stedwick
Level 1 (6 points)

Q: Downloading apps stuck on waiting...

For the past few days I've been unable to download any apps from the App Store on my iOS devices, including the iPad and iPhone. I click "install", it asks for my password, it goes back to the home screen and the icon pops up and it says "waiting…" underneath, and then nothing ever happens. It's just stuck on waiting forever. It's basically what you would expect would happen if the store was down or my internet was down, except neither is the case.

 

I called Apple support and the only thing they had to offer was to do a factory reset on both my iPad and iPhone. I'd rather not do that because it's a pain. Plus, how can it be a hardware problem when it's happening on BOTH of my devices? It sounds like a problem with my account on their end, but they had no idea.

 

Has this happened anybody else? Anybody have any ideas?

 

For the record, I can still download apps onto my computer in iTunes and then sync those apps to my devices, I just can't download apps directly from my devices. Very strange.

 

Thanks for any help you guys can offer! =)

 

Philip

iPad (3rd gen) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iOS 5.1.1

Posted on Jul 2, 2012 12:59 PM

by stedwick,Solvedanswer
stedwick stedwick
Level 1 (6 points)
A:

I fixed it from another post: go into iTunes -> more -> downloads and look for stuck downloads there. It's non-obvious, but it's also not difficult. Delete all the downloads in progress in iTunes and then try downloading apps again.

 

I guess if you have one download stuck anywhere, it screws up all downloads everywhere.

 

Anyway, worked for me. Whew.

Posted on Jul 2, 2012 1:07 PM

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Q: Downloading apps stuck on waiting...

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  • by Vita is A Daisy,

    Vita is A Daisy Vita is A Daisy Feb 5, 2014 8:20 AM in response to Vita is A Daisy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 5, 2014 8:20 AM in response to Vita is A Daisy

    Delete all the apps on waiting and purchase them upload them or whatever 1 or 2 at a time.

    Be patient! It only takes I don't 5-7 months maybe 10 minutes. Shorter than left on waiting forever.

  • by Vita is A Daisy,

    Vita is A Daisy Vita is A Daisy Feb 5, 2014 8:23 AM in response to stedwick
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 5, 2014 8:23 AM in response to stedwick

    Just replying...

    X....still can't find it while deleting waiting?

    Restart your phone and shut it off for a minute or so and what might pop up is it asking for a password for your Apple ID.

  • by rdyrd,

    rdyrd rdyrd Mar 14, 2014 8:55 PM in response to stedwick
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 14, 2014 8:55 PM in response to stedwick

    Seems like maybe more than one solution to this problem. I had  one app stuck on waiting. I went to SETTINGS - GENERAL - USAGE. I tapped on the app in the list. Then tapped DELETE APP.

     

    I then re-installed the app from the app store. Problem solved for me. Hope this helps someone...

  • by uncbird,

    uncbird uncbird Mar 15, 2014 2:28 PM in response to rdyrd
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 15, 2014 2:28 PM in response to rdyrd

    Thanks RDYRD!  No other recommendations worked for me until your I read your recommendation.  I would never have suspected I could delete an app by accessing "Usage".  Now if I could only get iTunes to work.  Unfortunately cannot delete and reinstall since it is a native program on iPhone.

  • by alpal7,

    alpal7 alpal7 Mar 31, 2014 10:01 PM in response to stedwick
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2014 10:01 PM in response to stedwick

    My fix for this problem in iOS 7.1 - Connect to iTunes on computer by cable, then on iPad go to Settings, General, iTunes Wi-Fi Sync, click on Sync over Wi-Fi. This checks all apps already purchased in iTunes and reinstalls them to the iPad.

  • by alpal7,

    alpal7 alpal7 Mar 31, 2014 10:52 PM in response to stedwick
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2014 10:52 PM in response to stedwick

    Correction to my last post: on iPad go to Settings, General, iTunes Wi-Fi Sync, click on 'Sync now'.

  • by macnolox,

    macnolox macnolox Apr 21, 2014 4:18 PM in response to Neto
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 21, 2014 4:18 PM in response to Neto

    Many thanks Neto, it solved the problem for me today in my iPad 2 updated to 7.1 yesterday.

  • by stevensteven123,

    stevensteven123 stevensteven123 Apr 26, 2014 6:59 PM in response to stedwick
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 26, 2014 6:59 PM in response to stedwick

    Didn't read every single post so sorry if already said: I solved this problem on an iPad mini by holding Down the power button and home button at the same time. After mini shut down, I turned it back on and waiting apps were gone. Just had to re instal them and everything was fine.

  • by Christopher Gerber,

    Christopher Gerber Christopher Gerber Jun 11, 2014 5:13 AM in response to stedwick
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 11, 2014 5:13 AM in response to stedwick

    I have not gone back to read the while thread, but found a fix:

    * Open Settings

    * Select General, then Usage

    * Select the stuck app from the 'Storage' list (you may need to tap 'Show All Apps')

    * Tap 'Delete App'

    * Confirm by tapping 'Delete App'

    * Reinstall the app from the App Store

  • by mungbeanuk,

    mungbeanuk mungbeanuk Jun 20, 2014 2:44 AM in response to subhashreddy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 20, 2014 2:44 AM in response to subhashreddy

    Many thanks Subhash, this worked for me (setting DNS to 8.8.8.8). I am using Airtel broadband in India, with the Indian iTunes store. iOS 7.1.1.

     

    I had tried re-setting my iPad many times (including the 2 button version), but the stalled apps were all saying "Waiting" even after doing that.

     

    I had noticed that when trying to update the apps in the Updates screen of App Store, the download wasn't even starting - I would immediately get the msg about not being able to download at this time, with the "Done" / "Retry" buttons.


    This to me sounds like something was preventing the download connection being created in the first place, which would fit with a DNS issue.


    I've just been through the stalled apps one by one in App Store (there were 39), downloading them individually by tapping on the circle with the square inside. Not one of them failed after changing the DNS setting to 8.8.8.8 (which incidentally I had already been using on my Macbook for a long time because I find Airtel's DNS to be flakey).

     

    I also went into Settings earlier and turned off permission to update apps in the background (Settings > General > Restrictions > Background App Refresh: Don't Allow Changes). Doing this on its own didn't help earlier, but I'm going to leave it switched off, so I can manage the updates myself.  I don't have this iPad synced with a computer.

     

    Thanks again - this had been annoying me for months!!

  • by gancl,

    gancl gancl Jul 12, 2014 1:42 AM in response to stedwick
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 12, 2014 1:42 AM in response to stedwick

    I solved it by searching the app name in App store and download it. Then delete it.

  • by tifftreads,

    tifftreads tifftreads Jul 17, 2014 6:03 AM in response to stedwick
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 17, 2014 6:03 AM in response to stedwick

    ANother way to solve this is to plug your phone or iPad into your computer and remove the app from the device using iTunes and then reinstall it via iTunes. This worked for me without me needing to reset my settings.

  • by Yen Tran,

    Yen Tran Yen Tran Sep 4, 2014 10:33 AM in response to Daphne chin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 4, 2014 10:33 AM in response to Daphne chin

    me too , help meee

  • by \m/ Mad Metal Mage \m/,

    \m/ Mad Metal Mage \m/ \m/ Mad Metal Mage \m/ Sep 14, 2014 7:25 AM in response to The Cradle Mob
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Sep 14, 2014 7:25 AM in response to The Cradle Mob

    Thank you the Cradle Mob.  This resolved my issue of podcast downloads hanging on "waiting" status on my iPad mini Retina running iOS 7.1.2 (I noticed this issue in the iTunes app on the iPad itself, and it happened after I upgraded from the iPad 2 to the iPad mini with Retina likely due to restoration of iPad backup from iCloud).  All I had to do was connect the Lightning USB cable to my iPad, and then on my Mac (it would probably work on a Windows computer too) on the left sidebar of iTunes under the Library section I clicked on Podcasts.  There I noticed an option to sync my podcasts.  I did not realize that my Mac was not yet set to synchronize the podcasts!  Once I selected that option to sync my podcasts with the Mac, under Devices I clicked on the icon representing my iPad and then performed a Sync.  All of the above resolved my issue...no more stuck downloads in iTunes on my iPad mini.  Thank you again for getting this started for me! 

     

    Note: if one wishes to perform this by plugging the Lightning USB cable from the iOS device into the wall rather than into the computer, then iTunes WiFi sync would need to be configured; see KB article # HT1386 iOS: Syncing your data with iTunes for details.

  • by Olkaa,

    Olkaa Olkaa Sep 14, 2014 9:17 AM in response to stedwick
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 14, 2014 9:17 AM in response to stedwick

    Hi, I have an IPhone 5 and yesterday I wanted to access instagram but I got logged off and wasn't able to log back in again so I decided to try and delete the app. The problem is that when I tried to install it again I got the, "unable to download item please try again later" message. This has never happened before. I am also unable to log into instagram even on my laptop.

     

    I tried rebooting all devices, logged out of iTunes, I changed my password and all of my software is up to date.

     

    How can I fix this problem ?

     

    Thanks

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