How to Transfer iOS Apps to Computer

[iMore Question]

I have an iPad Mini that I have been using for some time, and I plan to upgrade it. There are apps on it that have never been backed up, and some of them have been removed from the App Store. In older versions of iOS, this wasn't a problem, because the apps were transferred directly from the device to iTunes when you did a backup, but now, it seems that iTunes just gets an App Store link to download apps. The problem is that if the app is no longer on the App Store, it just gets skipped; and since I can't transfer it directly from the iPad, the only way to save it is to never erase the iPad and only use it there. Some apps are still in my Purchased list even though removed, and I can still get them that way, but if they no longer show up under purchased, there is no recourse. Is there any other way to directly transfer apps from a device to my computer?

 

[DeanRoyal]

This is also true of the iPhone. I try to do an iOS update under iTunes and I get an error saying that purchases have not been backed up, but I see no option for doing that. Needless to say, the last time I tried to do the upgrade using iTunes, it failed. But that is another issue. I was able to do the update from the iPhone, itself.