0 How to transfer apps from iPhone to iTunes

Even the most tech-savvy among us can induce the occasional face-palm by getting tripped up over pretty basic stuff that they just aren’t familiar with. Though Apple has made technology more personal and simple for millions of non-geek customers, even their systems can have a bit of a learning curve.

Take the iPhone and iTunes. As seamlessly as Cupertino has crafted the platforms, there are still some details that aren’t apparent from the get-go. One of the most requested tips may seem basic, but is no less important: how do you transfer your iPhone apps into iTunes?

Though you may not realize it at first, Apple has made it ridiculously easy to transfer iPhone apps to iTunes. There are, however, a couple of things that need to be in place first:

Sign in with your Apple ID

First, navigate to the “Store” menu entry in iTunes, and choose “Sign in” if you haven’t already. This will need to be the Apple ID that you used when downloading the apps from your iPhone.

Authorize computer

Next, return to the “Store” menu in iTunes, and choose “Authorize Computer.” If you haven’t yet done this, iTunes won’t let you transfer those apps.

If you purchased apps with multiple accounts on your iPhone, then you’ll need to repeat these first two steps with each account.

Transfer Purchases

All that’s left to do is to connect your iPhone to your computer (via USB), and let iTunes do its thing. After backing up your iPhone, it will begin “transferring purchases” into iTunes. This includes both free and purchased apps — all will be backed up on your desktop or laptop.

If you’ve previously synced your iPhone with another computer, you may see a box that says “your iPhone is synced with another iTunes library.” In this case, simply press “Transfer Purchases” and your apps will be copied.

If iTunes doesn’t automatically transfer your purchases, then you may have previously selected “don’t ask me again” when prompted about transferring purchases. The way around this is to simply right-click on the name of your iPhone in iTunes. One of the options should be “Transfer purchases from [your iPhone].” Select this.

Wi-Fi syncing

One last thing to note is that, starting with iOS 5, you can wirelessly transfer your apps from your iPhone to iTunes. In iTunes, the tab for your iPhone will have a box that says “sync with this iPhone over Wi-Fi.”

Leave it checked, and your apps will be wirelessly copied to iTunes regularly (as long as iTunes is open, of course). Leave it unchecked, and the syncing will only happen when you physically connect your iPhone to your PC.

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