Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

Summary

With iTunes 10.3 or later and iOS 4.3.3 or later, you can download your previous purchases directly to an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV or computer that has been associated to your Apple ID.

Products Affected

iBooks, iTunes, iTunes Store

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Note: iOS 5 or later is required for iPhone (CDMA model). Some features may not be available in all countries.

To view or download previously purchased:

Apps, Books, Music, Movies, or TV shows on iOS

Apps on iOS

  1. Open the App Store on your device. 
  2. Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple ID used for the original purchase. 
  3. Tap Updates from the bottom navigation bar.  

  4. Tap on Purchased on navigation bar

  5. Tap Purchased on the resulting screen.

  6. purchased screen

  7. Locate the app in your Purchased tab.
  8. Tap the download button.

  9. download button

  10. The app will begin downloading and you'll be taken back to your home screen.   

Books on iOS

  1. Open iBooks 3.0 or later on your device.
  2. Tap the Books button at the top of your bookshelf.



  3. Tap Purchased Books under Collections.
  4. Tip: If you don't see Purchased Books, make sure that you are signed in with your Apple ID.  Alternatively, you may continue to access the Purchased page from the iBookstore to download previously purchased books. 



  5. Locate the book, and tap the book cover for the desired book.



  6. The book will begin downloading and you'll be taken back to your bookshelf. 

Note: If you enable the Sync Collections preference in your iBooks settings, purchased books that you've synced or downloaded to your other iOS devices will be displayed on your main bookshelf.

Music on iOS

  1. Open the iTunes Store on your device.
  2. Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple ID used for the original purchase. 
  3. Tap More from the bottom navigation bar.

  4. Tap purchased on the navigation bar

  5. Tap Purchased to go to your Purchased page. 



  6. Tap Music.



  7. Once you've located the music you are looking for, tap the download button. 
  8. Tap the download button

    Note: To download all songs from a purchased album, tap the Album's toggle button to switch to Album view.

TV Shows on iOS

  1. Open the iTunes Store on your device.
  2. Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple ID you used for the original purchase.
  3. Tap More from the bottom navigation bar. 

  4. Tap on purchased on the navigation bar

  5. Tap Purchased to go to your Purchased page.

  6. Tap the media button

  7. Tap TV Shows.
  8. Locate the TV show episode or series you would like to download. 
  9. Once you've located the TV shows you are looking for, tap the download button.

  10. Tap on the download button

  11. The TV show will begin downloading.

Movies on iOS

  1. Open the iTunes Store on your device.
  2. Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple ID you used for the original purchase.
  3. Tap More from the bottom navigation bar. 

  4. Tap on purchased on the navigation bar

  5. Tap Purchased to go to your Purchased page.

  6. Tap the media button

  7. Tap Movies.
  8. Locate the movie you would like to download. 
  9. Once you've located the movie you are looking for, tap the download button.

  10. Tap on the download button

  11. The movie will begin downloading.

Music, Movies, or TV shows on Apple TV

Viewing or downloading previously purchased content requires Apple TV (2nd generation or later). Some features require the latest version of Apple TV software. Learn more about updating your Apple TV software.

Music on Apple TV

  1. Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple ID used for the original purchase. 
  2. On the Apple TV main menu, choose Music
  3. You can browse your purchased music by artist, album, genres, and so on.
  4. When you find a song you would like to listen to, select it.

Note: If you subscribe to iTunes Match, you can also access songs that you uploaded to your iCloud library. 

TV shows on Apple TV

  1. Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple ID you used for the original purchase.
  2. On the Apple TV main menu, choose TV Shows > Purchased
  3. Your purchased TV Shows will be displayed by show titles.
  4. When you find a TV show you would like to browse, select it.
  5. Find the episode you would like to view and select it.
  6. Choose Play.

Movies on Apple TV

  1. Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple ID you used for the original purchase.
  2. On the Apple TV main menu, choose Movies > Purchased
  3. Your purchased movies will be displayed by movie titles.
  4. When you find a movie you would like to browse, select it.
  5. Choose Play.

Apps, Books, Music, Movies, or TV shows on a computer

Using iTunes 11 or later

  1. Open iTunes on your computer. (You can download the latest version of iTunes here.)
  2. Make sure that you have "Show iTunes in the Cloud Purchases" enabled in your iTunes preferences by going to iTunes > Preferences under the Store tab. Then, click OK.
  3. If you're not already signed in, choose Store > Sign In, and enter your Apple ID and password.
  4. After you've signed in, click the Library button located in the upper-right of the iTunes Store.

  5. library button

  6. Navigate to your iTunes library for the respective content type you wish to download using the content selector in the upper-left. Choose Music to download songs, Movies to download movies, and so on. 

  7. content selector

  8. Locate the item or title you wish to download.
  9. Click the download icon to download that item. 

    download icon

Note: The download icon for previously purchased movies is located to the right of the movie title. To download previously purchased apps and books, you'll need to navigate to the Purchased page under the Quick Links section in the iTunes Store. For more information, follow the steps outlined below for iTunes 10.7 or earlier.

Using iTunes 10.7 or earlier

  1. Open iTunes on your computer. (You can download the latest version of iTunes here.)
  2. If you're not already signed in, choose StoreSign In, and enter your Apple ID and password.
  3. After you've signed in, click on the iTunes Store button located in the upper-right of your iTunes library.
  4. From the top navigation bar in the iTunes Store, click on the content type you're looking for (Music, Movies, TV Shows, Apps, or Books).
  5. Click Purchased located in the Quick Links section on the resulting page.



  6. From your Purchased page, you can click the tab for the content type, if you would like to download other previously purchased items (Music, Movies, TV Shows, Apps, or Books).



  7. Click Songs or Albums to change the page view and All or "Not in My Library" to view your purchased content that currently is not downloaded on your computer.
  8. Click the download icon to the right of each item to download that item. 

    A download icon

Note: If you want to download previously purchased items that are already in your library, you'll need to remove them before the download icon will appear. Learn how to delete an item from your library in iTunes for Mac or Windows.

Notes:

  • To download previous purchases on a computer, your computer must be authorized for the Apple ID that was used for the original purchase. For more information about iTunes Store authorization and deauthorization see, this article.
  • Books you purchase on your computer may be downloaded to your iOS device as well as your computer, but you may only read them on your iOS device. If you have auto-download turned on for your iOS device, books you purchase on your computer will download to your iOS device as well as your computer, but you may only read them on your iOS device.
  • If they are offered for purchase in 1080p, you can download previously purchased 720p HD TV shows and movies in 1080p. Learn more about downloading in 1080p.
  • Previous purchases may be unavailable if they have been refunded or are no longer on the iTunes Store. Downloading previously purchased movies and TV shows requires iTunes 10.6 or later.
  • It is recommended that you always back up your iTunes library in the event that a purchased item is no longer available on the iTunes Store. For more information about backing up your library, see this article.  

Additional Information

Learn more about which content types are supported for iTunes in the Cloud by country, as well as where iTunes Match is available.

Related Articles

  • Read more about syncing purchased apps from the App Store in this article.
  • For information about enabling Automatic Downloads, see this article.
  • For information about associating a device or computer to your Apple ID, see this article.
  • For information about troubleshooting apps purchased from the App Store, see this article. 
  • For information about resuming interrupted downloads, see this article.
  • For information about watching previously purchased TV Shows on Apple TV (2nd generation), see this article.
  • For information about adding a computer or iOS device to iTunes Match, see this article.
  • For information about subscribing to iTunes Match, see this article.
Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.
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