iOS 12.5.4 some apps showing updates available, updates will download but not install

Your thought that Apple would have a fix for this is misplaced. It's not up to Apple to make App Developers maintain apps for out of date, 8 year old devices. The App Developers are 100% responsible for their apps and which devices their apps will run on. You had to realize that at some point your very old (in today's terms) iPhone would lose its relevance. That day is rushing upon you now.

We can add Netflix, Google Drive and IMDb to this list.

I thought about deleting the apps and reinstalling but I’m afraid I won’t be allowed to reinstall them.

Also, to the ones saying it’s an app related problem. This makes no sense.

The problem is that the App Store fails to recognise and install the latest compatible version. If there’s no new compatible version, it shouldn’t show on the ‘to update’ section of the App Store.

So, either the App Store is failing in recognising the latest compatible or it issue is it fails to install it.

You are completely misinformed. COMPLETELY. Apple does NOT control what iOS version App Developers support. If an App Developer chooses to no longer support iOS versions on very old 7 year or older devices, that's on the app developer.

Apple doesn't own the code inside 3rd party apps. Therefore Apple has no ability to make a 3rd party app work with an iOS version the App Developer doesn't support any longer.

To expect a device to remain current forever is unrealistic and not going to happen. If you want these apps, complain to the app developers or do what is ultimately what you MUST do and that's upgrade to a modern device which can run the newer iOS versions.

I have also had this problem recently on my original gen1 iPad Air with iOS 12.5.4. It happened with a ton of different apps (I.e. over 20) and I was able to correct it for most by deleting and then re-downloading them. This worked for all but 2 which are Walmart and Lose It! Now my USAA app is failing to update but I don’t dare delete it for fear it won’t install again.

Steps I took to resolve included resetting all my settings, but I did not perform a full restore to factory defaults as Apple recommended because I know it won’t work and it’s too time consuming to have to reconfigure multiple email accounts with 2 factor authentication and app generated passwords....

I have contacted the Lose It! developer and they insist it’s a problem with the App Store, and the fact that it’s happening with so many apps to so many people supports that. However, it may just be that new requirements for later versions of iOS have broken iOS 12.5.4 compatibility even though these apps are supposed to support iOS 12.5.4 (they all say they work on my device in the App Store). What needs to happen is Apple needs to identify these apps (USAA, imdb, Netflix, Lose It!, Walmart, Accuweather, Trulia, Lowes, eBay, etc.) then reach out to those developers to inform them their apps are no longer working on iOS 12.5.4 and probably other versions, and work with them to get their apps configured and working properly on devices they’re supposed to so they update correctly.

NOTE: the common thread with many of these apps, not all, is they throw a message saying they require iOS 13 or higher but that you can download an earlier version that still works on an older OS. HOWEVER, clicking download leads to failure so there’s either a problem with the App Store, iOS 12.5.4 or a very large number of apps were coincidentally not set up correctly when updated for iOS 13 or higher such that they point to and download an earlier version that still works on the older OS.

APPLE, if you are listening, please show some leadership and work with or communicate with these app developers because it’s affecting too many people and too many apps to just be coincidence. Thank you!

Btw, many of these older devices are still in great condition and work flawlessly with 99% of the apps and websites out there, so telling us to upgrade just because they’re older is not helpful. The fact is, if an app says it “Works on your device” then it should just work. Period. We should not be browbeaten and shamed into upgrading as a workaround for a flaw in the App Store update process. Apple can do it’s part by ensuring developers are compliant and configuring their apps correctly to work on all devices and iOS versions that they intend to and say they do. Nobody is saying they have to keep supporting older versions of iOS but if you’re supposed to be able to download a version that still works on your device, then that’s what should happen. The problem is that it obviously isn’t working as intended in too many cases.

In fact, most of these apps should not be offering any updates if the currently installed version is the latest supported on that device or iOS version. Something is triggering the update process erroneously and that leads to a failure to update. Also, the fact that certain apps that won’t complete downloading or installing after they are deleted tells me that the App Store is pointing to the wrong version for my device (despite those apps clearly stating they work on my device).

I didn't misread anything. You simply don't understand what you are talking about. And it's great you think Padlorr has the correct response. At the end of the day it won't help you in any way get access to these apps the app developers no longer support on very old devices which are stuck at iOS 12.5.4. Not at all.

Um, you do know we are talking about RAM, not storage correct? If iOS 13 has a requirement of that much free RAM, and the iPhone 6 has a total amount of RAM that is equal to the free amount required wouldn't that mean that RAM requirement would be pertinent? How could it not be? While the processor itself is also a problem and sometimes I will combine the two, the amount of RAM available is indeed one of the reasons that iOS 13 cannot run on an iPhone 6.

So to be clear, you disagree with contacting Apple support if there is a problem in downloading an older version if the developer says there is one available, you don't think it is up to the developer as to whether they want to keep available and support an older app, and the iPhone SE 2020 is $399, is that correct?

And back to your statement about RAM. You said, "iOS 13 and up has a FREE memory requirement for 2GB." The iPhone 6 only has a total of 1GB of RAM. So how would the iPhone 6 be able to run iOS13? And please explain how I provided misinformation?

The discussion in this post has gone completely off rails and it's a pity since the issue is still there.

The matter at hand is, the App Store should NOT suggest an app update when there isn't one compatible. That simple.

It looks like this only happened for a day or two, since we can all update other apps, but a few got stuck in a sort of limbo.

So, Apple should fix the bug in the App Store that suggests updates that aren't compatible with iOS 12. No-one is saying the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus should get the latest features, the technical limitations are pretty obvious, but the App Store should not suggest these incompatible updates.

I found a solution.

I deleted the stuck apps and then re-downloaded them from the purchased list. A pop-up showed telling me the app now requires iOS 13 (or 14) and asked me if I wanted to download the last compatible version. It installed it and problem solved.

I'd read somewhere this suggestion but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to reinstall the apps. I started with the least important of them as a test. You might want to do the same.

Having the same issue on Ebay Garmin and shazam apps tried everything mentioned and when I deleted the Ebay app and went to install it again ir will not install , just stays a grey box

I believe all of the current versions of those apps require iOS 13 or later. You cannot update to iOS 13 on your iPhone as it does not have sufficient RAM and you cannot add it.

Yours is the first post I've seen complaining about this so apparently it didn't break it for most people. You might try a forced restart and if that doesn't work restoring your iPhone.