unable to update apps ios 8 family sharing

Well, we completely stumped Apple on this one. After a couple of hours on the phone with tech support, I am finally back in the family. I'm not even sure exactly what the fix was (had something to do with turning a lot of things off and on and signing out and into accounts). So the moral of the story is: Don't leave the family unless you really want to leave the family!

Thanks for the update. By the way, there is another very long thread on this topic, though still no permanent solutions: Sharing purchased content with Family Sharing

Per Halo Girl's comment, important that we all recognize that you should NOT leave the family.

However, I have found a workaround that works for me

1. Log out of the app store (Settings > iTunes and App store) and then log in using the ID that originally bought the app.
2. GO into app store and do all the updates.
3. Then, back to Settings > iTunes and App store to log out, and log back in using the device owner's personal ID.

All this time, under Setting > iCloud, the user remains connected to the family. So it should not trigger the kinds of problems HaloGirl had. At least it has not for me.

This is really broken. In addition to several Apps unable to update, I'm unable to install any App on my daughter's phone/iPod that I already have bought while logged in as under THEIR AppleID in iTunes (we are all connected via iCloud Family Share). For Apps that no one has bought, the Price/"Free" button works as expected (prompting a "Approval" Request from Me- the Parent). However, any App that I have bought shows the "iCloud" icon in place of the "Buy" button in the App Store. It appears there is NO WAY to buy these Apps on the Child's device, except for logging out and back in with the Parents AppleID in their App Store. (For now, ALL devices in our house seem to require this Login method).

Tried every workaround. Nothing works consistently. I have some apps I deleted and can't get back and I have apps that won't update. In my opinion every app should be shareable, otherwise there is no point to have family share enabled.

Alright, here's the deal and I'll try to explain this as clear as possible.

I created the family share right away when I installed iOS8 on her phone and set my wife up with her own ID. Her account has nothing in it, no purchases or anything. I cannot share any applications/updates prior to this family share creation that may have been downloaded on her phone using my Apple ID. The applications must be deleted and then reinstalled under her Apple ID, this is still free as we can share. This does result in the loss of all previously saved user information like login names, passwords, chat logs, etc. From now on all apps and everything else is shared without this problem.

The above is only for apps that have this issue, some just don't care. Seems that most of the apps that require user information or offer in-app purchases are more likely to cause this issue.

If you do not want to hear your wife yell at you, update using the Apple ID that was used for the original purchase. Just log out of the family member ID and then log back in with the original purchaser ID under Settings>iTunes & App Store.

Update all of the Apps and then sign back in using the family member ID, or stay signed in as the original purchaser and eliminate the problem altogether.

This sounds so much like Android it isn't even funny. Hokey work arounds that require some sort of voodoo ritual to make it work. This is not the Apple I know.

I wrote this just after talking with a representative about this problem.

The only success I've had (and I haven't tried it for all apps, so no guarentees), is to delete the app and then, instead of downloading it from the search tab or the store tab, going to the following location:

Updates --> Purchased

It's at the very top of the screen and once you click on it, you are presented with a list of family members. If you select the family member who actually purchased the app and find the app in that list (search box at the top too), then you can re-install the app from there.

It appears that the issue, at least in the case with my wife and I, is that the app was originally downloaded to her phone using my apple idea (when we shared the ID). Now that she has her own, we have to effectively re-download the apps in the above manner to tie them to her Apple ID. I royal pain that I hope they fix soon.

I don't know if this works with apps that are not setup for family sharing by the app designer as referenced earlier in this thread...

Edited to add: Note: This DOES NOT work with apps that don't support family sharing, at least for me. Following the above instructions, the app will not appear in the list of apps that family members purchased, but when you search for the app in the main app store, it doesn't present you an option to download it using the current Apple ID, but instead gives the cloud icon showing that you've already purchased it. Trying to download it again gives the same pop-up as the original poster. This is seriously broken.

Edited to add 2: It does appear that, after deleting the app, logging out of the iTunes store and logging back in does appear to fix the problem of apps that don't support family share. Still not idea, but workable at this point.

Worked with a higher level tech at Apple and this is what we determined.

The apps that we couldn't update on my son and wife's phones (I am the manager and previous purchaser) were all apps where family sharing is not enabled (mostly free apps like Waze and Yelp).

I had previously tried to delete them on these phones and redownload but kept getting an error message that it couldn't redownload as the phone didn't have the right AppleID. The download link was not "install" but rather the cloud with arrow symbol.

The tech and I puzzled with that as it lasted through a phone restart. Finally, I logged out on my wife and son's phones from their AppleID and then relogged in using their AppleID and, voila, those non sharing apps that I had deleted were now able to be redownloaded using their AppleID with the "install" button.

Other apps that did allow Family Sharing seem to now be updating in situ today (they hadn't been a few days ago) with no real drama. Maybe they have been working on the back end.

James Ehrler1 wrote:

I logged out on my wife and son's phones from their AppleID and then relogged in using their AppleID and, voila, those non sharing apps that I had deleted were now able to be redownloaded using their AppleID with the "install" button.

Did this fix hold for you?

I have found it works briefly, but eventually it goes back to the error message. ("Update unavailable with this AppleID")

Edited to add the answer to your question...oops:

To answer your question, so far, having once logged out of the store and logged back in to get the install button, I have been able to delete problematic apps (some, but not all, non-family shareable ones) and reinstall without having again to log out and back in. It may be that this needs to be redone more often and I just haven't hit it yet, but I would hope that once all these problematic apps have been replaced on the phone this error will be become a faint unpleasant memory.

Original comment:

It has held for all apps that are family shareable. There are certain (generally free) apps where this does still pop up. So far, these have all stated in their description that they are not family shareable. These I delete and redownload and all is good to go. By the way, when I do need to delete and redownload, I can search for the app in the store and I get the "install" button without having to log out and relog back in get rid of the "cloud with arrow" button that would pop up this error.

Apple may have also done some tweaking as I updated my wife's iPad to iOS 8 and changed it over to her AppleID and out of 30 some apps that needed updating, only two of them required me to delete and redownload the app per the above. Several of the apps that previously required deleting and reinstalling because they are not family shareable no longer did so (Glympse for example).

This was how I got around it as well.

James Ehrler1 wrote:

so far, having once logged out of the store and logged back in to get the install button, I have been able to delete problematic apps (some, but not all, non-family shareable ones) and reinstall without having again to log out and back in.

Thanks. Ive tried the same (log out of store and back in.) This lets me access the "install" button for free apps downloaded by other family members that are not sharable. However, if I look up a sharable paid app that a family member bought, I see the price and not the install button.

Accessing the "purchased" lists of family members undoes all this and puts things back in the situation where there is a cloud icon (not an install icon) for non-sharable free apps.

Now you have exceeded my knowledge and experience. I guess you are going to have to work with Apple to get this worked out.

I initially started with an e-mail to support for the app store. It really didn't help directly but it gave me a case number and the chance to reference this forum. I ended up calling and was able to make progress with them looking at this forum while working with me.

All seems to be working for me as well. For one account in particular, it was necessary for me to Log Out of iTunes/App Store (via Settings), then Log right back in. I swear I had already done this on earlier attempts, but something finally "clicked" I guess. Hopefully, other's are finding the help/solutions they need.

FYI, I did work through this with Apple support. They have acknowledged that this a problem that is affecting some people, and that Apple is working on a solution.

They also confirmed the workaround mentioned above -- log out and back in, and you will see the free apps as installable. (Updates don't work, but you can delete the app and install after logging back in.) They also mention what I said a few posts back, which is that you will also see prices for paid apps even if a family member bought it. They tell me that In this situation, if you click to buy, the system will realize a family member bought it and allow you to redownload.

Anyways, I have found this workaround works as long as I don't view the "purchased" category. As soon as I do that, the problem returns.

So here's hoping Apple finds a solution soon, and thanks to everyone here who chimed in with their own ideas and experiences.

Seems like the best fix for this would be to have Apple force app developers to accept or reject Family Share when they submit app updates. I have at least 10 apps that I cannot update and it is very frustrating!