X

Apps not updating in iOS? Try this solution

The past few weeks, my iOS app updates have been hanging in "waiting to download". This solution fixed the problem.

Michelle Starr Science editor
Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor, and she hopes to get you as enthralled with the wonders of the universe as she is. When she's not daydreaming about flying through space, she's daydreaming about bats.
Michelle Starr

The past few weeks, my iOS app updates have been hanging in "waiting to download". This solution fixed the problem.

The filthy culprit.(Screenshot by Michelle Starr/CNET Australia)

There's nothing more irritating than wanting to play with an app, and it's just cooling its heels, waiting to update.

You've rebooted your device, you've logged out and in to iTunes, you've tried deleting and reinstalling the apps, all to no avail.

The solution was surprisingly simple.

  1. Open iTunes

  2. Tap "More", then "Downloads"

  3. If you have a download that didn't complete for whatever reason (podcasts seem to be the biggest culprit), that's what's holding up your queue

  4. Tap the pause button. Your other downloads should resume; and, if you've been having battery life issues, this should alleviate them.

Happy updating!