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Level 1

12 points

can't download apps over wifi at home on iPhone or iPad

On both my iPhone 4S and my iPad, I can no longer download apps from the App Store on either device on the wifi at my home, although at some point, doing so on my iPad worked fine. I don't recall it ever working on the iPhone 4S, so maybe the commonality is IOS5, which I recently updated the iPad to.

However, I can download apps just fine on my iPhone over 3G, and I can download apps just fine on both my iPhone and my iPad using the wifi at my office.

Also, on both devices, I can surf the net, and I can also access the App Store itself - I just can't upgrade any existing apps, or download any new ones. When I try to do so, I get a message that says "Unable to Download Application. 'App_Name' could not be downloaded at this time." Basically, any net-dependent activity is fine, with the exception of downloading and upgrading apps, which as I'm sure you can understand, is extremely frustrating.

I have restarted the devices, restarted my modem, restarted my router, etc., to no avail. I've googled around for other people with this problem but it does not appear to be common, and I really have no idea what to do next. Any help would be appreciated.

iPhone 4S, iOS 5, Also, a first-generation iPad

Posted on Nov 8, 2011 6:02 PM

28 replies

cmathiaz

Level 1

5 points

May 5, 2012 11:38 PM in response to adriandz

Setting the DNS to 8.8.8.8 on the IPad works like magic! Thanks guys!

I have been having this problem for more than 3 months without any

solution (after the recent iOS update). Shame on Apple!

May 16, 2012 3:55 AM in response to adriandz

you guys are wizards! this problem has been driving me crazy for days now but this fix has sorted it no problems..

Thanks for the help.

;-)

Jul 5, 2012 2:48 PM in response to adriandz

So does using 8888 have any undesired effects on anything else using the wifi?

Jul 6, 2012 12:08 AM in response to Mattman4000

I haven't encountered any problems since I changed my settings.

Jul 7, 2012 9:53 AM in response to lvmedic3214

Awesome, setting the DNS to 8.8.8.8

Solved my problem

Sep 23, 2012 12:26 PM in response to adriandz

i've tried everything from changing DNS to trying connect to another wifi spot, nothing worked. so finally tried what i should've done first: reset all setting, this worked for me.

even though there's still something i do not understand, i couldnt access to app store via wifi and so via 3G, but when i logged appstore out and tried to access (dont know why i did that) i finally did it, then when i tried downloading a random app and asked me for my username and pass i got again "cannot conect to app store"

weird!

jivesph

Level 1

0 points

Jul 10, 2013 8:46 AM in response to adriandz

Well, it's almost a year since the last post.

I'm using iPhone 5 on iOS 6.1.4. Recently downgraded from iOS 7 beta. Ever since that I'm not able to download apps from AppStore using my home wifi. It will keep prompting "Unable to download". I had to use my 3G data to download. Other browsing seems fine, just AppStore. Weird thing is, I can download while connected to office or public wifi.

I changed the DNS on my home wifi to 8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4. Download seems progressing but at a very slow speed. So, I try to reset network settings. It's now working like a charm!

My solution is... Reset Network Settings

At least this worked for me. Hope this helps you too! :)

Jun 2, 2014 1:17 PM in response to cmathiaz

I just tried this in my iphone 4s and it worked, hope it works always.

Thank you

the problem that i got is "unable to download application" "done or retry"

03/06/2014

Nov 30, 2015 1:09 PM in response to adriandz

OHhhh mann!! This help me verg good. It's true, just write 8.8.8.8 on DNS and problem solved. Thank you guys!

sdhcd90

Level 1

8 points

May 15, 2016 12:31 AM in response to Manuelo2898

TRied settin the dns in iphone to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 still doesnt work for me. My question do we change the dns in phone or in router setting?

Jul 22, 2016 2:27 AM in response to cmathiaz

Ohhh thank you. you are absolutely amazing.....🙂 it works on my iphone 6. been having a problem for a week downloading even updating my apps in app store in our wifi connection here at home but can update in another wifi connection. thank God now im home using our own wifi connection and now it works. i can now download an app., changing my DNS to 8.8.8.8 ......