How to Convert ZIP to IPA
By Julius Vandersteen
If you have an IPA file that is compressed using the ZIP format on your computer, you can decompress it and obtain the original IPA file. Apple’s iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad run the iOS operating system, and applications and games that run on these devices have the IPA extension. Someone may have compressed the IPA files that are backed up from your iOS device on your computer. If you have deleted these IPA files from your iOS device, and they are no longer available to download again from Apple’s iTunes Store, you’ll need to decompress them from the ZIP file before you can restore them back to your device using Apple’s iTunes application.
Step 1
Launch a Web browser on your computer and navigate to the website of a software developer that provides an unzipping application, such as 7-Zip, IZARC or WinZip.
Step 2
Download the unzipping application and install it on your computer.
Step 3
Launch the unzip application and click the “Open” command from the application menu, then navigate to the folder on your computer containing the ZIP file.
Step 4
Click the IPA file’s name to select it, and then click “Open.” Some unzipping applications also enable you to drag a zip file directly into the application window from a folder on your computer.
Step 5
Click the command button to unzip the ZIP file. The IPA file appears in the same folder as the one containing the ZIP file.
References
Writer Bio
Julius Vandersteen has been a freelance writer since 1999. His work has appeared in “The Los Angeles Times,” “Wired” and “S.F. Weekly.” Vandersteen has a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from San Francisco State University.