Why won't iTunes resume a download from where it left off?

Question

Level 1

26 points

Why won't iTunes resume a download from where it left off?

Why can't I get iTunes to resume downloading a TV show? Instead, when I click "Resume" it just starts again from zero.

I'm trying to download a TV show I purchased but the hotel I'm at resets the internet connection every few hours, and when I go back in and tell it to "resume" it just starts again from the beginning and says once again I have 4 hours to go. I don't understand why it won't start back up from where it left off. At this rate, I'll never get my episodes.

various, Mac OS X (10.5.8), iTunes 10.2.1

Posted on Mar 9, 2011 9:17 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Sep 3, 2017 10:30 PM in response to Jim Gottlieb

I guess it is has ancient download algorithm from the days of dial up modem. Even the download addons on Firefox have had this capability for several years now. All download utilities and apps have had this capability for more than a decade. Unfortunately the Apple engineers don't have a clue about it OR they are not smart enough to include that.

For some reason my wife's iPad 2 stopped charging and alternately displaying red battery outline and apple logo. Been trying to download the1.33 GB OS through iTunes. Currently I am on 4th attempt. It simply stops around 1.2 GB. I paused the download. Switched ISP, rebooted my modems + routers but it every time started from zero. And this is on 60 and 100 mbps connections. These work without any trouble for torrents and http downloads just not with iTunes. Won't even allow me to use third party download software.

My wife needs it only for Facetime with my granddaughters 8000 miles away. Perhaps it is time to switch to Google app for the purpose!

Reply

Answer 2

Beavis2084

Level 4

2,854 points

Mar 10, 2011 7:05 AM in response to Jim Gottlieb

This is a guess...

The session/connection that iTunes makes to the downloads may rely on something in the active connection as some form of identification/authentication. If your connection gets reset every so often, the information may not match somewhere and it forces iTunes to start the process over, thus kicking in a full download instead of picking up where it left off.

I would recommend locating a better consistent connection to the net before attempting to download very large files. Is this wireless? If there is a wired connection, you may get a better download speed and get it all finished before the next "reset".

Reply