iPhone wants to update an app I don't have installed

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Level 3

674 points

iPhone wants to update an app I don't have installed

So I finally decided to updated from 5.0 to 5.1.1 (against my better judgement). Only because I had a number of app updates that wouldn't go through without 5.1. And as expected, I ran into some of the common issues after updating, that many others have experience after updating to 5.1.1. Photos disappeared from Album, but memory capacity still indicated they were still in storage. Battery runs warmer, and along with that battery drains quicker. App store wouldn't load. And a number of freezing apps. However, with the exception of the quicker battery drain (not ridiculously quick, but definitely runs down faster than before on normal day use), after an inconvenient restore from back-up all the other issues were resolved. Photos were restored, App Store comes up, and so far no apps freezing. But, one strange issue just popped up today, I tried searching online for this issue but couldn't find one. I launched the App Store app, and it told me I had several updates. I Updated All, and all but one updated. The one that didn't update gave me a notification that it was no longer available in the App Store, and to make things even more perplexing, I don't even have the app installed on my phone. So now I have this annoying badge telling me I have this one update to an non-existent app. Anyone ever heard of this, and more importantly, how do I get rid of the update? Oh Apple, you never fail to impress and disappoint at the same time.

Posted on Aug 13, 2012 8:33 PM

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Answer 1

Drewvian

Level 1

55 points

Jan 15, 2013 11:30 AM in response to Eric Shawn2

Eric,

Could you please tell me the name of the app that is showing up in your updates?

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Answer 2

Eric Shawn2 Author

Level 3

674 points

Jan 15, 2013 11:49 AM in response to Drewvian

Unfortunately, I can't remember the app. I do remember it was a photo app. Someone gave me a tip, and I did manage to resolve it by deleting the app within iTunes, as it was still there (just unchecked). On a side, but similar note, after updating to iOS 6, I was getting updates for apps I had deleted prior. Upon 'Update All', the deleted apps were put back on my phone by way of the updates. I just manually deleted them again off my phone. There were a couple that was asking to update, but after the update, wasn't back on my phone. I don't recall the apps for this incident either. This issue hasn't affected the funtionality of my phone, so I haven't made made a big deal about it. It's happened on more than one occassion since the iOS 6 update. There have also been times when I update apps, but it comes back again a few days later asking to update to the same version as the last update. Next time it happens I will document.

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Answer 3

Jul 2, 2013 6:03 PM in response to Drewvian

I, too, have an app trying to update that I don't have anymore. It's called Skyscanner All Flights. Nice app but I never used it so I deleted it. It's also not in my apps list in iTunes. I've written to Skycanner but they aren't responding. Thanks for your anticipated help.

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Answer 4

Eric Shawn2 Author

Level 3

674 points

Jul 2, 2013 10:16 PM in response to MaCookie7

I forgot to put a reply from my last post. I was able to fix my issue. Connect iPhone to iTunes, goto Apps, then delete the troublesome app, sync your iPhone. Since doing this to the apps I was having issues with, it's never come back. Hope this helps.

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Answer 5

Jul 3, 2013 4:41 AM in response to Eric Shawn2

I tried that but the app isn't listed in my itunes apps anymore. That was the first thing I tried. It's nowhere to be found. It's like it never existed.

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Answer 6

Jul 9, 2013 7:39 AM in response to Eric Shawn2

Eric, I've looked in iTunes at all my apps and it's just not there. I deleted it months ago. I guess I'll have to go to the genise bar hoping they can fix it. Thanks anyway. 🙂

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Answer 7

Eric Shawn2 Author

Level 3

674 points

Jul 9, 2013 8:38 AM in response to MaCookie7

I'm going to assume you are on a Mac system. Check here to see if the app is still actually there.

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Mobile Applications/
Mac OS X 10.6: ~/Music/iTunes/Mobile Applications/

If it is, delete it from that folder, and resync your phone again.

If you are on a Windows machine, go here:

Windows 7: C:\Users\Username\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Mobile Applications\

Note: if the app is not in the Mobile Applications folder, you may have to restore your phone as new. Make sure to backup your phone first. Restore as new, then restore from backup.

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Answer 8

Drewvian

Level 1

55 points

Jul 9, 2013 10:28 AM in response to Eric Shawn2

have you tried doing a search on your device for the app that is showing in your updates? The reason why I ask is because MotionX-GPS Drive had this happening to them. The reason for this is because Apple labeled another app in the app store as drive. The app that all users had that was creating the update to show up in their app store was XLCamera. The way a users was able to find that it was this app is because when they searched for the app in spotlight search for MotionX-GPS Drive XLCamera came up, which means Apple put some kind of meta data in XLCamera tying it to MotionX-GPS Drive. I hope this helps.

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