How to install the previous version of the application on iOS. How to install the old version of the application for iOS. How to return the old version of Skype after updating: system rollback
Yesterday we talked about how iPhone and iPad can install outdated versions of applications using the Charlie program. From the comments to that article, it turned out that there is an easier way that does not involve the use of third-party tools. This method only works if the new version of the application is not supported by your device due to system requirements.
If you are using an old Apple smartphone or tablet, or have not updated iOS to version 8 or 9, you will inevitably encounter limitations - the App Store will prompt you to update the operating system first. However, you can cheat and download not a new version of the application, but one compatible with old technology or an outdated build of iOS.
How to install an old version of the application on iOS?
1. Go to the system settings of your iPhone or iPad and enable iCloud synchronization.
2. Launch iTunes on your computer and download the application you need, even if it’s a new version.
3. Open the App Store on your mobile device and find the application that you downloaded through iTunes.
4. Near the name of the application, instead of the “download” button, a button with a cloud will appear, which shows that a “purchase” has already been registered in your account, and you can freely download this application to your device.
5. If your iPhone or iPad is incompatible with this application, the system will display an error and... offer to download the version that was once compatible with it.
6. Wait a while - the outdated version of the application will be downloaded to your device.
We emphasize once again that this installation method can only be used on older devices (iPhone 3, 4, etc.), and install outdated versions of applications on new Apple smartphones and tablets can be accessed using the Charlie application, which we recently wrote about. Charlie works as a proxy that downloads the version of the application you need from Apple servers - one that is more stable than the new one or with features that were later removed by the developers. One of these applications is the official VKontakte client, which once had a full-fledged music section, but now only excerpts from songs are available, leading to the iTunes store.
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Application updates do not always bring something new and useful; some errors are often eliminated, but others immediately appear. It’s worse when, after an update, advertisements appear or useful functions disappear, and there are a lot of such cases.
In this article we will tell you how to roll back the version of an application on iOS using Charles and iTunes. But before you start, please note:
- the instructions only work on version Charles 4, tested on Charles 4.0.2 (the program is paid, but has an unlimited trial period, the trial version stops working every half hour);
- The maximum version of iTunes for macOS is 12.3.3, for Windows - 12.2.2, on the following versions this method no longer works: either the iTunes program does not start, or there is no Download button (12.4-12.4.3), or an error appears
"iTunes cannot verify the authenticity of the server. Invalid server certificate" (12.5-12.6.3).
Unfortunately, this method will no longer work on macOS High Sierra and higher. When running previous versions of iTunes, you will receive an error because the minimum version for High Sierra is 12.7 (without the App Store).
Attention! Starting with iTunes version 12.7, the program no longer has the App Store, so to install the downloaded application on your device, use the latest working version - 12.6.3.
How to roll back an application version on iPhone and iPad
Step 1 Download Charles 4 for your operating system (macOS or Windows) and install it. If the method does not work on a newer version, then download Charles 4.0.2 from here
Step 2 Launch the Charles program. On macOS computers, when you first launch the program, click the Grand Privileges button
Step 4 Go to the Charles program and in the Structure panel (on the left) find the line containing “buy.itunes.apple.com”. Right-click on it and select Enable SSL Proxying
Step 5 Go back to iTunes, stop downloading the application and remove it from the download list (click on the downloads icon in the upper right corner, select the application you are downloading and press the Delete key 2 times). If the download has already completed, then go to the “My Programs” section and delete the downloaded application
Step 6 Search iTunes again and download the app again. If iTunes warns you that it can't verify the server's authenticity, click Continue. The application will start downloading, stop it and uninstall it
If you receive a warning that the server certificate is invalid and there is no Continue button
In Charles, open Help →SSL Proxying and click Install Charles Root Certificate. A window for adding a certificate will open, click Add. Now open the Keychain Access program and in the keychain Entrance Look for the Charles certificate you just added. Double-click on it with the left mouse button to open it. Display the hidden parameters of the “Trust” field, to do this, click on the triangle icon next to the word and in the drop-down list of the “Certificate Usage Options” select Always trust
Step 7 Go to Charles and find a new line containing “buy.itunes.apple.com”. Expand it and select "buyProduct"
Step 8 In the right panel of the program, select the Contents tab (instead of Contents, in some OS there may be Response) and specify the display type “XML Text”. Among the lines of code, find:
In line
Select the version you want to install and copy its number
Step 9 Return to the left panel of Structure and on the “buyProduct” line, right-click and select Breakpoints
Step 10 In iTunes, find and download the application again
Step 11 Once you click Load, a new window will appear in the Charles program. Go to it, select the Edit Request and “XML Text” tabs
Step 12 Find the stitch
Step 13 iTunes should start downloading the selected version. Once the download is complete, the downloaded application will appear in the “My Programs” section. Check the program version, right-click the context menu and select Details or press Cmd+I (macOS) / Ctrl+I (Windows). If you are not satisfied with the version, copy another version ID and repeat Steps 10 - 13
Step 14 Connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer and install the app on your device
After completing all operations, do not forget to return everything to default in Charles, go to the program again, select the “buyProduct” line, right-click on it and click Disable SSL Proxying, and also uncheck Breakpoints or simply uninstall the program.
The instructions are not easy and require effort, but it is worth it if you want to return the old version of the application.
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A fairly common situation is that you update an application or game and instead of improved performance and new features, you get a completely non-working tool. Developers of all stripes make similar mistakes, and you can only roll back from a new version to an old one using the Charles Proxy tool.
The Charles Proxy program can also be useful in cases where some functions have been removed in new versions of applications or games. There are a whole host of examples of such remote functions; take, for example, the official VKontakte or YouTube applications, the latest version of which causes only negative emotions in users.
We would like to note right away that despite the apparent complexity, any user can install the old version of any application. The main thing is to strictly follow the instructions. In it we installed one of the first versions of the popular social network Instagram application on the iPad.
Step 1: Download, Install and Run Charles Tool for Windows or Mac (Download)
Step 2: Launch iTunes and start downloading the app whose older version you want to install on your iPhone or iPad
Step 3. In the Charles window, select the iTunes server from which the application is downloaded with the word "buy". Right-click on the server name and select Enable SSL Proxying
Step 4: Return to the iTunes window and stop downloading the application
Note: if the application has already been downloaded, then it must be deleted in the “My Programs” section
Step 5: Find the app you want in iTunes again and start downloading it again
Step 6. Go to the Charles window and find another line with the word “ buy" - this is exactly the object we are looking for. Go back to iTunes and stop downloading the app
Step 7. Expand the found thread with the word “ buy" in Charles and find the line buyProduct
Step 8: Select a stitch buyProduct and go to the tab Response, where specify the display type XML Text
Step 9. On the screen, after the line softwareVersionExternalIdentifiers, you will see lines like:
where the seven-digit number represents the application version numbers, arranged in ascending order. In our example, we rolled back Instagram to a truly ancient version 1.8.7, the build number of which was first in the list. In practice, it is most often necessary to roll back to the previous version, so it is recommended to select the build number (the one enclosed in the tag
Step 10. Right click on the item buyProduct and select Edit
Step 11. Select a section XML Text and find the line in the field:
where XXXX is the latest version of the application. Instead of XXXX, you need to paste the value copied in step 9, then click Execute. In our example, we changed the number 81542337 to 2948163, thereby rolling back the latest version of Instagram to the earliest one.
Step 12. Again, right-click on the item buyProduct and select Breakpoints
Step 14: Go to iTunes, find your application and refresh the page (Ctrl + R on Windows). After that, start downloading the tool
Step 15. A moment after you click the download button, you will be transferred to Charles, where you need to switch to the screen Edit Request -> XML Text. In field
Step 16. Then click again Execute
Step 17: Go to iTunes and make sure the app has started downloading. Wait for the download to finish
Step 18: In iTunes, select the " My programs", find your application and right-click on it, select " Intelligence" Here you can make sure that the old version of the application is being downloaded
Step 19. Remove the new version of the required application from your iPhone or iPad, connect the device to iTunes and install the old version
Step 20. After synchronization is complete, your smartphone or tablet will have an old version of the required application
Often a Google search like “program_name + version_number” is enough. But downloading old installation files from random sources is not a good idea, since along with the desired application you can pick up a bunch of toolbars for browsers or something worse. It is better to use the official websites of the programs.
- In most cases, you can find an archive of versions on developer websites.
- The version archive can be found on GitHub if the application you are looking for is open source.
- Sites like OldApps.com specialize in storing old versions of popular software distributions.
- You can find archived versions on sites such as Download.com, Softpedia.com or MajorGeeks.com.
- Component manufacturers typically store previous versions of their drivers in an archive. If you have problems with new versions of drivers for, for example, a video card, you can find a stable version in the AMD and NVIDIA archives.
- You can search for past versions of Android apps on ApkMirror.com and UpToDown.com.
Backup
If the application was suddenly updated and now does not work the way you want, or does not work at all, everything can be fixed by simply restoring the desired version from a backup copy.
In Windows, you can restore the system state using the standard “System Restore”. The standard Time Machine feature can return your Mac to its previous state. On Linux, system and data backup and recovery can be done using applications such as TimeShift.
Keep copies nearby
If you find a version of the application that works stably and do not want to update, make sure to save the installer. The developer can always delete the version archive, update the installers, and the site may become inaccessible. But this will not happen with the necessary installation files located on your disk.
Disabling the update
When app updates are not desired, you can disable them. This is done differently in different programs, but, as a rule, the corresponding item is easy to find in the settings. Linux users can “freeze” the desired application by selecting this option in their package manager, such as Synaptic.
If an application persistently wants to update and does not provide the ability to disable it, you can deny it access to the Internet, for example, using a standard Windows firewall.
To do this, in the “Control Panel”, select “System and Security”, then go to the firewall settings and click “Advanced”. Here you can create a rule for outgoing connections and deny the desired application access to the entire Internet or only to the developer’s website.
Look carefully at which applications require updates, and where you can disable them. Of course, you should not use an old antivirus or browser. But where updates bring more inconvenience than benefit, you can do without them.
In this review, we will tell you how to return the old version of Skype after updating if the new messenger disappoints you. We will provide detailed instructions for all existing methods so that you can easily cope with the task. It's no secret that updates sometimes bring not only expanded functionality, but also errors. Don't want to change anything in the messenger's work? We will help you restore the old version of Skype that you had before.
Reinstallation
So you don't like it. You can return the previous version of the messenger by installing the previous version of the program. Please note that the following conditions are met:
- Availability of a previous installer on the computer;
- Complete removal of all components of an existing program.
It is impossible to find the previous installer on the official website of the program. Be careful when searching for the installation file on the Internet - you may encounter scammers.
So, how to roll back Skype to the previous version:
- Click on the “START” icon;
- Open Control Panel and go to “Add or Remove”;
- Uninstall the downloaded program;
- Run the previous installer with the old version of the program (this can be found on the Internet);
- Determine the download path;
- Follow the instructions on the screen;
- Launch the application and log in.
Be careful! The correct operation of older applications is not guaranteed; frequent errors and bugs may occur.
So, now you know how to return the old Skype that was before the update. Let's talk about the second existing method.
System rollback
If you don't want to risk downloading a dubious installer, but don't know how to go back to the old version of Skype if Skype has updated, you can try a system rollback. Please note that this is a drastic measure - updates to other installed applications will also be uninstalled.
To log into my Skype as it was before, you need to:
- Press the “START” button;
- Go to control panel;
- Select the “Restore” icon;
- Click on “Start System Restore”;
- Select the desired rollback date from the list. You need the number when the messenger worked in the previous edition;
- Delete the most recent backup;
- Open messenger and log in.
Now you know what to do to make the program work without updating. If you are against innovations, you should save previous installers so that you can return to your favorite messenger release without any problems.
