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iPad 3 - "Cannot Connect to iTunes Store" - Updates only

Hello All,


Im having an issue with my new iPad its only been doing this last week or so but its a pain and I now feel I cant get the best out of my apps.


Bascially everytime i hit the updates tab in the app store i get an instant message saying "Cannot connect to itunes store"


This ONLY happens on updates store, i can still purchase and install apps and install free apps etc and if i come across (by seraching) for my app i can update it manually buy hitting update but obviously I want the normal method to work to stay up to date.


Ive seen a lot of posts and people saying about changing dates and times and setting DNS to 8.8.8.8 these methods do not change a thing.


any help would be greatly appriciated 🙂

The New iPad (3)-OTHER, iOS 5.1.1

Posted on Aug 30, 2012 6:17 AM

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40 replies

Aug 30, 2012 10:08 PM in response to the_forc3

Hi guys.


I have the same issue as the OP. It only fails when going to the update tab. For me this is on my iPhone. It only started about a week ago.


First it started on my phone. Then a few days later it started on my son's phone. Yesterday it started on my wife's phone. My daughter's phone and iPad are fine. We all use the same apple id login. This setup has all worked fine for the last 1.5 years.


It fails on 3G as well as wireless at home and at work. I've tried every suggestion I have found on the internet. Most sites mention the same handful of suggestions (e.g. reinstall iBook, reset network, change date, change language, reset location warnings, change restrictions, forget wifi network, changed apple id password, etc). There are a few more I've found that didn't work either. There was one solution that I didn't try which only applied to a jail broken phone.


The only possible thing I haven't tried is resetting the entire phone. I figure a reset of the phone is silly since the problem is spreading to other phones.


I'll go to the Apple store this weekend for some help. I suspect very strongly that they will say that they've had many reports of this problem recently.


Regards,

Barry

Aug 31, 2012 5:25 PM in response to the_forc3

I was having the same problem with my wife's iPhone 3GS, and started experimenting after I failed to find a solution here and elsewhere on the Interwebs. I fixed the problem by opening the iBooks app and signing in with our account (the AppleID was already entered, so I just needed to enter the password). Immediately after doing that, I was able to load the updates tab in the App Store app with no error (and was able to download the 25 listed updates).


Does this work for anyone else? If signing into the iBooks store does not work, perhaps try other Apple apps that require their own login, such as GameCenter...

Aug 31, 2012 11:51 PM in response to the_forc3

Having exactly the same problem on my iPhone and it just started tonight. Can buy/download an app with no problem, but it's still showing 1 update that I can't get. I've tried deleting/reinstalling my Apple store ID and all the relevant Apple ID questions, date's correct, network's connected properly and I tried the iBooks trick. Nothings working.


FWIW, plugging it in to the computer and dowloading any pending updates erases/installs the number of updates pending. If you go back to wirelessly check for updates, it still says "Cannot connect to iTunes Store" instead of the proper "No Updates Pending"

Sep 1, 2012 12:25 AM in response to the_forc3

the_forc3 wrote:


Hello All,


Im having an issue with my new iPad its only been doing this last week or so but its a pain and I now feel I cant get the best out of my apps.


Bascially everytime i hit the updates tab in the app store i get an instant message saying "Cannot connect to itunes store"


This ONLY happens on updates store, i can still purchase and install apps and install free apps etc and if i come across (by seraching) for my app i can update it manually buy hitting update but obviously I want the normal method to work to stay up to date.


Ive seen a lot of posts and people saying about changing dates and times and setting DNS to 8.8.8.8 these methods do not change a thing.


any help would be greatly appriciated 🙂

This answer worked for me on my iPhone. Please go to this link and read the post from Raven.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4235922 Basically you go to Settings: Move your calendar ahead 1 year(not in iCal like I did at first). Get out of settings and go to updates. Get the error "Can't connect to secure server". The go back to Settings and put your calendar back to the right date. That should do it.

Sep 1, 2012 9:35 AM in response to class77

Ok, I found a solution that worked for me when trying to connect to the iTunes store by tapping the "update" button in the "App Store" app on my iPad 2. Before the solution was implemented I'd always get the error message "cannot connect to iTunes store". Once the solution was implemented I now can connect to iTunes using the "update" button in the "App Store" app and I get the normal message "All apps are up to date". The solution is this: go into Settings, then General, then scroll to the bottom where it says Date and Time. Tap Date and Time and then turn OFF Set Automatically. When you do that a new option will be added that says Set Date and Time. Tap it. You'll now get a drop down feature. Set the Date AHEAD 2 YEARS. The Time you can leave alone.

Once you do that you might get a bunch of reminders and messages that your apps and stuff haven't been updated in two years. Click cancel or close on each of those messages or reminders. Now go back into Settings, General, Date and Time, and turn Set Automatically back to ON. Reboot your iPad. Open the App Store app again and go to the Update button. It might ask you to log back in to your iTunes account. It should now work. If not, close the App Store app completely and open again and try the update button. Hope this helps.

Sep 1, 2012 11:26 AM in response to the_forc3

I'm always amazed at how great people are by following through with their solutions. I've seen 10 or more threads on this topic and people always respond with what is working for them. And that helps a lot of participants in the threads. Unfortunately it's always the case that a bunch of people say "that didn't work for me".


Nothing mentioned here so far is any different than what I've seen elsewhere except for a few details. For instance KMF831 raised my hopes since he had a slight wrinkle to what I had tried. I hadn't rebooted after the date change. My hopes were dashed when it made no difference (for me).


I think this thread is about a different topic. It's about what changed a bit more than a week again to cause the OP to start having the problem. I added to the mystery since it started for me roughly the same time as the OPs problem. And then it spread through my families phones over the course of the following week.


I would love to try to understand why it is happening rather than just offering another solution. I'm looking forward to my 10 AM appointment at the genius bar tomorrow.

Sep 1, 2012 11:44 AM in response to bweinstein

bweinstein wrote:


I would love to try to understand why it is happening rather than just offering another solution. I'm looking forward to my 10 AM appointment at the genius bar tomorrow.

I am not experiencing the problem ... But I think that we would all love to know what is causing this because it seems that this particular problem has really started to increase among users. I know that I have read more posts about this issue in the last week or so than I have in months.


If Apple provides an answer as to the cause, please post back and share it with the community.

Sep 1, 2012 3:19 PM in response to the_forc3

I wish I knew why these issues occur with the iDevices. Many people would like to know what causes the problem while most don't care what causes the problem, rather they just want the problem fixed for their iDevice. For these people these forums are a great source of information to find a "fix". Apple's next big software release, IOS 6, for all our iDevices, is just a few weeks away. It will probably fix the "can not connect to iTunes store" problem but will probably cause a handful of new iDevice issues. Apple's over-the-phone support system is just as bad as Microsofts has been. I'm sure Apple is aware of many of these issues that arise but you usually have to wait for months for a big iOS software update to fix it. I think these forums and communities are great though to find solutions, if even for a portion of people with the issue.

iPad 3 - "Cannot Connect to iTunes Store" - Updates only

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