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How do I get the iPhone books app fixed or back to how it was before the update?

I hate the new Apple Books update on the iPhone. I contacted Apple support and got nowhere with them. They are not the ones who designed and launched the update. No more can you get definitions of words, can words be highlighted, can you read the page numbers on the bottom of the page, and the “menu” option is a waste.


Why did Apple change something and make what was just fine now terrible? I’m about ready to buy a kindle and buy all my ebooks, and I buy plenty, from Amazon. Is there anyway to get Apple to fix this quickly or at least put it back the way it was? 



Posted on Jan 4, 2023 7:10 AM

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Posted on Jan 15, 2023 10:30 AM

My iPad is no longer letting me purchase books

12 replies

Feb 6, 2023 2:34 PM in response to OKIE50

I have to tap quickly then press and hold until the ribbon appears. It seems to me to be a two step process. At times I have to do the two steps more than once.


I would love for Apple to put iBooks back the way it was. It wasn’t broken. Why would they change something that worked just fine to something that doesn’t work in too many ways.


I SUGGEST EVERYONE WHO IS HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE UPDATED BOOKS CALL APPLE AND TELL THEM TO FIX IT OR PUT IT BACK THE WAY IT WAS!

Jan 4, 2023 7:21 AM in response to Cupcake2449

I'm confused by your question. None of this has changed in any way.


You can still get a definition by tapping and holding on a word and selecting "Look Up" from the ribbon. you can still highlight a word by tapping and holding on a word and selecting highlight from the ribbon. Page numbers are still at the bottom you get.


Maybe if you post a screen shot, someone may be able to help you out.



Jan 22, 2023 8:24 AM in response to Poquito15

Below is what I was told by Phil0124. As an aside-I have been able to get definitions and see page numbers. What are not there or what I can't see are for example: p234 out of 530, as well as not being able to know or see how many pages left in the chapter. It says something at the bottom by the page numbers but I can't read it all. For me the update on iBooks was messing with something that worked just fine and now it is not working as well at least for me.


From Phil 0124

You can still get a definition by tapping and holding on a word and selecting "Look Up" from the ribbon. you can still highlight a word by tapping and holding on a word and selecting highlight from the ribbon. Page numbers are still at the bottom you get.


Jan 22, 2023 8:49 AM in response to Cupcake2449

If you click the bottom right side of the page that brings up the menu, you will see the page # of page #s at the bottom of the page and the number of pages left in the chapter at the top of the page but only for a few seconds. Annoying because before the upgrade this info was available all the time. I use it to decide whether I want to keep reading or close the app to continue another day. Also, when I finish a book, I cannot close it and return easily to my reading list Want to Read to select the next book. As others said, why did Apple mess with IBooks at all.

Feb 4, 2023 11:50 AM in response to Phil0124

Nope, didn’t work for me. I have Show in Lookup on and I have three dictionaries selected. I’m running iOS 16.2 on an iPad Pro. I can’t get a word to highlight when I tap it, let alone have a ribbon appear. This is very disappointing, especially considering that the kindle app works so well. Does anybody have any other ideas?

How do I get the iPhone books app fixed or back to how it was before the update?

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