 at 9:44 am
How do you get more authorized computers after you exceed the 5 allowed with the iphone?
Akim on May 16th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
BINGO!!!. TKS MAN. SIMPLE, EASY, AS IT SHOULD BE.
JOE JOE BOB Jr. on May 19th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
THnkz bro it workd
Chabela on May 21st, 2009 at 8:19 pm
I have this same problem but with an ipod touch.
i just bought a laptop but my apps dont want to get tansfer :( :( :(
Mattt on May 24th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I knew there had to be an easier way. Thanks for saving me a few hours :)
Vince on May 27th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Ok as some have mentioned, I have authorized my computer but still when I try to transfer the things I bought it tells me my computer is not authorized. I have tried deauthorizing it and authorizing it afterward but it still doesn’t work. PLEASE HELP!!!!
feebs on June 2nd, 2009 at 3:23 am
Thank you so much to #28. I tried all of the things listed in the little FAQ up top but your suggestion is what ended up working.
jim on June 2nd, 2009 at 9:47 am
do you know why i havent an ‘applications’ tab on my iphone device page?
just trying to sync over some applications and games but finding it a mystery
Jerry Short on June 4th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Thanks for the answer
John on June 5th, 2009 at 11:11 am
“I have downloaded my apps directly to my phone, but they won’t go onto my computer… even when I click transfer purchases. Any recommendations? I want them on my computer in case I lost my phone or something happened to it – thanks.”
I had the same problem, very frustrating! When you do a sync/backup, it should simply include your apps as well, you shouldn’t have to also transfer purchases. Regardless, I right-clicked the iphone on itunes to transfer purchases, and that didn’t work. But I selected “File” and then “Transfer Purchases”, that worked?! Apple really needs to fix this.
Frustrated on June 7th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Thanks for the great tip.
BUT – I would appreciate a whole bunch if someone could point me in a direction of how to transfer my applications that I downloaded onto my iTunes to my iPhone 3G.
When I click the Applications tab, it says “Sync applications” and gives me a list of my downloaded apps but I can’t highlight it!
Any help would be great. Thanks!!
Jess on June 7th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
thank you so much i was about to go crazy
Faezeh on June 7th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Hello,
I just downloaded Ituned8 and synced my ipod touch with it, First of all I lost all my purchased songs and then I lost all my purchased application.
I looked all over my computer to maybe find them restored somewhere but I couldnt find them.
I did click on transfer all purchased but it didnt work. :( does this mean that I should purchase them all over again?
Is there anyway that I get my purchases back?
Please help.
Faezeh
Faezeh on June 7th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Another question, I cant sync my photos, I have done it before with Windows vista but when I changed my windows to XP, it seems impossible. I can select the folders and everything, it just doesnt sync
steve on June 13th, 2009 at 3:03 am
hey,is there any way i can transfer my applications (which were installed on my friend`s computer by his account) to my itunes of my computer.
ive tried using “tranfer purchases”option but it dosent actually allow me to transfer them because it says my computer is not authorized for it.
I know that because im not the one who purchased them lol but am still trying to find a solution for this.
do reply.
thans a lot.
denizexia on June 14th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
it helps me alot to solve my problem…thanks alot…
Remy on June 17th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Think it’s bad now?
I have 100+ apps on my iPhone and when I right-click and Transfer Purchases, it goes through the list of them but doesn’t actually transfer them.
Can’t wait to hear what Apple has to say about this one.
KATGIRL on June 17th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Thank you for this post. I was searching google and this works perfectly. My computer is authorized with my apple account (for anyone having trouble do this first) and then transfer your apps.
squirrellygirl on June 19th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Thank you so much for this awesome tip! I was seconds away from throwing my laptop and iphone out the window from frustration when I stumbled across this page.
And thanks also to Dorian for the C:\Users\YOURACCOUNTNAME\Music\iTunes\Mobile Applications path.
Ah, I love the internet. :)
mofukcer on June 19th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
i love you man.
u da best
rynofizzy on June 21st, 2009 at 11:38 am
extremely useful! except if I knew this before, It would have been alot less annoying ;)
TheD on June 23rd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
After 20 minutes of googling this exact problem… I am now sitting here thinking… its so obvious!
Apple the company that doesnt believe in a “right click” would hide something this important in that menu….
THANKS FOR THE TIP….!!!!
Bradley on June 24th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Doesn’t work for my JB’d iPhone. Get the following message for free apps:
For ones in iTunes
“” was not installed on the iPhone because you are not authorised for it on this computer.
- where ” are the various apps I have.
For ones on iPhone
“” could not be transferred from the iPhone “iPhone” because you are not authorised to play it on this computer.
Possibly because it’s jailbroken?
Writing this I found this solution –> You need to authorise your computer via iTunes Store > Authorise Computer … Works for iPhone to iTunes but can’t see the apps I had first in iTunes on my iPhone.
Connor Polk on June 26th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
I just upgraded from a 8gb iPod touch to a 16gb iPod touch and was worried I couldn’t transfer my apps (I paid $6-10 for some of them). Thanks for helping me.
Bonny on June 27th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Thank you… this helped so so much!!!
Double on July 3rd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
U THE MAN!!!!
I’ve been trying for 5 hours and it turns out u only had to click one button XD
John on July 4th, 2009 at 12:51 am
I just got my iPhone 3GS today and have tried for several hours to get my old phone apps transferred to it. Your information was a great help! Thanks
Manolo on July 7th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Thank you so much!!!!