CORRUPT APP: Why does it say OPEN on my app when app REMOVED?

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lindros2 Author

Level 2

212 points

CORRUPT APP: Why does it say OPEN on my app when app REMOVED?

HELP - Just spent 35 minutes with Apple support and got nowhere.

myCigna shows "OPEN" in the App Store, but is NOT installed. (or at least it's not showing).

I've checked in DEVICE STORAGE, APP STORE, APP LIBRARY - nowhere to be found.

Upon RESTARTING, the app REAPPEARS with the default icon (white with cross hatch).

Delete it, not gone, still "OPEN", and then reappears upon restart.

Over and over and over again.

Contact Cigna? Broken page - just keeps loading.

iPhone 13 Pro

Posted on Mar 24, 2022 4:50 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Lawrence Finch

Community+ 2025

Level 10

228,420 points

Mar 24, 2022 5:38 PM in response to lindros2

If you have Screen Time enabled, go to Settings/Screen Time/Content & Privacy Restrictions/iTunes & App Store Purchases and change Deleting Apps to Allow.

Then try deleting the app again.

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Answer 2

Mar 24, 2022 7:21 PM in response to lindros2

lindros2 wrote:

This is tragic. To re-setup my phone, watch, payment/cards, photos, music, podcasts, other iCloud stuff- will take weeks.

but - it’s just as simple as screen time, right? Nope.

Was chasing some issues with a Photos corruption in the late iOS 14 and early iOS 15 range and which meant several backup and reset and reload and restore sequences, and the reset and restore is fairly speedy, with a local backup and decent network speeds. Backup to a Mac takes a few minutes locally for the data I’d had, the reset and reload was an hour or so, and the restore took an hour or so. Reloading payment cards was a hassle for a few releases, but the last of the reloads didn’t need to reload the data. The photos were hosted on Mac, so not lost. Apps were re-downloaded, so not lost. Etc. Didn’t lose the app layouts, folders, or other settings, and did (finally) resolve the Photos corruption.

Instructions, with links to backup and restore: Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

Probably most dependent on the available network speeds, other than what gets copied locally via USB to and then from the Mac, looking at it.

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Answer 3

lindros2 Author

Level 2

212 points

Mar 24, 2022 8:02 PM in response to lindros2

SOLUTION - I used iMazing (paid $50 for three devices) and basically did an IPA extraction on iPad > reinstall on iPhone.

It's a miracle.

The savings of re-doing all the stuff mentioned above was worth hundreds in my time and ongoing worries with the Apple iCloud infrastructure this week.

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Answer 4

Mar 24, 2022 5:54 PM in response to lindros2

The cross-hatch icon usually means the app is stuck between deleted and installed.

If you can get the icon showing on the display, see if you can delete it using a long-press on the cross-hatch icon, amd selecting from the pop-up.

I’ve met a few cases which ended up requiring a backup, reset and reload, and restore, to resolve the issue.

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Answer 5

Mar 24, 2022 4:52 PM in response to lindros2

Check for it under the App Library. Next to the last page of the Home Screen. If it is in the App Library Touch, Hold and Drag the icon to Home Screen. That's it.

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Answer 6

lindros2 Author

Level 2

212 points

Mar 24, 2022 5:27 PM in response to SravanKrA

It is not in the App Library. See capitalized comment above.

Note - this was an offloaded app which reinstalled today.

Today - this entire week - Apple has had outages.

So part of the issue is - might be - related to App Store issues which left my app in a grey area.

Not my fault, but i'm the one paying the price.

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Answer 7

Mar 24, 2022 5:53 PM in response to lindros2

You have an iPhone 13 Pro. It has Screen Time. Settings/Screen Time, the bottom entry in the 2nd group of settings.

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Answer 8

lindros2 Author

Level 2

212 points

Mar 24, 2022 5:50 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Then explain to me where it is. I've tapped Open 200x and it doesn't do anything.

I've deleted it 15x. I've restarted 15x.

40 minutes on the phone with Apple Support - they monitored via screen sharing. They had no anwers.

Again - it is not showing in Phone Storage. It is nowhere to be found on the phone - the only place anywhere (interestingly) is "Background App Refresh" -- after restarting the phone.

[note - there are other threads on this topic, but no solutions]

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Answer 9

lindros2 Author

Level 2

212 points

Mar 24, 2022 6:02 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

@Lawrence - see here (hard to see me tapping on open in App Store, sorry). It is also not showing in phone storage. Then reappears on restart, but cannot be opened.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/056fuScAS5iGrC6L0gFKoaqKg

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Answer 10

lindros2 Author

Level 2

212 points

Mar 24, 2022 7:48 PM in response to MrHoffman

I get it - I've dealt with this as well (Photos).

But this is a single app which has gone rogue/haywire, and it's not trivial - I forgot to mention MDM reinstall / reactivation - which I removed already.

Watch, payment cards, ... then payment cards on watch... every time remove > re-activate Apple Pay on all my cards, and all the settings that don't come through (Transit).

All because of a single app that has become corrupted.

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