If You Keep The Files, Restoring Old App Versions Isn't Hard
February 2, 2011
It happens to the best of them: Developers sometimes issue app updates that shouldn’t have been released to the public. An app, once used everyday, is suddenly worthless, all because a “minor” update isn’t playing nice on the iPhone/iPod touch or iPad.
Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t offer a way to roll back to a previous version of an iOS application once you’ve updated. However, there is a solution, depending on your situation.
When apps are updated through iTunes, tiny .ipa files are sent to the computer’s Trash or Recycle Bin. As apps are updated, the previous version's files are sent here for deletion. Instead of deleting these, drag them to your desktop.
To restore an app to its older version, open up iTunes and look at your Apps list. Find the app in question and delete it. Next, drag the correct version file from the desktop into the Apps Library in iTunes.
Finally, sync your device. The app is now restored to a previous version.
Instead of restoring deleted files, I would suggest an easier solution. Since app files are kept in one place, do a daily backup of those files. When a file needs to be restored, the backups will come in handy.
Files are kept in the computer’s iTunes folder. Within it is a folder called Mobile Applications. In that folder are the .ipa files, one for each of your apps.
Following these easy steps will help you delete bad app updates as if they never happened in the first place. Then, you can wait until the next update is released. One without problems.
