How can I re-download all the apps I bought on another store account?

Question

I have moved to another country, which comes along with the joy of moving apple store accounts. This would be easier, however, if there were a trivial automated way to re-download all of my free apps under the new ID.

Before going any further, I know that I'll have to re-purchase any in-app purchases, and that no process is going to get me my apps back free. It sucks, but there it is.

I've written a small tool to list each app in my library and identify it by owner, price, and store URL. The thing is, I want to take the one extra step: Re-purchase the app from the store, under the new account, and replace the old one. Right now, this process is painfully manual:

1. Delete the existing app
2. Open the store URL in my browser. This opens iTunes to the app
3. Buy the app
4. repeat ad nauseam

I've got almost 150 apps to do this with. It'll take forever.

Is there an easier way to bulk delete/redownload apps in iTunes?

Answer 1

Check my story:

Do I need to repurchase apps if I moved countries?

In short - you can't. You have to stick to your old account for updates of the software you bought and create a new AppleID for purchases in new country.

Unless of course you are willing to pay for all applications (and in-app purchases) again. Then there's no need to have another AppleID, you just switch store country, but there's no automation for re-buying them unfortunately.

Answer 2

No solution for a new account. But you don't need to use a new Apple account, you can just sign in on your old Apple ID. That way all your existing apps are already authorised and you don't have to re-download them. Or if you've already deleted them, they will show up as purchased.