Installing approrpiate apps on your old iPhone or iPad
As we know, Apple products are quite durable and if properly cared for, they stay in good condition for a long time. However, since the IT giant creates new hardware and software at a rapid pace, finding apps that still work on old devices can be a real challenge. This is why, I've decided to write a short guide and show you a neat trick that will help you download and install previous versions of you favorite apps on older Apple devices.
If you own an old Apple-made mobile device, you've probably noticed that you can no longer install the latest iOS version. Even though iOS 10 is almost ready, those with iPhone 4 can't go above iOS 7 while the first iPad editions will not be able to work with anything newer than iOS 5. The biggest inconvenience comes from the fact that Apple's App Store will automatically take you to the most recent version of each app and most of the time it will only work on newer OS editions, the ones that you can't install.
However, there's a legal way for you to download and install older versions of the applications that you love, but of course, Apple won't advertise this as the company wants you to spend money on its latest devices. I'm not sure if you ever took time to read the IT giant's policies, but the rules clearly state that once you've purchase an application, that product will be made available to you across all your devices. This means that if you acquire an app, you automatically have access to all of its older versions even if they're not easy to find (the rule works for free apps as well).
How does this help? It's actually pretty simple: if you try to directly download and install an application on your older device from iTunes, the setup process will fail because of compatibility issues. However, if you first make the purchase from a different device, whether it's a newer Apple-made mobile device, a Mac or a computer and the application gets added to your library, you will be able to install it from there on your older iPhone or iPad. Here are the steps that you need to take:
- Run iTunes on the other device (PC, Mac, newer iPhone, etc.), find the application you're interested in and make the purchase or click the "Get" button.
- Launch the App Store from your old iPhone or iPad, go to the Purchased category and find the app.
- Tap Install and a compatible (legacy) version of the application will be automatically found.
- Confirm that you want to install the older version of the application.
This is it, friends. The only time this procedure won't work is when you're trying to install an iPad-only application, as these apps don't appear in searches made from other devices. This means that the only way to get the older version of the app would be to first download it on a newer iPad.
Now, when you know all you need about installing appropriate apps on your old iPhone or iPad, you might also want to read some of our other articles such as: "Tips and tricks for iPad users", "How to sync your iPhone or iPad with iTunes" or "Best tips for buying a used iPhone".
