Future of NS1....
I've read the threads about NS2 disappearing April (or sometime after) - but I assume that will also mean that NS1 will also disappear. My question is if NS1 is no longer on the App store at all, then how would one "restore the purchase" of the 16 tracks when installing again? I'm assuming that this will be impossible as there will be nothing to respond to tapping the "restore" button, even if I have backed up the .ipa file using iMazing or similar.
I'm just thinking ahead for restoring NS1 on a future fresh old iPad. My gut feeling is this won't be possible but kind of hoping that there will be some clever hack to keep the old faithful going for longer with 16 tracks. Trying to do things with the original 4 tracks plus an instances of TRG is too retro even for me!
Yes, I know the world has moved on.... but in some ways I haven't.... and tinkering in NS1 still gives me pleasure.
Comments
I backed up NS1 to my MacBook with iMazing then dug out my old old old iPad 2. After restoring it to factory settings, which I had to do since the MacBook wouldn't talk to it unless I did, I was able to install NS1 from iMazing.
The first thing that happened when I opened NS1 was it had to connect to the App Store to verify something or other. I think it was just verifying the .ipa checksum.
Next I went to airplane mode and tried to restore purchases. It wouldn't do that without a wifi connection and signing into the App Store. Then, after rejoining wifi and signing in to the App Store, the wheel next to the 16 tracks purchase began spinning. Unfortunately it never got past there.
So, restoring the 16 tracks IAP may not even be possible now, much less after the developer account closes.
No big deal here. I'm never gonna drag that old paperweight out to do anything other than satisfy my curiosity about things like this anyway.
NS1’s best shot w/16 tracks might be the PC version. I have NS1 on two iPads and one iPhone. The time to future-proof is now, either with NS1 (if possible) or NS2.
All kind of what I expected - I suppose the alternative is a rooted iPad of a suitable generation and some slightly/very dodgy cracked version of the .ipa to install (especially with NS1 and the 16 tracks). Technically possible, but a real faff to actually achieve (not to say illegal).
Perhaps time to work on a "Requiem for Nanostudio - parts 1 and 2" using NS1 & NS2 respectively whilst I still can :-)
If you can get an older iPad that can run NS1 and install it and the IAP before it's gone, then you can preserve it by "freezing" that iPad (just don't connect it to WiFi). NS1 will live on it as long as the iPad continues booting.
My problem with restoring the IAP for 16 tracks already is concerning though.
@kitejan - I got the 16 tracks IAP back by going through the Purchase steps instead. Rather than trying Restore, I just "bought" the IAP as though I didn't own it. I wasn't charged anything in the end. You're walked through all the steps, including agreeing to pay, then it finally tells you that you already bought it and asks if you want to get it again for free.
So, if you have a device that you can get NS1 onto, you can then "freeze" that device to keep NS1 available.
I tried "purchasing" the 16 tracks and it still doesn't work.
I have NS1 installed in 2 iphones and an iPad, but one of the iphones can't restore the tracks
I'll try to deleted it, reinstall it and make the purchase.
@number37 Nice one! That should help most users.
@Youtopia double check that one of the iPhones isn’t on an iOS greater than iOS 10. Does NS1 work on that iPhone, even without the 16 track upgrade? Use caution, but theoretically, uninstall/reinstall/upgrade should still work…. 🤞
i'll try!
it's an old iphone 4 in ios 7 i think, NS1 is running ok, just not the tracks :8
I can confirm that in the UK at least I could still purchase the 16 tracks upgrade (I used a newly created AppleID for these tests). Gives Matt another £0.99 at least :-)
However backing up and restoring the .ipa file using iMazing didn't restore the 16 tracks (as expected). It's possible jailbreaking the iPad might give more options, but something I'm not comfortable doing (even on a redundant scrap iPad 2 from work). The virus warnings on all the downloaded tools didn't fill me with confidence.
I would be nice if a free version of NS1 with all 16 tracks could be released - but I doubt that it's possible/desirable.
So unless someone comes up with something else - the longer term future of NS1 is 6 tracks (which people with long memories will recall is how NS1 started).
I remember those 6 track days. No MIDI and no AUv3, just …Audio Copy? Was that what it was called? Since NS1 is long dead and buried on the AppStore, I doubt it will be possible to reprogram it to have the 16 tracks IAP be remove and the 16 tracks be the factory norm. Apple probably wouldn’t allow an updated version of NS1 back on the Appstore. Wouldn’t that require going through their approval process? It’s certainly a messy situation, but the time for requesting that was well over a decade ago. I do agree that once NS1 was retired to a free version, the 16 tracks should have been made “factory”, but Matt didn’t foresee not being on the AppStore anymore or what would happen.
I get it that some people like the familiar/retro vibe of NS1, but for me it is just a sound source for NS2. I still have a lot of music I need to port over to NS2, and then maybe to Reaper just to be sure I can still access that music. iOS music has been a wild ride, and it was a fun time while it lasted. Now it’ll be possible to still use NS2 & NS1 for a while, but it seems like finding a permanent “home” is wise.
It's not like the app is going to stop working on all those old devices once the app disappears from the App Store. It's still going to work, with the IAP, for as long as the devices do. The only loss would be if a device dies. I still have my 2011 iPad 2 going strong with NS1.
Just put 'em in air mode permanently. If you don't use them, turn them off before storing. Take them out every six months or so and charge them up so that the batteries don't go completely dead. I've read that batteries can cease to operate if left fully discharged for too long.