How to get the App Store back into iTunes

Apple has released a version of iTunes for Volume Purchasing Program (VPP) customers that need to deploy apps within their business through iTunes. This version, iTunes 12.6.3, features support for managing iOS apps within iTunes. As noted by Apple, this version of the app can be installed over a newer version like iTunes 12.7.

From Apple:

If you've already installed a newer version of iTunes, you can download this version of iTunes on your Mac, PC 32-bit or PC 64-bit and run the installer. After installation is complete, you can continue to deploy apps with iTunes.

It should be noted that Apple will not provide technical support for this version of iTunes. Here's how you go about installing iTunes 12.6.3.

Note: It is not recommended that you install iTunes 12.6.3 on a personal machine if you have already installed iTunes 12.7, as 12.6.3 cannot read an iTunes library from 12.7.

How to install iTunes 12.6.3 on your Mac

  1. Head to this support document.
  2. Click on the iTunes version that you need to download.
  3. Open your Downloads folder on your Dock or in the Finder.

  1. Click on the iTunes installation file. On Mac, it should be iTunes 12.6.3.dmg.
  2. Double-click on Install iTunes.pkg.

  1. Click Continue.
  2. Click Continue.

  1. Click Install.
  2. Click Close.

And that's it. You can now do things like access the App Store for iOS apps, manage downloaded apps for iOS devices, as well as use iTunes to help you deploy apps to your organization.

Questions

If you have any questions about installing iTunes 12.6.3, let us know in the comments.

Joseph Keller

Joseph Keller is the former Editor in Chief of iMore. An Apple user for almost 20 years, he spends his time learning the ins and outs of iOS and macOS, always finding ways of getting the most out of his iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.