Purchased Tables Gone???

[vr0oM]

Hello,

I installed Zen Pinball to my iPad last night, and almost immediately purchased the Wolverine and Captain America tables. I had a blast playing them...
... but now, when I load up Zen Pinball, the Wolverine and Captain America icons in the game are greyed out again, and when I tap on either of them, I'm prompted to purchase them AGAIN for $1.99.

What happened here? Will I be charged again if I try to "buy" them a 2nd time? Is there any way to restore my in-app purchases? Please clarify, as I think the game is just as great is it is on the consoles... but if my tables are going to be deleted and have to be re-purchased without my knowledge, then this game isn't worth having.

Thanks.

[Solitude]

Sorry to hear you're having issues. What shows up in your account history on the iTunes store? (Store -> View My Account -> Purchase History -> See all)

[vr0oM]

Sorry to hear you're having issues. What shows up in your account history on the iTunes store? (Store -> View My Account -> Purchase History -> See all)

Thanks for the reply. Before I had a chance to see this, I decided to try to "Buy" one of the tables again anyway to see what would happen, and after entering my password, it then told me that I had already purchased it and was able to download it again for free.
Sorry for the urgent tone in my original post... I think Apple just needs to make it clearer how in-app purchases work. I'm really not sure what caused the tables to be deleted in the first place.

I'm a total noob when it comes to in-app purchases (I normally try to avoid them at all costs) but this game is too good, I'll probably end up buying all of them
Great job, Zen studios.

[Solitude]

Glad to hear that you were able to re-download them again! I'm not sure what happened either, but a Google search says that a few other people have had the same problem. Apparently, it is resolved when you attempt to buy the content again - worst case, you can call up Apple and get a refund if you double-purchase something.

[GordLacey]

Some apps have a "restore purchases" that helps with this issue. If you've bought the in app purchase, and you use the "restore purchase" then the content is redownloaded. Might be something to look into for Zen Pinball.

[alainguy]

tables disappear every time.

I've re downloaded the missing tables a total of 4 times. They just keep on greying out and I have to download again. I'm not being charged again but I can't keep downloading each time I want to play. Can this please be fixed!!!!!! I paid for something I now don't own!!!! Rebooting, etc does not help and this is the only app on my iPad2 that does this.

[Whisper]

Do they grey out after an itunes sync?
Try downloading the tables again and deleting the app from itunes before you hook it up to usb again.

[alainguy]

Still disappearing

No it disappears without ever having done an iTunes sync. Just deleted the app from my iPad and downloaded everything again. Still disappears. What's up?

[icekat]

I have the same problem, it usually happens the next day after I redownload the files.. I've deleted and redownloaded and all, I'm on a 64 gig wifi ipad 2, and I use my ipad on both my home network and a protected network at work, don't know if any of that would help diagnose whats happening, but I'm hoping that it doesn't become three tables to redownload when the new one comes out :P

[Solitude]

We are still working on the problem.

[Solitude]

The problem is caused by two things in combination:
1. According to Apple policy, we have to place the downloaded tables in a storage location where iOS can delete them if it thinks that space needs to be freed.
2. If you don't have much remaining space on your device, iOS will frequently delete this data.

We're trying to find out from Apple if there is a workaround or if they are going to change their policy.

[Sidlon]

Thanks, Solitude, for the update on this issue.

Is there any chance you could add one of those "restore purchases" buttons like I've seen in other apps that rely on IAP?

I think most people would be more likely to buy lots of tables if they knew there was a no-risk way of getting it onto multiple devices. I purchased a couple tables already from my iPad and I came here to find the safe way of getting them unlocked on my iPhone. I'm *guessing* at this point that if I try to purchase them on the phone that it won't charge me, but a "restore purchases" button would be a lot simpler.

[Solitude]

Thanks, Solitude, for the update on this issue.

Is there any chance you could add one of those "restore purchases" buttons like I've seen in other apps that rely on IAP?

I think most people would be more likely to buy lots of tables if they knew there was a no-risk way of getting it onto multiple devices. I purchased a couple tables already from my iPad and I came here to find the safe way of getting them unlocked on my iPhone. I'm *guessing* at this point that if I try to purchase them on the phone that it won't charge me, but a "restore purchases" button would be a lot simpler.

You're right on both counts - we need to have that mechanism, and if you press "Buy" on your phone (using the same Apple store account), it will allow you to put the tables you've already bought onto the phone without being charged.

[Sidlon]

You're right on both counts - we need to have that mechanism, and if you press "Buy" on your phone (using the same Apple store account), it will allow you to put the tables you've already bought onto the phone without being charged.

Very cool.

Here's a link the developers might find useful:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7761556/restore-already-bought-in-app-purchases-on-iphone

[Detourne_me]

Just want to chip in here, I had the same problem after new years eve, pretty angry about it. The Thor table was going to be an instant buy, but well I'd rather not until I know the app is safe.