I have an (older) iPad with iOS 9/10/11/12: Can I buy MIDI Designer Pro 2?

Question

Since 2.140 (April 2020) MIDI Designer is only available for iOS 13.2 or better. I have an older device. How can I buy it? How can I download it?

Answer 1

Downloading is easy, buying it is hard

Downloading

The short of it is that we tested downloading 2.131 on an iPad 2 (iOS 9) when 2.140 released. So it works. The question is how to purchase it.

On downloading, check what the Internet says.

Purchasing

Here are some known workarounds:

• If you have another iOS device on the same App Store account that runs a modern version of iOS, that's easiest. Buy on the newer device, then download on the older device
• Otherwise, you need to gift it to yourself (confirmed by a user, this actually works!) or have someone to gift it to you. 

And remember, blame Apple, not us. We just march to the advancing beat of Apple's drum.

Comments

Corrected link: https://google.com/search?q=download+old+versions+of+app+ios  (Link above is missing "g" in google

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Thanks, I think I fixed it or you fixed but it's right now. Also feel free to edit anything you think that's wrong, and let me know if you don't have permission. Glad to grant... thanks!

Answer 2

Downloading is easy, buying it is hard

Downloading

The short of it is that we tested downloading 2.131 on an iPad 2 (iOS 9) when 2.140 released. So it works. The question is how to purchase it.

On downloading, check what the Internet says.

Purchasing

Here are some known workarounds:

• If you have another iOS device on the same App Store account that runs a modern version of iOS, that's easiest. Buy on the newer device, then download on the older device
• Otherwise, you need to gift it to yourself (confirmed by a user, this actually works!) or have someone to gift it to you. 

And remember, blame Apple, not us. We just march to the advancing beat of Apple's drum.

Answer 3

MIDI Designer Pro 2 (v2.131) Installs on iOS 9.3.5 iPad in January 2025 if Both First Added to Apple ID Account on Current iOS Device as MIDI Designer Pro X (Current Version) and Then Installed on Old iOS Device as an Already Purchased App from the "PURCHASED" TAB (Only) of the Apple App Store

MIDI Target Manufacturer(s): Apple

I just (January 2025) successfully newly installed / ran  MIDI Designer Pro 2 (v2.131) on "old" iPad Mini 1 running its final iOS v9.3.5 (technically v9.3.6 because mine is a cellular-capable edition).

The trick was twofold:

1) You must log in to your Apple ID Account on a "current" iOS device (i.e. iPhone or iPad) that is running a new enough iOS version to support installation of current MIDI Designer Pro X from the Apple App Store, and then "Get" / install Pro X on your account. (I used someone's newer iPhone, signed owner out, logged in my Apple account, installed Pro X, then logged out of my Apple account).

2) On your own "old" iOS device, in Apple App Store you MUST GO TO THE "PURCHASED" TAB (button appears at very bottom of display), touch the "NOT ON THIS IPAD" button near top of display, and find MD Pro X in the list of apps you already previously purchased. Touch the MD Pro X already purchased icon, then in the box that opens touch the CLOUD WITH DOWN-ARROW (download) ICON right above the "Details" tab, which will give you a prompt to install the last compatible version of MIDI Designer. Accept and MD Pro 2 will download and install.

I previously tried simply searching for "MIDI Designer" in the search box upon running the App Store, but when I tried to install MD Pro X from those search results (which I later realized appears within App Store's default "Featured" - and NOT the "Purchased" - tab), an error message would always appear, stating the Pro X app is not compatible with my iPad. (I can only blame this on poor - or intentionally nefarious - software design on Apple's part, since the App Store search results clearly knows which apps are installed ("Get" instead appears as "Open") and further knows exactly which apps you previously installed and gives access to the last compatible version (as described above). So, why, exactly, does the Featured/search results for the EXACT SAME APP (e.g. MD Pro) within APPLE'S OWN EXACT SAME APP STORE give you a DECEPTIVE BRICK WALL stating you can't run the desired app, when ONLY ONE TAB AWAY ("Purchased") it COMPLETELY CONTRADICTS ITSELF (and installs a compatible version)?? Apple trying to obfuscate and confuse users into buying new hardware?

(Incidentally, if you're also using Logic Pro DAW on a Mac and have an older iPad, you can use the identical technique to download/install Apple's official Logic Remore controller, which, despite reports of the contrary online in various forums, indeed works perfectly with the very latest versions of Logic Pro. (And remember, it uses your Wi-Fi connection, NOT Bluetooth, in case you need to troubleshoot... )

Anyway, I'm very excited about and grateful for MIDI Designer Pro 2 working on this iPad (which contributes to saving a perfectly nice piece of hardware from a premature grave)! Sincere thanks to the MIDI Designer team!

Comments

Technically this is cheating! Glad you found a solution, though, and thanks for sharing. In the end, since we have no way to service users on older iPads, any way to get this done is great.

Consider leaving a great review of the App, sharing layouts you create, etc.

Note: the later versions are backwards compatible but of course the converse is not true. Many layouts created on newer versions will not open on your older iPad.

Enjoy!
Dan

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Well, there are those that would say these are merely hoops one needs to jump through, and placed there quite intentionally. Further, it might be felt that APPLE IS DOING THE CHEATING by prematurely obsoleting hardware...

In any case, MDP2 looks great, and totally understood regarding support for some layouts. (Your own in-house created Logic Pro layout failed to load three times, but finally worked the fourth! The couple other layouts I tried worked fine.)

A review is most definitely forthcoming once I test it with a few pieces of gear.

Thanks for everything, Dan!

Answer 4

MIDI Designer Pro 2 (v2.131) Installs on iOS 9.3.5 iPad in January 2025 if Both First Added to Apple ID Account on Current iOS Device as MIDI Designer Pro X (Current Version) and Then Installed on Old iOS Device as an Already Purchased App from the "PURCHASED" TAB (Only) of the Apple App Store

MIDI Target Manufacturer(s): Apple

I just (January 2025) successfully newly installed / ran  MIDI Designer Pro 2 (v2.131) on "old" iPad Mini 1 running its final iOS v9.3.5 (technically v9.3.6 because mine is a cellular-capable edition).

The trick was twofold:

1) You must log in to your Apple ID Account on a "current" iOS device (i.e. iPhone or iPad) that is running a new enough iOS version to support installation of current MIDI Designer Pro X from the Apple App Store, and then "Get" / install Pro X on your account. (I used someone's newer iPhone, signed owner out, logged in my Apple account, installed Pro X, then logged out of my Apple account).

2) On your own "old" iOS device, in Apple App Store you MUST GO TO THE "PURCHASED" TAB (button appears at very bottom of display), touch the "NOT ON THIS IPAD" button near top of display, and find MD Pro X in the list of apps you already previously purchased. Touch the MD Pro X already purchased icon, then in the box that opens touch the CLOUD WITH DOWN-ARROW (download) ICON right above the "Details" tab, which will give you a prompt to install the last compatible version of MIDI Designer. Accept and MD Pro 2 will download and install.

I previously tried simply searching for "MIDI Designer" in the search box upon running the App Store, but when I tried to install MD Pro X from those search results (which I later realized appears within App Store's default "Featured" - and NOT the "Purchased" - tab), an error message would always appear, stating the Pro X app is not compatible with my iPad. (I can only blame this on poor - or intentionally nefarious - software design on Apple's part, since the App Store search results clearly knows which apps are installed ("Get" instead appears as "Open") and further knows exactly which apps you previously installed and gives access to the last compatible version (as described above). So, why, exactly, does the Featured/search results for the EXACT SAME APP (e.g. MD Pro) within APPLE'S OWN EXACT SAME APP STORE give you a DECEPTIVE BRICK WALL stating you can't run the desired app, when ONLY ONE TAB AWAY ("Purchased") it COMPLETELY CONTRADICTS ITSELF (and installs a compatible version)?? Apple trying to obfuscate and confuse users into buying new hardware?

(Incidentally, if you're also using Logic Pro DAW on a Mac and have an older iPad, you can use the identical technique to download/install Apple's official Logic Remore controller, which, despite reports of the contrary online in various forums, indeed works perfectly with the very latest versions of Logic Pro. (And remember, it uses your Wi-Fi connection, NOT Bluetooth, in case you need to troubleshoot... )

Anyway, I'm very excited about and grateful for MIDI Designer Pro 2 working on this iPad (which contributes to saving a perfectly nice piece of hardware from a premature grave)! Sincere thanks to the MIDI Designer team!