New iPad doesn't remember apps I've already bought!

[fuzzybabybunny]

A couple months ago a motorcycle accident demolished my iPad and my laptop that it synced with.

Today I got a replacement iPad and when I log into the app store, it seems that I have to re-buy apps that I had on the previous iPad. I thought that Apple keeps a record of which apps have been purchased under which account so I can avoid re-buying apps?

What do I do?

 

[jonesthewine]

This is where your externally stored backups come in and save the day.

 

[Kmax82]

Odd.. never had that happen. I've switch from iPhone 3G to 3GS to 4 and always had access to my apps that I purchased before. Are you sure you're getting charged again? If so, make sure it's definitely the same iTunes account and contact Apple.

 

[silverpig]

Are you sure? Have you actually re-bought one?

I've bought a new iPhone and logged in with my existing iTunes account and went to download the same apps I had before on my iPod Touch. You click buy, it asks you to put in your password, and it starts to download exactly as if you had to re-buy it. However, just as the download starts, a notification pops up that says that you've already bought the app and can re-download it for free.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Are you sure? Have you actually re-bought one?

I've bought a new iPhone and logged in with my existing iTunes account and went to download the same apps I had before on my iPod Touch. You click buy, it asks you to put in your password, and it starts to download exactly as if you had to re-buy it. However, just as the download starts, a notification pops up that says that you've already bought the app and can re-download it for free.

Oh, that was it! I thought it was trying to charge me again!

1. The download button next to the app icon displays the price - I figured it would display something like "update" for me since I had already bought it.

2. When I click the "buy" button I have to go through the terms of service and the final "are you sure you wish to *buy* this app?" popup. At this point I just quit because I was convinced that I would be re-buying this again. It's just too confusing, and there's no place in my account where I can see which apps I've already purchased.

3. So I clicked "buy" anyway and THEN it finally pops up with a "you already own this app, click ok to update it" message.

Now, is there a place in my account where I can see which apps I've already purchased?

 

[TheStu]

Oh, that was it! I thought it was trying to charge me again!

1. The download button next to the app icon displays the price - I figured it would display something like "update" for me since I had already bought it.

2. When I click the "buy" button I have to go through the terms of service and the final "are you sure you wish to *buy* this app?" popup. At this point I just quit because I was convinced that I would be re-buying this again. It's just too confusing, and there's no place in my account where I can see which apps I've already purchased.

3. So I clicked "buy" anyway and THEN it finally pops up with a "you already own this app, click ok to update it" message.

Now, is there a place in my account where I can see which apps I've already purchased?

I don't think there is a pretty standalone list, but you can get at all your receipts.

From the iTunes Store on your computer;
Hover over your name in the upper right corner,
Go to the pulldown menu and select 'Account'.
And then right there in the middle, 'Purchase History'

 

[gorcorps]

There's no way of knowing what you've already bought. It's one of my biggest gripes with the app store. You don't know if you bought it already until you try and buy it again =/

 

[TheStu]

There's no way of knowing what you've already bought. It's one of my biggest gripes with the app store. You don't know if you bought it already until you try and buy it again =/

Look up, i explain how to get to your purchase history.

 

[akugami]

This is where an internet based storage site helps. The apps you download are tagged with your account info so it'll only work on your particular iTunes account. Most iOS apps (not all) are small enough that they store conveniently in some cloud based storage service. Heck, you could jury rig a storage site by compressing them, splitting them into parts and then uploading it as an attachment to some email service if you really wanted to. GMail has a 25MB file size limit which covers most apps. It's usually games that exceed that size limit and again, you can just compress it and split it up into parts.

 

[Nothinman]

This is where an internet based storage site helps. The apps you download are tagged with your account info so it'll only work on your particular iTunes account. Most iOS apps (not all) are small enough that they store conveniently in some cloud based storage service. Heck, you could jury rig a storage site by compressing them, splitting them into parts and then uploading it as an attachment to some email service if you really wanted to. GMail has a 25MB file size limit which covers most apps. It's usually games that exceed that size limit and again, you can just compress it and split it up into parts.

No, this is where Apple doing the right thing would help. That's not something you should have to do yourself, the service should take care of that for you. If I open up my Android Market and go to "Downloads", anything I've previously bought but isn't currently installed is listed with a status of "Purchased" so there's no question about whether I'm going to get charged again and I don't have to go hunt them down either.

 

[gorcorps]

Look up, i explain how to get to your purchase history.

Sure, from the PC which doesn't help me when I'm buying stuff from my phone. It can't be that hard to change the icon for the apps you already purchased. You'd have to log in with your password when the app store opens instead of when you buy an app, but that's fine by me. Just seems like an important thing to have on your device that isn't there.

 

[herkulease]

Apple seriously needs to fix the purchase history. Its terrible. how hard is it to just have a list of all apps you've already purchased.

Instead they give you itemized purchase receipts. You have to go through each and every one. On top of that you can't even print it them out.

 

[Kmax82]

Apple seriously needs to fix the purchase history. Its terrible. how hard is it to just have a list of all apps you've already purchased.

Instead they give you itemized purchase receipts. You have to go through each and every one. On top of that you can't even print it them out.

I think the problem with the AppStore is that [my speculation] Apple is re-using the code from the iTunes store and just changing some things out here and there. Therefore, you can't re-download music/videos, so instead of building a better way to interact with the apps, they just tacked some logic that sees if you've purchased it before, and if you have, then you're allowed to re-download. I think if they're going to make a better experience they're going to need to overhaul the backend. [/end speculation]

 

[gorcorps]

I don't think there is a pretty standalone list, but you can get at all your receipts.

From the iTunes Store on your computer;
Hover over your name in the upper right corner,
Go to the pulldown menu and select 'Account'.
And then right there in the middle, 'Purchase History'

They must have changed their setup. When I do this there's absolutely no Purchase History button on my account page. Apple hasn't changed their instructions online either, so as of now I don't see a single way to view your purchased items via the pc or ipod.

 

[TheStu]

They must have changed their setup. When I do this there's absolutely no Purchase History button on my account page. Apple hasn't changed their instructions online either, so as of now I don't see a single way to view your purchased items via the pc or ipod.

That is just weird that you cannot find it there, are you updated and is this on windows or os x?