3 ways to install old app versions on old iPhone

If you have an older iPhone, chances are you've encountered the problem of not being able to download new apps. Luckily, there are a few ways you can download older versions of apps. Read on to explore your options!

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1. Let the App Store download the compatible version

This is the easiest way to download an older version of an app, but you may not have heard of it, since Apple's App Store doesn't make it clear whether an older version is available. For example, you'll often see a message on an app's page that says it Requires [iOS version] or later , leading you to believe that your phone isn't compatible. But that's not always true.

You can ignore that message and go ahead and press the download button. When you do, the App Store will pop up a message asking if you want to download an older version of the app. Follow these exact steps to get this pop-up:

• Open the App Store on your iPhone and search for the app you want to download.
• Tap an app name or icon to open that app's App Store page.
• Start downloading the app by tapping the Get button or tapping the cloud icon with the down arrow.
• Wait for the App Store to display the message Download an older version of this app?
• Click the Download button to install an older version.

If this doesn't work, you'll see the following message: This app requires [iOS version] or later . For example, the Apple Sports app requires iOS 17.2 or later.

In such cases, you can try some other solutions to download the older version of the app.

2. Download the app from the purchased list

Another way to download older versions of apps is to find them in your Purchased or Apps history (on newer iPhones). This works well if you recently factory reset your iPhone and discover that some of the apps you installed previously now require a newer version of iOS to work.

Additionally, some people have found that the App Store won’t automatically give them the option to download a previous compatible version. This happens even though they already have a working version installed on their phone. If you’re one of those people, try downloading the app from your list of purchased apps.

Note : The Purchased or Apps list (on newer iPhones) isn't just the apps you've paid for; it's a complete history of the apps you've downloaded using your iCloud account.

To download previously purchased apps:

• Open the App Store app on your phone and navigate to your account page by selecting the profile icon in the top right corner of the screen.
• Select Purchased or Apps (on newer iPhones) to display a list of all purchased apps associated with that iCloud account.
• Scroll through the list to find the app you want to install.
• Tap the cloud icon with the down arrow next to the app name to start the download.

3. Using new equipment

I tried re-downloading apps from my Purchased (or Apps) list and found that this worked without any problems. But what if you haven’t purchased or downloaded an app before? Another workaround is to use a new iPhone running a new version of iOS to download the app you want.

It's important to sign in to your iCloud account on your newer device to ensure the app is saved to your app purchase history. After downloading the app, go back to your old iPhone and try downloading it from your Purchased (or Apps) list or by searching for it.

Here is a step by step guide if you need a more detailed explanation:

• Sign in to your iCloud account using an iPhone running a recent version of iOS.
• Open the App Store and download the app you want.
• Go back to your old iPhone and open the App Store.
• Search for the app in the App Store and try downloading it again. When you get the Download an older version of this app? message , select Download .

Alternatively, you can tap your profile icon in the App Store, select Purchased (or Apps on newer iPhones), and scroll through the list to find the app you just installed on your new iPhone. Then, tap the cloud icon with a down arrow next to the app to start downloading.

As you can see in the screenshot above, the App Store does not provide an option to download the older version. However, after downloading the iOS 17.4 iPhone, the author was able to install the older version on his iPhone X.

Limitations in the above methods of downloading older versions of the application

Unfortunately, these methods won’t work for every app on the App Store. Some newer apps won’t be backward compatible—especially those for newer iOS devices. There won’t be an older version of the app available for download, and there’s nothing you can do about it, unfortunately.

The older your iPhone is, the less likely you are to find a compatible version of the app you're after. But since it's easy to see if there's an older version of an app, these methods are worth a try. If you suspect another issue is preventing you from downloading the app, don't worry, there are a number of  ways to fix an iPhone that won't download apps .

With the way Apple designs the App Store, it can be easy to think that your favorite apps are no longer compatible with your iPhone. But don't be fooled! Some apps offer older versions that will work on older iPhones, and they're incredibly easy to download.

Good luck!