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

Just to be certain it isn't truly installed (I realize you did state that you did NOT install it), check under Settings/General/Usage/ then under Storage, Manage Storage. Look for it in that list. If it's in there, tap on it and then tap on the Delete App button.

Is it in your purchases? Check in the App Store/Updates/Purchased and look for it in that list, just to verify that it was/was NOT purchased (you can't do anything more from here).

If this fails and it continues to show, sign out of your Apple ID under Settings/iTunes & App Store, tap on your Apple ID, then tap Sign Out.

Next, reset your device:

Device Reset (won't affect settings/data/music/apps/etc)

1. Press and hold (& continue to hold) BOTH the Sleep/Wake button & the Home button.

2. Continue to hold BOTH (ignoring any other messages that may show) until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

3. Release BOTH buttons when you see the Apple logo and allow the device to boot normally.

After the device has restarted, sign back in to the App Store as above.

Schneidogg wrote:

The App Store shows I have an app that needs to be updated. However, when I tap on the App Store icon, it shows an app that I've never downloaded and is currently not on my iPhone. The name of the app is "This Morning with Gordon Deal.". HELP!!!!

What has likely happened is the name of some other app that you are using was changed to "This Morning with Gordon Deal."

Go to the App Store in iTunes on your computer, search for the new name, and see if there are any notes about it.

Also to check, do you share your Apple ID with anyone else, and if so, could then have downloaded the app? And do you have "Download Automatically" enabled in Settings/iTunes & App Store?

Very odd. If the app is not on your device, you of course cannot delete it. If iTunes believes the app is on the device and there is an update for it, the update flag will trigger.

I don't know if this will work but have you tried hiding the app on your iTunes account? You can only hide App purchases using the PC running iTunes. As far as I know, it cannot be done on the device itself. See the following page for info on hiding purchases.

iTunes Store: Hiding and unhiding purchases - Apple Support

Again, I don't know if hiding a purchase will prevent it from triggering an update if the system believes the app is on the device. You'll have to try it and see.

Another option may be to backup the device using iTunes. Manually backup any media as well. Then restore the device using that backup. Does the system still believe the app is on the device? If so, that phantom app is also likely contained in that backup. Your only other recourse is to restore the device as new. Then install an app or two (not the phantom app) from the App Store and see if the app is still being shown by the system as being on the device. If it is, it's likely something screwy regarding your iTunes account. If it does not show, then you may want to continue and rebuild your device up from scratch, using your media backup.

I know you said you didn't want to update it but, I hadthis problem once with an app I'd deleted off the phone. I just let it update, deleted the app and have never had an issue again.

A much more elegant solution, Meg. I think I'm over-thinking this (it's my nature). Hopefully after updating the app, it will appear on the device so it can be deleted.

SergZak wrote:

A much more elegant solution, Meg. I think I'm over-thinking this (it's my nature). Hopefully after updating the app, it will appear on the device so it can be deleted.

I'm actually just very lazy. 😉

I think all that's left then is to follow the steps in my (longer) post above.

Do a Spotlight search by dragging down from the middle of the screen. If it doesn't show up then it's some on the phone as some other app. Go to Settings/General/Usage - Storage Used. If you find it there you can tap on it and delete it.