iBooks purchased book stuck in downloading state

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Level 1

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iBooks purchased book stuck in downloading state

With iOS 8.0.2, iBooks 4.0 on an iPad w/ Retina Display, started download of sample of Walter Isaacson's book, "The Innovators". Download hangs in downloading state. I can remove book from the iPad using iTunes. But then upon opening iBooks on iPad, the book reappears in the Library still in downloading state. With the book in this state, I cannot select it (to move or delete), or open it (since it shows as downloading).

I was able to download the sample onto MacBook Pro, OS X v 10.9.5 with iBooks v 1.0.1. After reading the sample, I successfully purchased and downloaded the full book onto the Mac. iBooks can access it just fine on that platform.

So with full copy of the book on the Mac, I plug iPad into Mac via USB cable and attempt to change books in its local Library via iTunes. iTunes successfully removed the book (stuck in downloading state) from the iPad. Disconnecting iPad from Mac, then opening iBooks on iPad causes book to reappear in Library, again hanging in downloading state. So evidently, the Apple Bookstore or iCloud has knowledge that the original downloading is still in progress. But it never progresses, just hangs in same download spot (as indicated by circular download progress indicator).

Also tried using iTunes on Mac to remove the book (this succeeded); then to copy the book from Mac down to iPad via iTunes sync through USB cable (this succeeded, too). But when I unplug USB between iPad and Mac, and reopen iBooks Library on iPad, book first shows up. But then iBooks connects to Bookstore/iCloud and sees the downloading operation still in progress. So it discards the full copy of book which came from Mac; and reattempts the downloading from Bookstore/iCloud (which again hangs in downloading state).

Have tried rebooting iPad, same problem occurs when opening iBooks on rebooted iPad.

I am looking for some way to get rid of this Bookstore/iCloud downloading operation, so I can get a full (openable) copy of the book onto my iPad which I can then read. Any suggestions about how best to do this are welcomed.

iPad, iOS 8, iBooks 4.0 on iPad

Posted on Oct 14, 2014 11:48 PM

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Answer 1

jeffd55

Community Specialist

Oct 16, 2014 7:33 AM in response to GCDixon

Hello GCDixon,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

The following article provides info on deleting a downloading purchase:

iTunes Store: How to delete a downloading purchase on iOS

Regards,

Jeff D.

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Answer 2

GCDixon Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 16, 2014 9:57 AM in response to jeffd55

Jeff,

Thanks for the reply. However, the knowbase article referred to in iTunes Store: How to delete a downloading purchase on iOS seems to refer to an earlier version of the iTunes app than I have with iOS 8.0.2. My iTunes app has neither a More button in bottom nav bar, nor any options to display a Downloads list.

iBooks does display The Innovators book in its Books list, with a downloading icon (circle with pause button inside) showing status of this book. The progress indicator in this icon (solid line progressing around the circle) is stuck at the very beginning of the download operation, and hangs there forever. I cannot use the Select button to select this book (to move or delete it); the Select button displays a radio button in front of each item, allowing a group of books to be selected for a Move or Delete operation. But The Innovators book's radio button cannot be toggled (presumably because the book is still downloading).

As I indicated in my original message, I can use iTunes on Mac to remove the book from the iPad as part of its Sync/Backup operations. While this removal appears to work, the book reappears in the Books list on the iPad shortly after the Sync operation completes. Again, I presume this is because the book still exists in the download list on the iPad.

Any other thoughts on how to proceed?

Gary

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Answer 3

jeffd55

Community Specialist

Oct 16, 2014 2:47 PM in response to GCDixon

Gary,

At this point, due to the nature of your issue, you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources - https://getsupport.apple.com/GetproductgroupList.action.

Regards,

Jeff D.

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Answer 4

GCDixon Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 18, 2014 6:59 PM in response to jeffd55

I contacted apple support via the link provided by jeffd55: https://getsupport.apple.com/GetproductgroupList.action.

They recommended three possible remedy actions. I followed the easiest/least expensive, which was to use iTunes to backup and then restore my iPad to reloaded version of the software; and then reload my latest backup to get other apps, settings, data, etc. I followed the procedure in:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414

This worked great. It resolved the pending iBooks download issue, and freed up the App update queue, so other applications could be updated.

Thanks Jeff for this pointer to get support.apple.com.

Gary

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