iOS 9: App Store requires password for free download

Agreed, does not solve then problem. Just references standard behaviour most are aware of.

Of note is the bug sounds restricted to iPhone. Both my iPhone 5Ss were affected. Two iPads with identical settings were fine.

I have this problem too on an iPhone 4S with iOS 9.02. A colleague also with the same phone and iOS version also has the issue.

I've just tired resetting all settings and still can't download a free app without the password (yes I've toggled the setting so it shouldn't require a password and I tried to download an app without in app purchases).

SAme me happened to me, the password settings was gone.

I logged off and back in my AppStore account and the settings showed up.

You do not need to "Reset all settings".

All you need to do is go into Settings, App and iTunes Stores, click on your Apple ID and sign out.

Then sign in again.

I just had this issue and this simple method fixed it for me.

I was having a slightly different issue. I inherited my Apple device from a friend, and upon upgrade to IOS 9.XX my device required my friend's Apple ID for all interactions with the ITunes store. This was not the case before the upgrade. I had no desire to wipe out my device and start fresh.

Your recommendation to reset all settings worked beautifully to solve my issue. Thanks!

~Russ

I had no problem with this until I started configuring with Restrictions (I have children). When changing back settings to NOT ask for password for free download it still does.. Ofcourse this is a bug that Apple has to fix. Wipping all settings is not a solution you would want to hear in 2015. Maybe Apples testing department need a bigger budget. :-)

Out of scope: Another thing to beware of is when changing age Restrictions for Apps back and forth it will mess with your app organisation totally.

It seems that Restrictions is not a really tested feature in iOS. Can you really trust your applied settings?

Kudos!

I had to make a lots of tests in order to pin out this issue on my side.

The "no password" feature did work well until I started to mess with restrictions....

I am currently setting up an IPod 5 for my child, and this issue show up when I activate restrictions AND restrict the "Apps" config. Restoring this config to it's original value did not fix the bug. So this is a one way to the issue.

On my side, when I got this problem, I had to reset settings AND content to start up with a brand "new" IPod. My entire apple identity is new so I didn't have anything to loose anyway. It did not work the one time I tried to only reset the settings.

So here would be the trick to avoid the issue:

First setup your iOS to allow a "no password" for free apps. This should work.

Then activate the restrictions.

The following restrictions configuration were setup without triggering the issue:

(Sorry if the terms are not exactly the same, my display is in french actually...)

0 => Did not touch that configuration

1 => The feature was restricted

Authorize

----------------

Safari - 0

Camera - 0

Siri - 0

Facetime - 0

AirDrop - 1

iTune Store - 0

Apple Music Connect - 0

iBooks Store - 0

Podcasts - 0

Add apps - 0

Remove apps - 0

In-app purchases - 1 (Of course, who wouldn't ?)

Authorized Content

---------------------------------

Classification - 1 (Canada, on my case)

Music, podcasts,etc.. - 1

Movies - 1

TV - 1

Books - 1

Apps - 0 (THIS ONE TRIGGER THE BUG IF MODIFIED)

Siri - 1

Web sites - 1

Password Config - 0

Privacy

---------------

Localisation - 0

Contacts - 1

Calendars - 1

Reminders - 1

Photos - 0

share position - 1

Blutooth - 1

Microphone - 0

Twitter - 1

Facebook - 1

Ads - 0

Authorize modifications

----------------------------------

Accounts - 1

Background updates - 0

Max volume - 0

Game Center

-------------------------

Multiplayer games - 0

Add friends - 0

IOs 9 does this. Even after three updates it still does. Toggle doesnt work.

WRONG.

I also have this issue after setting up restrictions for me son. None of the fixes mentioned here have worked. I'm not going to reset the device as the school has applied profiles to the iPad which I don't want to lose.

So I have the same problem as most of you here. I have an iPad and iPhone. Same settings on both, same restrictions, same account. The problem though, is only on the iPad where to update every single app it keeps asking for password. I have tried to sign out of app store and iCloud, reboot and sign back into both. The problem persist. Free apps download - no password required enabled; require password - after 15 minutes. I'm not going to reset all my settings though. Unless there is an alternative solution, I'll be waiting for the iOS update and see what happens. I'm on 9.3.1. This wasn't happening on 9.3 and it isn't happening on iPhone at all.

Apple. Please fix this. My kids are driving me nuts asking me to enter my iTunes password every time they want to install a free app. This has gone on for long enough. I've gone through the process of resetting all settings as many have suggested and it DID NOT WORK - what a waste of time. This should not be an issue and needs to be fixed........PLEASE........

Get your kids their own Apple IDs, linked to yours with Family Sharing. Then they can enter their own password.

Thank you, etienne_appleid, for your analysis and most valuable contribution. I can 100% confirm your findings are still valid on iOS 10.2. I confirm that once you trigger the App restriction, App Store starts to require Apple ID password for all free apps (my iTunes & App Store Password Settings: Always Require ON, Free Downloads Require Password OFF). Even if this or all restrictions are disabled, iOS does not stop to ask you for password for downloading free apps.

The only solution to disable password requirement to download free Apps (with or without in-App-Purchases) in this case for me was:

1. General -> Reset -> Reset All Settings;
2. iTunes & App Store -> Sign out --> Sign in;
3. If setting General -> Restrictions, do not touch App content restriction.

To enable App content restriction, the only solution probably would be, as mentioned Lawrence Finch, to create a separate Apple ID account for your child, which password would be known to him/her. But I believe such approach is not very desirable for many parents with underage children, as it will require to create an e-mail account even for small children (ex. Google formally specifiesthe minimum age requirements to own a Google Account to 13 years in United States, while, for example, to 16 years in Netherlands).

Pity, that Apple is not willing to fix this issue so far (overprotecting itself probably).

abysas wrote:

To enable App content restriction, the only solution probably would be, as mentioned Lawrence Finch, to create a separate Apple ID account for your child, which password would be known to him/her. But I believe such approach is not very desirable for many parents with underage children, as it will require to create an e-mail account even for small children (ex. Google formally specifiesthe minimum age requirements to own a Google Account to 13 years in United States, while, for example, to 16 years in Netherlands).

This is not an issue if the child's account is linked to the family account through Family Sharing. And it technically isn't the child's account, it is yours, being used by a child. It's the same as letting your child use your iPhone. The proof that it is yours is that the credit information is yours.

The minimum age requirement applies to someone under 13 creating their own account on their own credit.